Atheist symbolic to philsophy? why God?

Question

I love philosyphy! But i am a devoted cathlolic. Question i hear are like" what's the purpos in life?" but noboddy says to serve god. Another,"Is or life predifined or self-controlled?" Nobody says God controlls it. Has the Earth turned so God-less? Or was that threaded discussion full of atheist? Why be an athiest and have a harder time in life? If you beleived in some deity that's better than none! There's no down side to God! Why try disproving him/her? I love god, i don't always have agreat day, but i still can say i have somebody/spirit that loves me. Really that's all God wants to do for you! ALl God wants to do is love you and Make you have a happy life. Many Atheist i know don't like God b/c they don's have a good life or life isn't good for them. That doesn't mean God hates you! Why do atheist hate god?
* most really hate how others carry on about how great he is. Not him. They get confused but for long devoted Athiest.++Why is science and philosiphy excluding God?

It's not thining what i want to hear! i have had a spiritual moment and a different relationship with him than other people. I just don't think it's fair people disclude God or try to make other people not beileve in him. If a person wants to see you happy and will give you what you want, youd believe in him and love him. But when it comes down to a spirit, then you turn it away!?!?

when i say it is better to believe in some deity, i mean at least if you have no one else that loves you, you know the omnisciencent,omnipotent, and omnibelovelent being loves you.

When i say God controlls life i mean, god has a free will way and a 'Gods way planned. The deciding factor bases if you go to hell. Children starving in africa doesn't mean God is bad or hates them, something big in store is for them, for if without Bad we known no Good,right? without hell there is no reason to strive for heaven. So i know God is going to give those children the most kick-*** time in heaven.

Answer 1

Hello jay marie,

As an atheist I'll try to answer your question to the best of my knowledge and abilities. I agree with you that believing in a God is much easier. like you said, "theres no downside". This is where one of the main problem lies.
Atheists believe that most people select religion or put all their faith in a 'God' because it takes a huge burden off you, there is no need to think for yourself, no need to questions things. It offers an answer for everything: morality, death, existentialism, meaning, etc.
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, & the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." - Karl Marx

Furthermore, theres seem to be many conflicts between religion and philosophy. Philosophy is based on Reason and Logical Arguments, whereas religion is solely based on 'Faith'. Meaning that its something that can never be questioned, never be proven wrong, it must be blindly accepted.

'Atheism doesn't demand absolute unquestioning obedience or make threats about eternal damnation.' Believing in God means that all of your decisions are based on a supernatural explanation. Why not believe in Astrology? ghosts? Dragons? What proof do we have that God is real?

The concept of god is illogical.
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"
- Epicurus

Another major problem that I see, is that Theist or believers are stuck in pre-conventional thinking. Individuals are concerned with external rewards (such as 'heaven') and punishment and obey authority ('God-Church') to avoid detrimental personal consequences (i.e. "Hell"?).
There is no recognition that others' points of view are any different from one's own view.

Atheist are aware that people hold different values and don't try to impose universal beliefs. They are guided by an internal sets of values and standards, and try to improve humanity as much as they can because we only have this life and nothing afterwards.

Lastly, I find it very troubling what you said about the African starving children. Atheist believe that instead of leaving their 'faith' to some all-powerful-'God' and just accepting their suffering & death, we should try to intervene and help them.

Answer 2

I personally believe the only purpose of life is to continue. This whole business that humanity has some great purpose in its core, and a great reason for its existence is in part a remnant for the beliefs that the Earth was made for humanity, when in fact humanity were just its freaks in its show. Its just some experiment which will either faulter back to base mechanisms or will continue to flourish in the years to come.

Many do not understand because they can't. Philosophy and science which excludes God is only doing so because it treats God as at best a hypothetical element in the whole thing. It seeks to understand humans and the world around us. To see how the universe ticks and how the many underlying rules and mechanisms come together.

Answer 3

Philosophy really isn't friendly to religion anymore. Of course there are still religious philosophers, but since the enlightenment they are in a minority. People today who are religious see no need to turn to philosophy, since their religion answers the questions of morality, existence, meaning, etc. Protestants especially see no need for philosophy since they thik faith trumps reason. Aside from catholic theologians, not many Christians today see a need for philosophy, I think. Philosophers, likewise, see no need for religion. Socrates proved that morality is independent of religion, science provides far better explanations of the natural world, and secular and eastern philosophy give very satisfactory accounts of meaning and value. This is likely why you see a higher than normal rate of atheistic answers in the philosophy section. I would imagine most people here are either atheists, agnostics, followers of an eastern religion, or unorthodox christians.

I think you need some philosophy and rational reflection yourself though. Look at what you are claiming: "God controls life"? So you don't believe in free will? If God really controls our lives, there is no free will, and if there is no free will, nobody can deserve to go to hell or be punished by God.

"If you believe in some deity that's better than none"? Why? And if this is true, why isn;t it true that the more deities you believe in the better off you are? In which case we should all become Hindus.

"There's no down side to God." Do you mean God Himself, of the belief in God? Many people would say that there are a lot of downsides to believing in God. This would answer why it may be valuavle to disprove God's existence.

Also, if all God wants is for us to have happy lives, then why does he allow children to starve to death in Africa? I am an atheist, but I have a good life. If God exists, I would be certain that He does not hate me. But it does seem that He hates children in impovershed nations.

Science excludes God because God is an extra-scientific hypothesis. Scientifically a believe in God can be neither proved nor disproved and leads to no testable hypotheses, so science has no use for the theory. Philosophy excludes God because no reason can be given for believing God exists, and many good ones can be given why He cannot.

I really hope this doesn't turn you off from philosophy or science. There is a lot of value in philosophy for even the devote Catholic.

Answer 4

I turned atheist because after a family member attempted suicide, I prayed for an entire year, two times a day that there would be no suicides in the family...then our 20 year young son committed suicide...I even prayed for his soul. Some time later, it dawned on me that my prayers weren't answered...not only that, I was told recently by my daughter that she too was praying that nobody would commit suicide in the family...and the bible says when two people pray together God will answer...I don't believe in any God at all anymore. I completely agree with F L W.

Answer 5

You know I agree with you ,, that said , My opinion is that there is a huge confusion in this area of believes ... God is confused with religion , yes religion uses God as their base of believes and in reality God should be kept separate from all believes , God exists only in the personal faith , Atheists in reality disclaim Gods existence because are trying to disclaim religion , all religions are in a sense clubs of different believes with different rules and are another form of business with a financial gains for the salvation they offer ,using God as their base of strength , using fear of eternal damnation if one does not convert to their literature , and this is why atheists refuse the existence of the teachings of all this religious affiliations which by the way is human made . Now the atheists which are believers of time basically believe in evolution and state who crated God ?? That is why God should be left alone to a personal faith, be left alone with Mother nature and left alone with pure love ,.

Answer 6

I understand.But,we must fear GOD,more than we love HIM.
Love is a condition to which we a free to avoid.
This have been one big mistake by many christian Churches,not proving to Atheists that we visualize the mechanics of human life on earth as "holy"...
I am Methodist.

Answer 7

Ignorance is bliss, so just believe what you want....if you're happy....more power to you. Myself, i'd rather know objective reality, no matter what it is...

Answer 8

Man thinking he has become smart has become foolish .