If not, then how can atheists say that they *know*, even to the extent of being an absolute certainty that God doesn't exist and pretend that the fact that they, in their infinite arrogance, are 100% sure of themselvs is 100% proof that He doesn't?
2007-07-31 01:44:33 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
maybe if you read C. Hutchens book "God is NOT GREAT"
you might expand your world view.
there are others but his book is very entertaining.
2007-07-31 04:47:19 · answer #1 · answered by ??IMAGINE ?? 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
An atheist is a person who doesn't believe that any gods exist. There may be some atheists who claim to be 100% certain that none exist, but that's not a defining characteristic of atheism.
Care to do a poll to settle that "arrogance" thing? Ask the atheists if they claim to be certain that God doesn't exist, then ask the believers if they claim to be certain that God does exist. I think you'll find that the believers are the ones who claim to have absolute proof (and of course they'll be lying - if they had proof, they'd have long since let the rest of us know about it).
And gee, look, someone already asked:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070730194816AAhIWPw
And sure enough, with one exception, it's the athiests and agnostics who were strong enough to admit that they might not be right, and the believers who are just dripping with ignorant arrogance, unable to admit that they might be wrong.
2007-07-31 08:54:39 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
The old saying is " If a tree in a forest falls and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound?" Most athiests feel the same way. You will notice that if they can't use their senses to see it, hear it, or feel it, does it actually exist. And most will tell you it doesn't if it doesn't fit their criteria, but I have always believed that if you atleast believe in something you will always have hope no matter if it is a flower that comes back every year or that the sun rises and sets each day. As long as you believe that it exists and is a constant in your life you will always have hope and hope is what keeps us going. Every religion is based on hope - faith - and love. We always hope that life while we are here will be good - we have faith that hope will see us through it - and love as often as possible to make sure everyone else has hope and are never alone in their quest to have faith in the good things in life. I can not fault the athiest that doesn't believe becuase he does believe in something - it may not be "God" in the sense that we believe but they have hope in the existence of faith and genuinely care if they are loved. Accept their views as they see it not as you believe it. I have always believed that if you are happy and do not hurt others and care for others, then who am I to judge the way you believe is wrong. Life is too short to spend time trying to make others believe as you do, so, if they are happy and are living in harmony with the rest of the world then they are doing what Jesus had taught us.Turn the other cheek and keep going. We all end up at the same place later on.
2007-07-31 08:59:37 · answer #3 · answered by Karma of the Poodle 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
That can go the opposite way too - by your reckoning, everyone is agnostic. And that's not true. An atheist is someone who does not believe in God, not someone who knows God doesn't exist.
I'm not happy about the "infinite arrogance" bit, either, for obvious reasons.
2007-07-31 10:21:03 · answer #4 · answered by LifeIsAFreeTripRoundTheSun 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no 100% proof. That doesn't mean God exists though.
Just like some believers of God claim that he exists 100% for sure you also have the opposite of that.
2007-07-31 08:47:39 · answer #5 · answered by Iczer 4 · 8⤊ 2⤋
They can't. No one can know for sure that God does or doesn't exist. They believe He doesn't, just like we believe He does exist. The difference is that our faith in God, having the Holy Spirit in us, and everything in the Bible proves to us that He does exist. I think this verse describes it best.
1 Corinthians 2:14 -- The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
2007-07-31 08:53:48 · answer #6 · answered by kaz716 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
In terms of disaffirmation, what atheists say they know for certain, is that the version of God, the "personal God" version, doesnt exist. So the Abrhamic God doesnt exist and basically all religious conceptions are false. Whether there is some other force or intelligence is another matter for which one cannot say they are certain of about the non-existance of...
2007-07-31 08:50:44 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 2⤋
When you go after a proof, then everyone is an agnostic, deists and atheists!! You, too!
If you talk about faith, then there are 'real' believers in a god and 'real' atheist.
So there is a flaw in this logic!
2007-07-31 08:54:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
That's stupid. Atheists simply say, "I don't believe in God because I've never seen Him, nobody else has, EVER, there are no photos of Him, the fundies just want everyone to believe 'on faith.' that He exists and I say, SHOW ME THE DEITY!!!"
On the other hand, people can SEE atheists, in fact most everybody can, there are photos of them and they are not expecting everyone to go on pure "faith" that they exist.
I throw YOUR arrogance back in YOUR court! LOL
.
2007-07-31 08:53:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
Cute strawman you are fighting.
I don't see any atheist here claiming they're 100% sure God does not exist.
2007-07-31 08:51:13 · answer #10 · answered by stym 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I'm an atheist. I don't claim certainty that God doesn't exist.
As for that "infinite arrogance" comment, that's just childish on your part. Arrogance is characteristic of the believer, not of the atheist. We're not the ones claiming that the words coming out of our mouths are "the Word of God".
Doesn't the fact that you have to lie so much to support your beliefs tell you something about the quality of those beliefs? It should.
2007-07-31 08:48:04 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 11⤊ 5⤋