I'm not biased towards either group, I have friends who are in both groups, some more hardcore than others. I find this stuff to interesting, sometimes humorous, but definitely something thought provoking. This should result in some interesting answers I think, that's why I chose to ask it.
2007-11-15 06:39:10 · 39 answers · asked by psycho german 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I believe that God gave each of us free will to do and think as we will. What you do with the knowledge that has been left for us is up to you. Either you believe - or you don't. It really is that simple. Either you take the gift of eternal life with God, or you take eternal life with Satan...even athiests know there is God and Satan. The forces of good and evil. We are all given that choice..would you want to make the wrong choice?
2007-11-15 06:59:40 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am an atheist because there's no good reason to believe in any God or religion. In fact, there are several reasons why atheists don't believe in gods:
First, there are way too many gods and religious traditions. It is difficult to credit one particular religion as being the one true way to God, since there have been so many invented throughout human history. None appears to be any more credible or reliable than any other. Why Christianity and not Islam? Why Judaism and not Hinduism? I have yet to see any objective evidence that would confirm the reliability of one particular religion over another.
Second, the supposed characteristics of God in the Christian religion are undoubtely very contradictory. It's not that they are lacking in labels and characteristics to attribute to their gods, it's just that so many of these characteristics contradict each other. To put it simply, not all of these characteristics can be true because one cancels out the other out or a combination of two or more leads to a logically impossible situation. Now, if this were an unusual situation, it might not be such a big problem. Humans are fallible, after all, and so we should expect people to get things wrong some times. A few bad definitions could thus be dismissed as another example of people having trouble getting a difficult concept exactly right. It probably wouldn't be a good reason to dismiss the subject entirely.
The reality, however, is that this is not an unusual situation. Particularly with Christianity, the religion which most atheists in the West have to contend with, contradictory characteristics and incoherent definitions are the rule. They are so common, in fact, that it's a real surprise when anything like a straightforward and coherent definition shows up. Even a "less bad" definition is a welcome change of pace, given how many really bad definitions or explanations there are.
Lastly, almost all religions require that you have some degree of faith, at the very least. The fact is that faith is not a source of knowledge and understanding. Anything can be justified by faith, so faith ultimately justifies nothing. Do we decide based on whose faith is the strongest, assuming we can measure that? No, the strength of a belief is irrelevant to its truth or falsehood. Do we decide based on whose faith has changed their lives the most? No, that's no indication of something being true. Do we decide based on how popular their belief is? No, the popularity of a belief has no bearing on whether it's true or not. Claims about faith can be used to justify and defend absolutely anything on an equal — and equally unreasonable — basis. Therefore, using faith to justify a claim contributes nothing to the debate and is completely usless.
2007-11-15 06:42:45 · answer #2 · answered by Alex H 5 · 7⤊ 3⤋
In order for someone prove conclusively that there is no God then that person would need to be "all knowing". With so much evidence that there is a God and that the Bible is the very Word of God then it is reasonable to assume that there is a God and that He shared with us His Word.
Either way it is a choice to believe that there is a God or that there is not a God. Atheist chose not to believe as a matter of personal choice. It is the nature of man to avoid the true God of the Bible because we are born into rebellion against Him. Christians chose to believe because God has called them to faith in Him.
2007-11-15 06:46:50 · answer #3 · answered by gilliamichael 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I stopped believing in god when I was 12. I've been an atheist ever since. I feel as though I would have become an atheist no matter what, but this is what happened to make me become one then.....I asked a whole lot of questions in sunday school that none of the nuns or preacher had answers to, other than you have to believe and you must have faith. When I didn't stop asking the questions they asked my mother not to send me to sunday school anymore. I then begain asking my mother the same questions which she also didn't have an answer too. Then I met a guy who flat out told me that he didn't believe in god. I asked my mother if believing in god was a choice and she said yes. From that day forward I decided I wasn't going to play the god charade anymore.
2007-11-15 06:45:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, the default position is to "not believe", always. You don't believe in ctwzais, do you? However, IF somebody believes in ctwzais then that makes you automatically an a-ctwzais-ist.
If you see anything that makes you think that ctwzais is true, then you'll believe. However, as long as you don't see any evidence you - logically - don't believe. It's not even about a statement. It's not saying "I believe ctwzais does not exist". It is simply that you can't believe everything just because there's a word for it. You will just say "I do not believe ctwzais exists, because nothing suggests it does".
This is the atheistic statement. Nobody believes anything that they have no evidence for. The only exception being god(s), where surprisingly many people believe because there is no reason not to believe.
2007-11-15 06:42:52 · answer #5 · answered by Maria - Godmother II of the AM 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, I'm guessing that calling themselves atheists tends to lean already towards the non-belief in god. Likewise, being a Christian does tend to hint that you might follow the teachings of Christ.
By the way, why do actors tend to get jobs acting in plays and films?
2007-11-15 06:51:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why does most cheese have to be yellow? Because it is what we know. I am telling you. If you give me time with an atheist I can show them God is real. I am certain there are Christians that have lost their faith for whatever reason also so the door opens two ways.
2007-11-15 06:51:20 · answer #7 · answered by Googler 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Atheists do not necessarily posit that there is no god. They simply don't have a belief that there IS a god. There is a difference.
Atheists do not need to believe anything. They would rather know. This would require evidence, and so far, there is none.
2007-11-15 06:45:26 · answer #8 · answered by coralsnayk 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No..... atheists lack belief in gods. It's not a belief, it's an absence of belief.
Christians believe... well... that's not quite as simple a question as you'd expect. There are the memes involved (societal perpetuation of ideas/behaviors through indoctrination), the location of the believer, the evolutionary explanations... etc. etc.
2007-11-15 06:46:57 · answer #9 · answered by ZER0 C00L ••AM••VT•• 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christians feel that God exists through faith.
Atheists believe that God doesn't exist because of lack of tangible evidence.
Its a matter of reliance. Some people rely on emotion, some on reason.
2007-11-15 06:44:47 · answer #10 · answered by ɹɐǝɟsuɐs Blessed Cheese Maker 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋