Do you believe that god doesn't exist or do you not believe that god exists?

Question

And what does the difference mean to you personally?

Please note i am not asking if you believe that god exists.

Answer 1

I accept that in light of no evidence for and a lot of evidence against that no god or gods exist. "Belief" doesn't play a part in it.

If that is too complicated, the first one (I think).

Answer 2

God cannot exist because there are too many discrepancies relation to his nature.

There are thousands of religions claiming to understand the nature of God, all different, and all claiming that they have the only answer for eternal life. This shows that God is really about human interpretation, not about reality.

There is also major problems with all religious doctrine, for instance Christians claim that God is loving, and still believe that he created Hell as a punishment for sin. Hell being eternal torture. God cannot be loving with the existence of an eternal hell. The doctrine of an all knowing creator that is Loving also cannot exist.

Beyond doctrine, there is just no tangible evidense in existence for God. Believers claim that he lives in their hearts and that they can feel his love. However, if you consider how many humans have been mistaken about feeling love from real people, it is clear that fabricating a loving feeling for a mythical creator is more than possible.

Finally realizing that God cannot exist has helped me tremendously, I no longer feel guilty because he appears to talk to everyone but me. I realize that wasting my one chance at life striving for an afterlife is a terrible thing, and also understand that as everyone has one life, it is important to help others as much as I can.

Answer 3

I believe that all gods are imaginary. The difference is that I am persuaded by reason and evidence that gods do not and cannot exist, rather than just not having sufficient reason to believe that any exist.

Answer 4

The whole world would like very much to see some proof of the existence of a God or Gods. Like me, most are weary of the same old "have faith and pray" or "he will be coming soon". It has reached the point now where the religious sharks have turned it all into multi-billion dollar enterprises.

Answer 5

I believe God exists.

Answer 6

Both! I believe gods do not exist, but that is not what makes me an atheist. I am an atheist because I do not believe in gods.

Answer 7

If God doesn't exist there is no point to any of this. Zip. Right, Wrong, Good, Evil, Poverty, Pain, Glory, Progress, etc. All means nothing. Would a universe so mathematically pure and exact result in life that is pointless? Highly doubtful. By reason then, God exists.

Answer 8

That seems to be the main focus of most things today, god or no-god? You ask me, he doesn't exist. Want an example? I know a kid who prayed to him everyday of his life, he got slammed with diebetes, a speech impediment, and eventually cancer which killed him, and he prayed everyday. No god. Living in Philidelphia, a little 5-year old boy gets shot in the head during a gang battle, no god. Sorry, haven't seen a divine miracle, haven't seen anything of the sort, no god

Answer 9

In reviewing the other answers, I am appalled to note that most of the responders are incapable of discerning the HUGE difference in the implications of your two alternative statements. This supports my contention that the vast majority of adult Americans have never even HEARD of 'critical thinking'... much less, actually know how to DO it.

OK, morons... here's a clue: One of those alternitives carries with it the burden of logical proof... the other does not. I leave it to the reader to figure out which is which.

(Non-morons are excused from this assignment.)



I do not 'believe' that god(s) exist.

Agnostic comes from the Greek root 'gnosis', meaning 'knowledge'. It means someone who has no knowledge pertainent to the existence or non-existence of god. As a result, the agnostic has no basis upon which to 'believe' that gods exist, and no basis upon which to 'believe' that gods do NOT exist.

This is where it gets a little tricky. 'Atheism' is defined as the ABSENSE of a 'belief' that gods exist... it is NOT defined as the BELIEF that gods do not exist. However, some people DO 'believe' that gods DO NOT exist... and while that position does not DEFINE atheism, it most certainly FALLS UNDER the definition of atheism, since people who BELIEVE that gods DO NOT exist can also be said to NOT BELIEVE that gods DO exist. This is sometimes called the 'strong atheist' position... and it is just as logically indefenseable as the 'theist' position... the BELIEF that gods DO exist.

The basic 'atheist' merely finds that the EVIDENCE which is purported to support the idea that gods exist is not compelling, and is therefore insufficient to initiate or support a mental state of 'belief'. Note that this has to do with REASONS... not KNOWLEDGE.

Now, it gets interesting... note that a predicate condition that arises from having no basis in knowledge (agnostic) upon which to support a 'belief' that gods exist is the ABSENSE of belief in gods. Note that this predicate condition satisfies the definition of 'atheist'... the ABSENSE of a belief in gods.

So... ALL 'agnostics' are 'atheists'... but most of them don't know it and acknowledge it, because they fail to understand the definition of 'atheist'. But NOT all 'atheists' are 'agnostic'. The basic 'atheist' finds that the 'reasons' are not compelling... no reference to 'knowledge' (gnosis). The 'strong atheist' asserts that the logical proposition "gods DO NOT exist" is 'true', which implies access to 'knowledge' (gnosis).

The different basis for the state of non-belief of agnostics is acknowledged by applying the label 'agnostic-atheist'.

"An agnostic is basically an atheist without any balls." ~ Stephen Colbert

(Note: Colbert is apparently unaware of the actual definition of 'atheist', too.)

Answer 10

I believe god doesn't exist. I realize, however, that there is no conclusive evidence for this belief, so I concede that I could be wrong.

The difference is to assert that there is no god vs. simply failing to believe in one. I believe there is much that tells us there is no god, while others simply feel there is nothing to tell us there IS a god.

It is a subtle difference, but it can be important.

Answer 11

I see no difference between believing there is no God, and not believing there is one. It's a negative either way. Neither one means anything to me as far as anyone else is concerned because that is their business just as my personal beliefs are mine.

I don't see any reason to proclaim what I think or believe, unless I happen to have been called into discussion about that issue. But on any matter where there is absolutely no silk-thin shred of demonstrable, unequivocal, irrefutable, incontrovertible PROOF in either direction, the way each individual thinks, feels and believes must forever be a matter for his own conscience and inner convictions. If any person wishes to convince me to reject what I already believe, and come over to his own opposite belief, I must always tell him "show me the proof that YOU are right and I am not" I don't care what he merely thinks or believes, because no matter how sincerely and how passionately you "believe" something, it cannot rise to the essential criteria of proof. That means that each individual must be true to what he himself needs to believe, one way or the other, as is his inalienable right. But it is his obligation to respect the equal right of others to their own way of thinking. We can all be in accord on hundreds of other issues, and still respect each other's right to disagree on some.