Atheists, do you believe all your beliefs should be supported by evidence?

Question

What evidence do you have for that belief?

All I'm saying is that you can't believe that without begging the question *there is evidence that evidence is reliable* or relying of faith *gasp*.

True, I asked it yesterday. Just waiting for a coherent answer.

Answer 1

do you believe everything your told ?do you believe in Santa too

would you buy a car without looking at it first or seeing if it ran

Answer 2

No, Faith is belief without evidence. So if you have evidence then by definition it is not faith. The question of whether the evidence is reliable is another issue.

The argument that beliefs should be based on evidence is based on the observation that in the past beliefs based on evidence seem to have the best chance of being right. We usually learn this when we are very very young.

Answer 3

Not all beliefs are supported by evidence. I mean I "believe" that all people should get along because the planet belongs to all of us, but hey that ain't true nor a fact now is it?
Do I believe there's a God? Well I "believe" there's a higher power, cuz damn if I din't I would hate to die and end up in front of the "heavenly gates" and be turned away and shown the "stairs" leading down...
So why should you NEED evidence? I believe that everybody believes in their believes even though I have no evidence for it or any clue of what I just said...

Answer 4

There is plenty of evidence for evolution. Atheists demand that theorys be backed up with hard evidence. But lets not get hung up on that. As an Atheists I wouldn't refer to it as a belief. Its knowledge.

Atheists are for the most part interested in the natural world. What can be seen and discovered within the natural world. Not the supernatural world. The supernatural world is not of nature or of the earth and therefore can not be known, only supposed or assumed. Thats why belief in the supernatural is called faith because it lacks any theory or proof.

As an Atheist I am interested in the questions not the answers. Even when a theory is presented, the thrill comes from discovery and constant questioning.

Every scientific theory that is questioned or challenged was originally questioned or challenged by another scientist. No scientific theory has ever been debunked or proven wrong by a theologian.

Now for some Evidence for Evolution-

1. Fossil evidence indicates that evolution has occurred.

The Fossil Record. When fossils are arranged in the order of their age, a continual series of change is seen, new changes being added at each stage.

The Evolution of Horses. The record of horse evolution is particularly well-documented and instructive.

2. Natural selection can produce evolutionary change.

The Beaks of Darwin's Finches. Natural selection favors stouter bills in dry years, when large tough-to-crush seeds are the only food available to finches.

Peppered Moths and Industrial Melanism. Natural selection favors dark-colored moths in areas of heavy pollution, while light-colored moths survive better in unpolluted areas.

Artificial Selection. Artificial selection practiced in laboratory studies, agriculture, and domestication demonstrate that selection can produce substantial evolutionary change.

3. Evidence for evolution can be found in other fields of biology.

The Anatomical Record. When anatomical features of living animals are examined, evidence of shared ancestry is often apparent.

The Molecular Record. When gene or protein sequences from organisms are arranged, species thought to be closely related based on fossil evidence are seen to be more similar than species thought to be distantly related.

Convergent and Divergent Evolution. Evolution favors similar forms under similar circumstances.

Of all the major ideas of biology, the theory that today's organisms evolved from now-extinct ancestors is perhaps the best known to the general public. This is not because the average person truly understands the basic facts of evolution, but rather because many people mistakenly believe that it represents a challenge to their religious beliefs. Similar highly publicized criticisms of evolution have occurred ever since Darwin's time. For this reason, it is important that, during the course of ones study of biology, one addresses the issue squarely: Just what is the evidence for evolution?

Answer 5

Belief is just belief -- it's a matter of what seems to be true to you. I probably believe a lot of things without the support of evidence.

Now, if you're going to try to force everyone else to believe what you believe, then you're going to need some evidence.

Answer 6

I do not have any beliefs.

I see and experience evidence for certain things being the way that they are.

I trust, from prior knowledge and experience, that certain things will happen in a particular set of circumstances.

Evidence is reliable because if it was not it would not be evidence. QED

No belief needed. No faith required.

Answer 7

Ideally, yes.

Evidence comes into play even when you might think it doesn't. If someone says they love me or are my friend but then never do anything affectionate, never help me or accept help from me, I must conclude that friendship is false, based on the lack of evidence for it.

There are some things in life that cannot be explained with evidence right away but never discount the idea something could turn up later.

Answer 8

Actually, as a skeptic, I assume that everything I believe to be true may end up being false. However, if the evidence is good, I can at least operate under the assumption that I'm probably right. Get it? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Answer 9

Not all beliefs, but probably most. And my evidence for that belief is the catastrophic effects that unsupported beliefs, including religions, have had throughout history.

We don't need evidence that evidence is reliable, we only need evidence that an absence of evidence is unreliable. And we certainly have that.

Answer 10

A coherant answer, huh? Your question is kind of rhetorical...

Here goes: Science works. Science has been very effective at predicting future behavior (of the physical world) based on past behavior (evidence). It is more effective than prayer and random action. Science is a way of thinking. That way of thinking has allowed humans to control the physical world and to react to it successfully when attempting to GET what we WANT. In scientific thinking, evidence is the only factor...no magic, nothing spiritual, nothing emotional, and it has been EFFECTIVE.

Case in point for it's effectiveness: Since scientific reasoning has been adopted by (much of the world) we have achieved a lifestyle that we desired, as opposed to thousands of years of using "magic feelings" and "prophesies" that culminated in a rule book that said "don't eat pork." Now we can safely eat pork, thanks to science.

Answer 11

Hmm... you didn't process your question well.

But judging from it, I'd say that evidence is crucial to everything to see whether it exists. Relying on "faith" is pretty superficial. Now, "God" may not want "His" people to know whether "He" exists or not, and it may be a good thing. Imagine if "He" exposes "Himself" to the world, or Jesus Christ returned. Everyone would stop relying on themselves or depend their lives on themselves and throw all their faith to "God" immediately as there is obvious proof "He" exists (if "He" exposes "Himself" to the world), which means that they would surrender their will. "God" may have meant good so that "His" people would still have, at least, an inch of independence, belief/reliance in oneself, so that the world can go on running smoothly, if it really is running smoothly.