To atheist, would you like to have unshakable faith?

Question

do you secretly admire those of unstoppable faith.
or do you treat them with contempt,.
Are you really convinced [truly] there is no God,
,Sorry for asking to many questions, but would like your honest views

Its obvious that most of you are very intelligent, by your response,.
download , spirit daily please?.
read about those who have passed on and returned

Answer 1

I would never want to have unshakable faith. That would mean that if I found evidence that refuted my beliefs, I would be unable to change my beliefs in light of the new evidence.
I would rather have the faith that allows me to explore contradictory evidence without fear and the freedom to change my mind if I find I am wrong.
I do not secretly admire people who have unshakable faith, nor do I have contempt for them. I pity them.

Answer 2

I have an unshakable belief, will that do?
I believe there is no God.
I do not secretly admire those of unstoppable faith, I don't treat them with contempt, feel sorry for their addiction.
Yes I am (truly) convinced there is no God, nothing that could ever happen in your wildest dreams could ever change my mind.
I do understand that some folk 'need ' to believe there is a God, and that their departed loved ones are now in a better place.
I think it was Mao Tsetung ( he of the 'little red book' who said "Religion is the opium of the working classes" !
It is a drug! If this religion was all the same then OK but we have so many don't we? Why? I have no objection to any ones belief in God, why they all have different religions is beyond me, why do they need 'teachers' and 'leaders' to tell them their religion is the only 'true' one??
There is an explanation for that but it's a very drawn out (and boring one) so we wont go into all that.
You have mentioned (in an addendum to your question) that you have read about people returning from the dead?
That question is a seperate one altogether!
An atheist is simple to understand he (or she) does not believe there is a God, thats about all we have in common!
If some of us think that reincarnation is the in thing, so be it, if some of us think that little green men are living on earth in disguise as humans, who cares?
'We' dont have the same opinions on every other subject, just the one.

Answer 3

Have unshakeable faith?
No.
What if I had it in something that was wrong or false?
How would I ever become convinced of that?

I could be inflicting terror on others, or wreaking havoc in any number of ways, while being uttlerly sincere in my belief that I was in the right and doing good.

From the outside that looks horrible. From the inside, I'm guessing it would feel like a high and noble calling, and that all the opposition was from deceived and foolish people who could not understand what I knew to be true beyond doubt.

So no, I don't admire such individuals, while I try to have some sort of understanding of them. *If* someone believes something on those terms, *then* certain behaviours will tend to follow, and they should not be surprising, or taken as irrational. They are just consequential.

I'm sufficiently convinced there is no God to have abandoned fifteen years of adult, committed, believing, Christianity, fully aware of what penalties the bible prescribes for being wrong about this.

Yes, I could be wrong. But fence-sitting isn't reqally an option.
So I've got to bet on how I see the evidence and what my conscience tells me. And that is that Christianity isn't, at core, what it claims to be. (The issue of other divinities was largely covered while wresting with this particular form of theism over about a five year period)

Answer 4

Depends on the reason for their unstoppable faith. If it's there out of willful ignorance and hard headedness, I don't admire it at all. If they are truly good people who just seem to understand something about life that I don't understand, I admire that very much.

I personally am convinced there are no gods. I am open to believe God exists if there were some real evidence. It could be something simple (yet complex), like the bible is the only book in the universe that is mysteriously understood by all regardless of language or illiteracy; meaning, there is no need for it to be translated. Or let's say it needs to be translated, but it's the only book in the universe that is memorized from just one reading, yet people continue to read it because the more they read, the more they understand, but it only takes one reading and it's all memorized. That would make me believe that the bible TRULY is a holy book!

But there is no real proof, other than, the bible says it's true, so it must be true. or, the body is so amazing, it must be God. or, we dont have all the answers at this time, so only God can explain the unexplanable.

Answer 5

No why would I admire someone that had unstoppable faith in something that for all intensive reasons is made up?

No, I only treat people with contempt if they are willfully ignorant, like the guy, Dr. Dino, who publishes falsifications as "science" - my 13 year old can dissect that site and show that it's completely baseless.

Of course I'm convinced that there are no gods, otherwise I'd either be agnostic or a believer.

Answer 6

no, i don' admire them any more than i admire a wasp battering its head against a window. the only believers i have contempt for are the creationists and literalists who try to impose their views and lifestyles on us all, by hook or by crook. any means seems to justify the end for them. as i see it for a good christian the means and the end should be the same thing. yes, i'm i truly believe there are no supernatural beings. the way the universe is convinces me of this, the universe is self creating and there is ample testable evidence for this, even quantum theory is pointing towards the origin of the universe from 'nothing'. a god or gods are not really required to explain anything, why complicate things with the supernatural when they are not required. this is not arrogance but just accepting the facts as they are and drawing the most obvious conclusion.
don't ever be sorry about asking questions, you'll always be sorrier if you don't ask them.

Answer 7

To answer your questions in order...

No. At least not a religious faith. It looks rather stifling to me. So have a faith in what? I trust some people, but otherwise, I would rather have evidence.

Hmm, no. I sometimes admire the sincerity and their apparent serenity, but not their faith in a god. That does seem silly to me. I suppose I do regard some believers with contempt. Those that give ridiculous explanations for their belief and think they are logical.

Not convinced as in saying that is my belief (that would be a faith too), but as in that I do not think there is any convincing evidence, then yes, I am. Just like I am convinced that there is not a 90ft high doughnut in my garden.

Answer 8

It's not too many questions, it's too few.

For each one of unstoppable faith, the answers will differ, for it is not the fact of faith that matters, but what they do with it. Few deserve admiration, some may attract envy, most are not worthy of anything but contempt.

I am an agnostic, not an atheist; there might be god(s), but they certainly fail to show themselves.
The logically inconsistant works on the Abrahamic one true god, with all his different faiths and splinter groups, make the existance of that particular god seem highly doubtful. If he does exist, he's highly schizophrenic (and over time called himself Mithra and a couple of other non-Abrahamic names in addition to Jahwe, God and Allah) and unstable, so I rather hope he does not.

Answer 9

I have an unshakable lack of faith.
I respect people who have faith (note: NOT admire) but I certainly don't treat them with contempt.
I truly am convinced there is no God or afterlife.
To me that makes life and living that much more precious, because I know that I only have one chance to make it right.

Answer 10

1) No. To be entirely convinced of anything that was not a proven fact would be obstinate, small minded and would require removing my ability to analyse information and make sound, evidence based decisions.

2) Depends if you mean somebody who continues to believe in the face of hardship (then yes), or whether you mean the kind of brainwashed, bullheaded dullard described in the first question (then no).

3) Yes, the logical default position to take where something is totally unable to be detected by the known senses and for which unbiased, reliable evidence exists is to assume it does not exist. As described above, it would be foolish to be "totally convinced" that you knew whether or not God existed without unequivable proof either way.

4) No need to appologise - that's what this site is for. Honest views duly posted.

Answer 11

My beliefs as an atheist are unshakable. Just because I do not believe in your God does not mean that I don't know what it means to have faith. I have faith in myself, my friends, my family, and my relationships.

I do not secretly admire those of unstoppable faith. I associate that with stubbornness, which is not an admirable trait. I do openly admire anyone who is strong in their convictions while being open minded to and knowledgeable about other beliefs as well.

Yes, I truly believe that there is no God(s).