Are you really an atheist?

[Crocoduck]

I was wondering if anyone in this forum considers God to be an impossibility? I understand atheist do not believe God exists, but do you believe God never existed and never will exist?

Microphone to you...

Yes I really am an atheist but your definition of atheism is just a straw man.

[Whitney]

Well of course it's important to you, otherwise you wouldn't be the moderator of an atheist forum.

I don't find the label important.

Actually, I don't understand it. If you truly don't believe there is a God, if you are truly areligious, why even bother talking about it.

Aside from debate being fun from time to time; I wouldn't talk about it or give it much further thought if it were not for the religious influence on both government and society.  Living in a predominantly Christian culture forces atheists to have to think about it at least a little.  It also forces us to choose between hiding our views or working to make it at least less dangerous (socially, employment, and even physically in some areas) to be open about nonbelief.

Why have a forum.

Explanation for why the forum exists is on the main page http://www.happyatheistforum.com/

Why work your way into a prominent position in the forum?

It doesn't take much work to buy a domain and pay for hosting 

Obviously, you have some lack of faith in your lack of faith, yes?

no.

[Crow]

I'm an atheist because I don't think the universe requires a god to be its creator or caretaker and certainly don't believe we were created superior to anything else. Humanity in my eyes is another manifestation of the multiple possibilities of life that can arise on our planet due to its relationship with the sun and planets around it.

The concept of a god is hard to define, even within a single subdivision of one religion. Those who do believe in a god have a personal concept of what is god and is ultimately a manifestation of their self. This is why no evidence will ever be presented to make all people of the world believe in a single god but at the same time there is enough evidence for those that do, in my opinion for the vast majority of believers that foundation of belief is built on sand, and why there has been a constant weakening of the various religions initial teachings.

I'm not looking for evidence of any kind to whether a god exists or not, I started reading religious texts because I was intrigued by others worldview and doing so shocked me at how immoral and mental I found the majority to be, I also found some that were inline with my own way of thinking and worldview and none of those even touched upon the concept of any god. It is honestly not important to me if a god does or doesn't exist but I don't think one does be it the monotheistic, polytheistic, or deistic sense as I don't think they are necessary, especially from what science has been able to present so far.

I don't think it is impossible for a god to exist, I do however think it is highly unlikely and in fear of repeating myself again unnecessary. For argument sake I will consider that the universe was created intentionally but why would that creator be a god? maybe it was an experiment similar to that of the LHC or a programmer creating the equivalent of a video game, would that be worthy of worship? Would the creator/creators still be worthy of a god title? there are so many possibilities and reasons for why that start even more questions and deliver no answers, so why worry about what happens after death when nobody knows and just enjoy the now.

As you do believe in god would you be willing to express your views on the concept in the topic The God Hypothesis?

[DeterminedJuliet]

How in the world could I or anyone possibly know a thing like that?

So, what do you base your atheism on? Why not just be an agnostic?

I think the difference between atheism and agnosticism is really splitting hairs. It really comes down to a world view and about what guides your morals and day to day living - is it based on religious dogma, or isn't it? I'm sure there are a lot of people who call themselves "Christian" who are actually agnostic, or even atheist, who deny the titles because they find the label unsettling. Actually, come to think of it, that's what I did for a while (I'm an ex-Christian)

I like to see proof before making judgment.
At the moment I would consider the chances of meeting the Christian god on par with the chances of meeting Peter Pan's Tinker Bell.

Seriously, what would be the proof that you couldn't doubt?

How about God actually answering prayers or doing any other things he is alleged to do in any real measurable way?

One can't prove a negative, so anything you can think of; e.g. the Flying spaghetti Monster, unicorns, faeries etc. could exist on the logical basis that you can't disprove it. So from this point of view and concept of god(s) could exist. So god is not logically impossible.

But is the existence of a god(s) probably? That's the real question. And then what is the probability that any one of the 10,000+ gods then humans have literary dreamt up are actually the right god.

I don't believe you think that concretely. I think you're too smart for that. Of course there have been many versions of God. I suppose the last being Islam's version. But those are all just revelations of God, some better some worse. But any thinking person knows that God is something far greater and more abstract—even than the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So, tell me, are you really waiting for a burning bush?

The prevalence of the belief in God does not indicate that God actually exists, it indicates that there is something in the human psyche that is drawn to supernatural belief. There are a lot of theories as to why this is the case. Tank wrote a really good one recently, actually. (psst. Where is that again, Tank?)

I'm happy to state unequivocably that there is no god.

Doesn't that kind of make you the redneck version of an atheist?

What?  ???

I would consider myself to be less certain about a deistic god or gods, but the ones described by theists both look too human and too much like the people describing them at times to take them seriously. A much simpler explanation would be that both people and cultures mold these god concepts to suit their own purposes and that if there is a god or gods, then theism is not representative of them.

It's also wholly possible that some sort of god exists that no human has ever dreamed up yet. Can't prove that assertion wrong...

Ultimately, I don't know (agnostic) but I don't believe (atheist), at least until I find that there's sufficient reason to believe.

Added to which you don't think it's important enough to bother searching. I mean, you're not really searching for God, either, are you?

I spent the first 18 years of my life as a religious Christian. I went to several "Christian camps", I got a cross tattoo. I did all of the right things and prayed for all of the right things. It is a Christian illusion that the reason atheists exist is because they just won't "look". Many of us did look, or were raised with a very strong belief background, but it just didn't hold up. I gave "God" and "Jesus" every reasonable chance imaginable.

I am vey much an atheist. While there is no solid evidence to disprove of a god(s) existing, there is no evidence to prove he does.

What about the fact that the universe seems to operate according to hard and fast rules?

That indicates order, it doesn't indicate a sentient being who wishes to send people to heaven/hell.

I live my life as if a god is not there, because in all of recorded history no god has come down from space.

Do you think God is an alien?

He certainly seems to be described as one. What do you think he is? Where do you think heaven is?

Even in the dellusion of a god, these...lower level humans create disgusting things. I truly believe god is a man made dellusion used as a security blanket, or to control the idiots willing to waste their lives in worship of an invisible being.

But you believe in evil. On what do you base that belief? If atheism is true, how can anything be considered evil. Wouldn't you have to say that those evil stimuli you experience are just that, noxious stimuli to you personally as an organism, but not evil. Right?

What you are saying is that an atheist cannot have a definitive basis for morality. I think that's a whole other thread to be discussed, really.

An atheist is someone who doesn't believe in god; not necessarily someone who thinks it's possible to know with no doubt that a god doesn't exist or never existed.

I don't believe in god.

I acknowledge that some deist or pantheist idea of god is not outside possibility but there is no proof of one either.

So, yes, that would make me an atheist.

I also don't care if you want to label me as atheist or not...it's really not that important to me.

Well of course it's important to you, otherwise you wouldn't be the moderator of an atheist forum. Actually, I don't understand it. If you truly don't believe there is a God, if you are truly areligious, why even bother talking about it. Why not just go your own way as an organism being stimulated by various environmental conditions? Why have a forum. Why work your way into a prominent position in the forum?

Obviously, you have some lack of faith in your lack of faith, yes?

We talk about it because religion is highly politicized. If I'm sitting on the bus, do I really care if the person sitting next to me is a Christian/Atheist/Muslim/Wiccan? No, of course not. But, religion is still very prevalent, and it's nice to have a "safe place" to go to.

[Sweetdeath]

OP, why exactly do I have to be religious in order to see horrible people doing evil things. Look at any news paper in any country.
You make no sense. I am making a point that I can be a loving humanitarion without being religious or having a belief in a god(s.)
Almost every horrible mass murder is created in god's name, ie: Oslo masacre and recent belgium attack.
Don't even let me get into the middle east and africa extreme radicals.

[Stevil]

I like to see proof before making judgment.
At the moment I would consider the chances of meeting the Christian god on par with the chances of meeting Peter Pan's Tinker Bell.

Seriously, what would be the proof that you couldn't doubt?

Seriously, why do you believe without proof or evidence?
Why don't you carry that same logic through to all the other gods or mythical or fictional characters?

[Sweetdeath]

I like to see proof before making judgment.
At the moment I would consider the chances of meeting the Christian god on par with the chances of meeting Peter Pan's Tinker Bell.

Seriously, what would be the proof that you couldn't doubt?

Seriously, why do you believe without proof or evidence?
Why don't you carry that same logic through to all the other gods or mythical or fictional characters?

I don't get that either.
They dismiss Zeus, Odin, Izanagi , etc so easily...but not Christ. Oh brother.

[xSilverPhinx]

I would consider myself to be less certain about a deistic god or gods, but the ones described by theists both look too human and too much like the people describing them at times to take them seriously. A much simpler explanation would be that both people and cultures mold these god concepts to suit their own purposes and that if there is a god or gods, then theism is not representative of them.

It's also wholly possible that some sort of god exists that no human has ever dreamed up yet. Can't prove that assertion wrong...

Ultimately, I don't know (agnostic) but I don't believe (atheist), at least until I find that there's sufficient reason to believe.

Added to which you don't think it's important enough to bother searching. I mean, you're not really searching for God, either, are you?

I would prefer that you try not to put words in my mouth, I already have hordes of self-proclaimed experts on 'me' as it is.

I come to an atheist forum, I've already been a member and posted on a couple of Christian forums. I even obsess a little about religion.

What theists say just isn't good enough. They don't provide any compelling evidence, and they don't provide any good enough reason to believe on pure faith, in the absence of evidence. I will base what I think on what I know, not recognise that I am ignorant and so accept the first under-thought god of the gaps argument that comes my way.

Confirmation bias is a problem. If you go looking for something that is interpretational, you will find it. Problem is, god is not measurable, is not falsifiable and so can not be known with certainty. Belief is not a choice, I have high standards that have to be met before I believe.

Plus the whole god thing just isn't important to me, I'm not looking for anything based on emotional reasons rather than actual reasoned and as-scientific-as-possible.

[Gawen]

I like to see proof before making judgment.
At the moment I would consider the chances of meeting the Christian god on par with the chances of meeting Peter Pan's Tinker Bell.

What he said...*grinnin*

[DeterminedJuliet]

Belief is not a choice, I have high standards that have to be met before I believe.

I agree with this. It's like the whole pascal's wager tomfoolery. Even if you wanted to believe in something, it doesn't mean that you can. When I was in the process of becoming atheist, there were many many times that I wished I could go back to unwavering faith. I just couldn't. I'm much happier for it now, but human brains aren't switches. We're all a huge bundle of genetics, experiences, thoughts and feelings.

[Asmodean]

I was wondering if anyone in this forum considers God to be an impossibility?

Some do. Me, I just don't care.

I understand atheist do not believe God exists,

That's what atheism is about, really, only we do apply it to more than the one god you are talking about.

but do you believe God never existed and never will exist?

Believe it..? No. but I do assume as much until proven otherwise.

[Sandra Craft]

How in the world could I or anyone possibly know a thing like that?

So, what do you base your atheism on? Why not just be an agnostic?

I base it on my belief that a universe without a god makes more sense than a universe with a god, so until somebody provides something concrete in the way of proof that's how I live -- as if there were no god.

[Will]

I see god or gods as the least likely explanation for any data. Even if god appeared before me and demonstrated things I'd understand to be impossible, a better explanation would be that I'm witnessing advanced technology. Based on that line of logic, I'd say that I really don't believe and I'm deeply concerned about those who do believe, even those who are good, well-meaning people.

[xm1]

So why is there a thread for us to restate everything everyone has already discussed from the beginning of the forum, did you just not care to read through any of it?


My view is atheist, specifically that the christian god strictly does not exist, based on the first two decades of my life being raised a baptist and praying and worshiping and singing and praising as I was taught to.  World events, an education, and some seriously stupid things that our church had done over the years helped me to spend time reconsidering my faith.  I didn't get here because of my views on science or scientific method, that all kinda came later for me as I branched out and learned what others thought.  I really got here following my heart and my feelings.  Everything I had been through and done in the end I should have at least known he was with me or felt something that told me I should hold strong and believe. What I had was nothing.  What my family had, was nothing, save for each other.

What I found when I realized HE was not there was amazing, suddenly my world made sense, and the pieces all fit together.  I didn't have to struggle to try to bend reality around in my head to try to make up for why his word isnt reflected in the real world. 

[BullyforBronto]

OP: "Are you really an atheist?"

Yes, I am.

My three-year-old son? I'm not so sure he is. Last week I was watching him have trouble building a castle with his blocks. When one of his towers fell, he exclaimed "JESUS CHRIST!"

Now, where do you suppose he learned that?