How can anyone want to be an atheist?

Question

To say you know all the answers is vain.

To say that you die and you cease to exist isn't exactly a feel good concept.

Agree?

Answer 1

There is great peace in NOT worshiping a sadistic, immoral God who slaughtered more people than Hitler, and commanded his followers to kill people. Obviously, a Christian couldn't understand that.

Atheists don't claim they know all the answers. In fact, atheists don't even make up gods and religions to explain things they don't know. That's because ATHEISTS are HONEST.

I didn't have, need, or miss a pre-life before I was born. There is NO reason to fear or be bothered by not having an after-life after I die. The absolute LAST thing I'd ever want is eternal life, especially with the heinous Hitler-God of the Bible.

Answer 2

No. Delusion isn't exactly the best way to FEEL happy, especially when one breaks the bubble. But somebody said that ignorance is bliss, and that may very well be for those who are so utterly incapable of seeing a contradiction even as large and as deep as the Grand Canyon.

Reality does not give us a choice about what it actually is and it does not care whether we fake it or respect it. We are the subject that reap the consequences of our own thinking.

Just like you do not have a choice to change dirt into sugar, no matter how much you deny the fact that it is dirt, you have to live with your delusion and lies about your presumed knowledge of the afterlife. Once you and I are gone from this world, the way we lived our lives is really what has mattered.

I say that, independently of what comes later (if anything), it is wise not to deceive ourselves and pretend to know what we do not know. I think honesty counts for something, because people who are dishonest in one area tend to be dishonest in others much more easily.

An atheist does not say he knows all the answers. On the contrary. He is humble enough to say precisely what it is and only what it is: there is no evidence for the existence of the supernatural. The believer, on the other hand, picks faith as if it were knowledge and claims to know there is God, there is a soul, there is an eternal life, there is a bunch of stuff he actually knows zilch about it!

Answer 3

atheists never claim to have all the answers. We just say that, based on the evidence at hand, there can be no such thing as god. I remain open to the possibility, when and if new information and evidence is presented, that god exists. But at this point, i've exhausted all possibilities.

And yes, I believe, we just cease to exist. Not a feel good concept, naturally... but that's the way it is. It is what it is... I can't change it, so getting upset or depressed about it isn't going to change it.

Answer 4

Strongly disagree. I've never met an atheist who said they knew all the answers. But on the other hand, I've know a lot of religious radicals to claim just that. Bit strange.

And what's so not feel-good about believing that you cease to exist when you die? I may not agree with that concept, but it's one hell of a lot better than sugar-coating the afterlife and saying that someone went to a "better place" because you just can't handle death to begin with.

I have a lot of respect for atheists. Why can't you do the same?

Answer 5

"How can anyone want to be an atheist?"

i did not wake up one morning and think "oh, i think i'll be an atheist now". it is something that i discovered about myself in early childhood, before any of those fine religious institutions had their chance to sink their hooks in, and i've seen no good reason to change since then. is it really so difficult for you to comprehend john?

"To say you know all the answers is vain."

perhaps you'll think it's fortunate for me that i don't say that, then. in fact i'm quite aware of my lack of knowledge and motivated to correct it if possible. but i'm not so driven that i will pretend to know things that i don't actually know.

"To say that you die and you cease to exist isn't exactly a feel good concept."

no it's not. but then, what does feeling good have to do with the truth?

Answer 6

The whole point is that we don't know all the answers but we stop short of inventing gods and demons to fill in the gaps in our knowledge
I would rather die and cease to exist than be condemned to eternal life.
After 200 trillion years I think I might just be a little bored with myself

Answer 7

Well, hopefully people are more interested in finding their truth then choosing a belief to just feeling good.
Whether they are an atheist or not doesn't have much bearing on whether they think they have all the answers. There are plenty of religious and Christian people who think that they have all the answers. Some atheists accept that they don't or can't know the truth.
Disagree.

Answer 8

We don`t claim to know it all. Just that which is painfully obvious. And yes, I agree that when we die and cease to exist is not a pleasant thought.

But this is where one must separate desire from the truth. The truth is as is regardless of what anybody thinks about it, sure it is not always pleasant but that does not make it any less true. We atheists are realist that place a high value on truth.

Answer 9

ah well, the universe if full of mysteries ... like how could anyone want to consider themselves a sheep? i mean ... there a few creatures walking the planet that are more stupid than sheep yet there are some people who actually take pride in thinking of themselves as a stupid herd animal. go figure.

and since no one knows for sure what (if anything) happens after death if you were self honest you'd have to admit that it's a possibility. it's a not a "good feeling" concept to you but perhaps atheists feel that a singular life well lived is sufficient.

oh and i've never met an atheist who claimed to have all the answers. but i have met folks of various religions who claimed they knew who God is, what God wants, how God thinks and what God is gonna do to whom and for what reason.

Answer 10

To say you know all the answers is vain.

To say that you die and you cease to exist isn't exactly a feel good concept.

Agree?
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NO I do NOT agree. nor do i have to by my rights of the constitution that I did my time in service for, overseas.
"I" EARNED my rights. no one GAVE me anything on a silver platter.
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and although I profess to be an atheist I do not claim to know it all...unlike the so called christians I have found in life,..with their nose in the air pretending with that holier than thou attitude!
and yes...to cease to exist, for me, IS a happy idea. to know that I am free to choose what I want to believe or not believe ....
to me personally...christians claim to believe in a god that does nothing but bring sorrow to mankind and does not have to answer for it.....THAT sucks!

we can debate this for the next 100 years...
no one is right/ no one is wrong.

but you DID lay yourself open to other's opinions and comments,..didn't you?


good luck to ya

Answer 11

"To say that you die and you cease to exist isn't exactly a feel good concept."

You just showed that theism is not about knowledge, but cowardice with this line of reasoning. There's a big gap between embracing ignorance and not knowing all the answers.