i have a question for atheists..?

Question

umm since you guys obviously dont believe in god,or heaven for the most part...why dont you? like wouldent somebody WANT to believe in heaven because of what people say about it? its soppose to be a better place...now im not totaly sure what you guys believe in because ive heard alot of different stories of what goes on after death with you guys but WHY would you rather have nothing happen after death..? wouldent you rather believe in something happy..? and even if there isnt a heaven after death..wouldent it be nice to just think it while you were alive..? lmao

well..(me being catholic)..find your religion depressing lmao. i mean..i dont know what really happens after death and neither does anybody else until you DIE. so arent you already believing in something that may or may not be true? (that also goes for me too)

the reason i ask this to atheists is because i dont rather...get your religion. as stated ^above^

okay..i see where you come from with the whole "tooth fairy,bunny,santa claus" thing. but..if you believe that your just gunna rot in the ground fro a good 10,000 years..im pretty sure i would rather be lied to than actually believe that. i mean...say i believed in that.. k? i would NOT want to freaken rot in the ground or come up as a beautiful tree and be cut down into paper and have the bible printed on me. (

Answer 1

To think things, even when we know they are not true... is the very definition of a delusion.

Answer 2

So what your saying is a variation of the Wizard's first rule
"People are stupid, they will believe anything, either because they want it to be true or because they are afraid it is."

Except your asking why we don't follow this and believe something because we hope it to be true.

Well, to answer that question, let me ask you a question. Do you believe in Santa Claus? I mean, even as a kid at some point you probably stopped believing in Santa Claus. Why? Wouldn't you want to believe it's true so you get more presents? What about the tooth fairy?

At some point, ones intellectual integrity comes first. I'd rather know the truth even if it's bad then believe something improbable just because it sounds good. Knowing the truth regardless of whether it's good or bad allows one to better informed decision. Such as the decision to live life to the fullest because it's the only one we get. Or take care of the planet because it's the only home we'll ever know of. Or take care of each other because only humans can be relied on to take care of each other.

If I believed in Christianity, it'd have to reject all of the above and plan poorly because of a false hope.

Answer 3

You make it sound as if a person has a choice. That if you believe something it is so, but if you choose to not believe then that reality changes.
If there is a god. It would be the way it is. Period. If that god wanted things a certain way, then it would be that way. If when you die you go to Hell if you have not come to an understanding that God approves of.... then you will go to hell. What facts let you, yes you, KNOW what you after death future holds? Please do share.
I am not an atheist, I do not believe. I don't disbelieve. I would like some real hard well thought out answers. Wouldn't you?
Not answers like "this is what I feeeeel" or "Granny always told me". Or I read a little of the (Bible, Koran, etc) once and .........

Answer 4

Um, sure it'd be lovely to believe that heaven exists. But "wouldn't it be nice" is hardly a solid argument. I mean, it'd be great if people didn't kill each other too. Or if politicians kept promises. It'd be lovely, but I don't belive it.
Not believing isn't a choice, it's simply a failure to be convinced. As an atheists, it's not that I don't like what Jesus or Muhammad or Moses or Buddha said, it's just that I don't actually believe it. In the same way that I think Santa Claus is a lovely fellow, elves are cute, the Tooth Fairy is great and the Easter Bunny is wonderful, but I don't believe they exist, and I think it highly unlikely that I'd ever be able to be convinced otherwise.
It ain't personal mate. I just don't believe in your imaginary friend.

Answer 5

Fanaticism may be fun, but reality is we're all going to die.
You get to live now. Today. Here. This is it.

Learn new things, make good friends, eat good food,
help one another, breathe in air on a mountain top.
When your life ends, so does all the opportunity to
enjoy life. It's over. That's life.

On your tombstone will be the date of your birth and
the date of your death. Between the dates will be a dash.
On your deathbed, think about how you spent that dash.
Hoping for more? Wishing there was something better?

How much better does it get than reality? Birds. Sunshine.
Fuzzy kittens. New babies. Kids laughing. Brownies with
walnuts. This is life. Don't wish and hope for more in the end, that's selfish.

Answer 6

I am agnostic, I get your point, yes it would be nice to believe in something more to life BUT some people are just too logical for religion, they cant see past the fact that there is no proof and it is a very far fetched idea. I would love to have complete faith and really believe that I will be reunited with my family after death but I am just too darn curious and questioning and I cannot just have blind belief in something I see no evidence of. That is why atheists exist, also the simple fact that as you just said people WANT to believe that there is an afterlife, it brings comfort to mortality and THIS is why atheists think its all a crock of poo made up to help people come to terms with their own inevitable death.

Answer 7

It is as much as why do you not believe in Zeus or Odin? If you believe in Zeus or Odin, you will gain immortality in either Paradise or Asgard.

Why would be believe in mythology, and if something happen after death and someone went to heaven, isn't it basic courtesy to send his /her regards from heaven? When was the last time an ascended being come down to send his / her regards?

Like you say, you should think about it rather then believing it blindly. Atheists has thought about it, therefore they are atheists.

IMVAO

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Like you said, If you want to be lied to, why not choose a more colourful religion to be lied to? One that do not force you to be one of their or risk eternal torture (In another word, threaten).

Answer 8

It's not a matter of "what I'd rather" believe, or of not "wanting to believe"

Because, yes, I'd much rather there were an afterlife, and blissful paradise for eternity or whatever.
I would also rather there were no disease or war.
I would rather we all just lived forever if we chose to.
I would rather not have to work for a living.
I would rather have the ability to fly.

But reason and the complete lack of evidence of god or an afterlife is what I am stuck with.

I accept it. I'm sorry you don't have the strength to do that.

Answer 9

I always wondered if they would hope for something when they die. But they will just say it's Pascal's Wager and have alittle drink. Many atheists are followers. not leaders .I'm sure each one of them would love to hope for a place like Heaven..instead they avoid the question at hand and call it Pascal's Wager. I'd like to see a truthful answer rather that a cult like chant I am always seeing here.

Answer 10

Well, sure, it would be really nice to think that there was a Heaven where we could all go and live happily ever after. However, it would also be really nice to find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. :-)
It's a nice thought, but I have no reason to believe that it's anything other than wishful thinking.

Answer 11

But it's not a matter of what we WANT to believe. Heaven is a nice thought, but there are plenty of nice thoughts out there. It'd be nice if someday I will be a millionaire. It'd be nice if I could be in perfect health for the rest of my life. A lot of things would be nice, but that doesn't mean they're going to happen, and it certainly doesn't mean that I'm going to start believing that they will happen just because they sound good.

I don't care about what sounds good; I care about what's true.