Why are you atheist?

[AesronDrosseli]

Throwing a question to all of you who don't believe in the existence of God/a god/The FSM/religion in general. Why so? Were you raised atheist? Were you disillusioned by religion? Was it the in thing at the time? Or did you simply not know otherwise?

Basically, this thread is to let those who disbelieve to show why they don't. I'm intrigued because atheism denies the possibility of a deity, and disproving the existence of a being we cannot see, touch, hear, smell or taste (no, don't go there) must be just as hard as trying to prove the existence of said deity.

Perhaps it would be important to note that there is a difference between atheists. You could either be a positive atheist (absolutely sure that there is no higher power) or a negative atheist (living on the assumption that there isn't a deity, although wholeheartedly admitting that there is a slim slim chance, against all logic, that you could be wrong as it is impossible to prove a negative). If you do answer this thread, please state which one you are and why you believe in your stance.

Of course, anybody of any religious creed can step in and contribute. It's obvious that no flaming is allowed. Honestly, if kept civil I think that this would actually be a good avenue for exchanging knowledge and ideas. Just remember that this time, the limelight is on the atheists. Let them take centre-stage to let the whole world know why they feel what they feel. If you're suffering from stage-fright, take a seat and a small breather before going back up. It is a friendly thing after all (we scanned the clothes of each audience member as they entered the hall).

Discuss, but don't aim for the throat, balls or any sensitive areas.

P.S.
I'm someone who wouldn't really identify with any religion at the mo', but I'm currently looking at all religious/a-religious angles, and it'd be nice to learn from all personal INTELLIGENT opinions.

 

[tycoonist]

you use an antiquated definition of atheism in my opinion. the traditional view of atheism as a belief in the fact that there is no god is ridiculous, as it undermines the very nature of atheism - logic. belief is fundamentally illogical, or at least uncertain, and hence i much prefer to define atheism as an absence of belief in god. it is almost the same but keeps me sane.

so why do i not believe in god is a better question than why are you an atheist. for me atheism is an absence of belief in other opinions for certain reasons. for example, i do not believe in the Christian god, because i have no empirical evidence for his existence. the same can be said for Allah, and the same can be said for the invisible unicorn, and the flying spaghetti monster. i see no reason to believe in any of these entities.

i would struggle to prove that an impersonal god doesn't exist - it is impossible and futile to even try. its easier to demonstrate that a personal god doesn't exist, but it is still fraught with danger - namely religious nutjobs refuting your every argument with their claims of god's transcendental nature, and hence it is impossible to understand his motives.

i have no problem any more with other people believing in god (i did take issue with them for a long period of time), as long as they never use their irrational beliefs in an argument or try and force their beliefs in the way of science and progress. so whilst i have no problem with people going to church every sunday, i have big problems with creationism being taught in schools.

 

[sysyphus]

Good point. There's a difference between "atheism" and "anti-theism". The latter of which has its own set of nutjobs who are, in my opinion, equally as dangerous as their theist counter-parts.

In my opinion, neither the existence nor the non-existence of God has been scientifically proven.

 

[gugalpm]

I was raised a catholic, but I woke up quite early and by 14 I was already an atheist. Studying science only served to reaffirm my beliefs.

There isn't anything beyond the tangible.

 

[Newbunkle]

Atheism just makes more sense. My parents never told me one way or the other, though I was forced to pray and sing hymns at school. If I had understood my rights back then, I would have refused to do so. I never did get why the muslim kid in our class was allowed to sit it out but I wasn't. Its discrimination I tell ya.

 

[AesronDrosseli]

you use an antiquated definition of atheism in my opinion. the traditional view of atheism as a belief in the fact that there is no god is ridiculous, as it undermines the very nature of atheism - logic. belief is fundamentally illogical, or at least uncertain, and hence i much prefer to define atheism as an absence of belief in god. it is almost the same but keeps me sane.

so why do i not believe in god is a better question than why are you an atheist. for me atheism is an absence of belief in other opinions for certain reasons. for example, i do not believe in the Christian god, because i have no empirical evidence for his existence. the same can be said for Allah, and the same can be said for the invisible unicorn, and the flying spaghetti monster. i see no reason to believe in any of these entities.

i would struggle to prove that an impersonal god doesn't exist - it is impossible and futile to even try. its easier to demonstrate that a personal god doesn't exist, but it is still fraught with danger - namely religious nutjobs refuting your every argument with their claims of god's transcendental nature, and hence it is impossible to understand his motives.

i have no problem any more with other people believing in god (i did take issue with them for a long period of time), as long as they never use their irrational beliefs in an argument or try and force their beliefs in the way of science and progress. so whilst i have no problem with people going to church every sunday, i have big problems with creationism being taught in schools.

Interesting.. Forgive me for sounding antiquated but as somebody just loosening himself from the bonds of organised religion I never really thought of atheism till recently.

Therefore, am I right to say that "personal revelations" to you simply represent nothing more than delusional thinking and feeling?

 

[El_Machinae]

Well, the religion I was raised in was false. As I learned enough to excise myself from my faith, I set a decent bar for 'proof' that I require in order to believe in a deity or deities. I've not fully investigated all the possibilities, but none of the major religions have approached this bar. Now, it's the same bar I used to disprove my original religion in a philosophical sense, but as I learn more, there're more questions that need to be answered.

I don't greatly feel the need for there to be any gods, and so I don't spend all my time investigating any possible gods

 

[AesronDrosseli]

Care to elaborate on this bar?

 

[Kerozine]

Mass-energy equivalence, law of conservation of energy, theory of evolution, inconsistencies of religion, etc. Depends what's meant by 'God'.

 

[Phrossack]

I have yet to see any proof of the existence of any supernatural being. You can't prove that God doesn't exist, but then, you can't prove that a purple armadillo didn't cause the Great Depression with laser beams from its eyes, either.

 

[Mathalamus]

im not an atheist but i got disillusioned by religion, espically Christianity.

i didn't know that Christians are allowed to be mean and forceful to other people... hence why i turned my back on the religious part of Christianity.

 

[Kennigit]

I wasn't raised with a faith- never went to any church, never had any relgious beliefs taught to me by my parents. So, I grew up with a lack of faith- more indifferent than atheist. But now, if I were to believe in God/deity/whatever, I'd need to see something that will convince me. I have yet to see that.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Well, I can't say I'm exactly atheist, just that I don't really care all that much about if there's a God or not. If there is, cool. If not, no big deal. I'm not so sure there is a name for this?

But what happened is I woke up one morning and the whole idea of religion didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, like how a lot of them say to not kill others but they do anyway because they believe in the wrong Higher Power. Or how somebody can be perfectly good, but still go to hell because they believed in the wrong Higher Power. Or whatever.

Also, I never went to church younger, although I have a bunch of Bible picture books and things. I still like to dig them out from time to time because the pictures are nice.

 

[Gilder]

I just don't really care one way or the other anymore.

 

[Cheetah]

I was raised in the Church of Norway (Lutheran), not only because it's the state religion, but also because my parents are serious Christians (My mom even works in the Church). Went to Sunday school every week and lots of interaction with and participation in different social activities surrounding the local church.

I should note that my parents (like almost all Christians in Norway) have no problems with the Theory of Evolution or any other aspect of scientific knowledge. My mom would usually explain discrepancies in the Bible and reality by saying that many of the stories in the Bible is not to be taken literally, but by understanding that they convey a message.

As I grew up from being an ignorant child however, more and more of my faith must have withered away.

I actually remember it as if it was yesterday: I was 19, the sky was blue, it was warm and sunny, and I was heading home from the store. As usual I was thinking about this and that, and at one point I came upon the subject of God. I suddenly realised that I didn't believe anymore and was thinking completely rational/logical/scientifically/whatever about it!

I felt like I had broken though my own personal barrier and was finally able to think clearly. It really was a wonderful feeling. I guess that's the closest I will ever come to feeling like a born again Christian or a Buddhist gaining enlightenment.

In short: I simply don't believe. I don't have that "faith" thing people talk about. Not even sure if I ever had it.

 

[Yoda Power]

No one is born theists, I never became one.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Null hypothesis.

 

[Huayna Capac357]

I became disillusioned with religion. There's no proof for it.

 

[Ecofarm]

I don't believe in magic powers.

 

[warpus]

Throwing a question to all of you who don't believe in the existence of God/a god/The FSM/religion in general. Why so? Were you raised atheist? Were you disillusioned by religion? Was it the in thing at the time? Or did you simply not know otherwise?

I was raised Catholic but when I grew up old enough to start asking critical questions, I figured out that people around me only believed in God because they were raised Catholic + out of respect to tradition, and that not even a small suggestion that he exists is out there, not to mention proof.

I was raised to doubt things, so my parents kinda screwed themselves there