Question:
A Question For Atheists and Why They Believe?
<3Desi<3
2011-01-02 18:30:15 UTC
Atheist people who don't believe in God, why don't you believe in a higher power or God? Is it because of a situation in your life (personal) or because it's not cool or you grew up like that?
I'm a Christian, and i was wondering why don't y'all at least believe that there is something bigger than us. I can't look at the stars, sun, animals, humans, ect. and not say there is no God. The Big Bang Theory, what is up with that? You are really going to say that this diverse beautiful world just happened by accident. The sun is placed at the perfect point if it was moved any closer to the earth we would burn up or if it was any farther we would freeze to death. Take the human brain. It is so diverse, that the Big Bang Theory got nothing on the human brain. And you say there is no God or higher power (whatever you prefer).
I hope that little "tib bit" made you think before you answer the question. I love to know why atheist are what they are.

So be as brutal and blunt as you want. I want you to tell me how you fell about it.
;D thanks guys
28 answers:
?
2011-01-02 18:34:16 UTC
I just don't feel like God's real. Doesn't seem right in my head. The fact that there's no evidence for an even higher power is partly why.
2011-01-02 18:41:03 UTC
Why don't you believe in a higher power or God?



1. God is not probable in light of current scientific evidence.

2. I find God to be evil.

3. No religion has anymore credibility than any other one. The only reason you are a christian is because of where you were brought up. Had you been brought up in india... You'd more than likely be hindu.

4. The mistranslations and contradictions in the bible.



Why don't y'all at least believe that there is something bigger than us?

No reason to.



Take the human brain. It is so diverse, that the Big Bang Theory got nothing on the human brain.

We have an understanding of how the brain evolved.
?
2011-01-02 18:48:51 UTC
So, it sounds like you're really being honest here. (?)



I *was* a Christian. The "brand" of Christianity I came from relies on "The Book." I actually studied it and found that it contradicts itself all over the place, states things that aren't even true to itself internally (the primary one being that Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecies of a coming Jewish Messiah made in writings in the same book), and just generally really doesn't make sense where it really, really needs to.



All of that doesn't necessarily destroy the possibility of the existence of "God" or "a god." But then I began to investigate what I thought I had experienced within, and realized that any guidance or sense of some higher being really never identified itself. I believe that it's possible that there are some kind of "higher" or disembodied beings that may sometimes help or influence us, but this is not necessarily "God," and I really have no proof of any of that anyway. I would also say that it's possible that we can access a higher part of ourselves, which may seem like it's "someone else" but actually isn't. (Try writing a book on a subject you are passionate about, or creating art, and see what you experience.) And finally, I found just how easy it is for me to mislead myself into thinking things are a certain way when actually, they aren't.



So, I found that it's often just better to say, "I don't know." Realizing that I have not found or been shown any real evidence in support of the existence of a god, I am comfortable waiting for it to show up, and in the meantime, stating that the "God" of the religion I once knew (which people told me was not a religion) does not appear to exist. IF there is some higher being who is really omnipresent, that would mean that It is boundless/everything. If that's the case, It really can't be said to "exist." If "something" exists, it is definable and limited by boundaries.



How can infinity be said to "exist"? How can one define what has no boundaries?



-edit-



P.S. Btw, about the universe and trees and animals and diversity and our planet with its "perfect" position in the solar system (not so much, really) being evidence of God, there is such a concept as "emergent properties." If you're interested, here's a place to begin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergent_property
lainiebsky
2011-01-02 18:43:01 UTC
I don't believe because I spent years looking for the truth about a god and finally had to admit that there was not one speck of evidence that any god existed or was necessary. I grew up Christian, had a born-again experience when I was about 13, started finding the holes in the religion when I was about 17, and spent the next few decades trying to convince myself that SOME benevolent god was out there.



Are you aware that the earth's orbit varies by something like 5 million kilometers from one part of the year to another? And you think that if it moved even a little we wouldn't be able to live here? I bet you can't even tell me without looking it up when the earth is closest to the sun and when it's furthest. The life that exists on earth is the life that could thrive here. It's rather arrogant to believe that humans were created, then an entire universe built to give them a pretty place to live.



Scientists who have studied the human brain in great detail tend to say that no engineer in his right mind would design something so unnecessarily complicated and that it looks exactly like what you'd expect from parallel evolution of separate systems. Only those who know very little about it think it looks designed.
?
2011-01-06 07:52:57 UTC
it part situation in my life and how you can look at whats happening in 3rd world countries with all the rape,genocide,civil war,poverty,starvation in the world and say there is a god that loves and cares about everyone in the world. not believing in god have nothing to do with social status. Not all atheist believe in the big bang theory,or evolution the only thing all atheist share is a lack of a belief in a god not a science book. Who said it was all by accident? In fact there are studies that suggest the sun is going to blow up the earth
?
2011-01-02 18:56:15 UTC
I'm not going to say that I'm atheist, I would call myself agnostic. I have trouble believing in god because there isn't significant evidence and because of personal reasons. Also, I don't believe in the big bang theory, I'm not sure how the universe started and maybe someday I'll know. I agree that there are things in the world that seem almost too perfect, maybe planned but almost doesn't do it for me. Another thing is that when you experience real pain it can either pull you closer to your faith or further. For me after all the pain I've had it pulled me further from god. I live in a small town and there is only one other atheist that I know of that live in the same town. Everyone else is a christian. Once we had a muslim kid who was bullied and harassed until he became "christian". Almost every week I get bullied over my beliefs by these socalled christians. They say the most hateful things to me. Also, I don't like that a lot of christian (not all) are so prejudice against everything but themselves. I'm not sure if god is real or if any god is real. If there is a god I would like him/her/it to prove it. I'm sorry if my answer offended you but it is my truth.
2011-01-02 18:51:20 UTC
I like your reasoning. But don't assume that just because Atheists don't believe in your God, that we haven't asked these questions ourselves!!



The simple truth is. What you call God, we call science. What you see as "intelligent design", we see "obeys the laws of physics". None of the stars, animals, earth, sun, human brain etc make me think "there must be a God".



In fact, it all works and makes perfect sense without a God. It all worked for 13.75 BILLION YEARS before Jesus and the Christian notion of God came along.



The universe and everything within it is far more amazing than "God". So please don't belittle it.



The much bigger question is "why do you feel the need to believe in a God?". Is understanding and exploring the world around you not incredible enough??
cswolffe
2011-01-02 18:41:04 UTC
Most atheists, myself included, do not believe in god simply because we see no evidence for god's existence.

Big Bang and Evolution do not postulate that things happen or that complex life happens just by chance. I suggest you do further reading to educate yourself before you begin to dismiss our claims with such an ignorant argument. Ignorant, in this case, is not an insult, it is simply a description. You are ignorant of how Evolution works, and you are ignorant of the details of the Big Bang Theory.

Now, about the sun. Life exists the way it does BECAUSE of the conditions found on earth. IF the earth were closer or further from the sun, then conditions would be different, and life would have evolved differently. Your argument is called the 'anthropic principle' and it is one we encounter often. Think of a puddle. That puddle might well conclude that because the hole it lies in so perfectly fits it, that the hole MUST have been designed just for it. That is the logic you just used.

If you have further question, just message or email me, and I will be more than willing to discuss this in an amicable manner.
2011-01-02 18:39:21 UTC
There is no evidence for any god at all nor a rational argument in favor of god belief.



I grew up Christian.





Lots of things are bigger and more powerful than me, lots of people for that matter. That doesn't mean there are magic men in the sky.



Not by accident, by natural phenomenon for which evidence does exist.



Of course the big Bang theory says nothing about the evolution and physiology of the brain. Why would it? Are you even aware of what the Big Bang is? Germ theory doesn't say anything about economics either. Apples to oranges.
2011-01-02 18:38:59 UTC
I can infer that you're uneducated.

Yes, I do think there are things bigger than us, like elephants, oceans, and stars.

What do you mean 'What's up with the Big Bang Theory?' Why don't you try learning about it and discovering it as the moment time and space began. duh.



"Take the human brain. It is so diverse, that the Big Bang Theory got nothing on the human brain."

I"LL SAY! The development of the human brain has nothing to do with the Big Bang Theory. Read a biology textbook, genius.
雅威的烤面包机
2011-01-02 18:57:29 UTC
I don't believe in any gods because I haven't been shown any reason to. It has nothing to do with situations in my life. It has nothing to do with being cool. I didn't grow up as an atheist.



The Earth moves towards and away from the sun every year. We have a lot of wiggle room.



The Big Bang Theory only deals with the expansion of the universe. Evolution deals with biological matters.



Your "tib bit" [sic] did not make me think. It's simplistic. It shows that you haven't bothered questioning what you think.
Pirate AM™
2011-01-02 18:57:17 UTC
Let's be clear on something before you continue to spread the lie. The earth is not in a "perfect position" and it has a large range where it could be while still allowing life as we know it to exist perfectly fine. Further, the more that we learn the more we see that life can exist in under extreme conditions and thus life, perhaps not as we are used to, could exist in an even broader range.



Based on what you have said, you refuse to learn about what we know and blithely look at the stars and think "these have to be created", you go on to look around you and just like a mud puddle you think, this pot hole suits me perfectly, it must have been created just so I could form. I, on the other hand, once thought similar thoughts along with ones like "those silly scientists, thinking that the big bang and evolution are true, they obviously have not considered all these creationist claims."



However, when my daughters started learning science in school, I decided that I wanted to be able to show the why creationism was scientifically true, so I started to objectively research various claims. What I found that the best thing that can be said about creation science is that it is intellectually dishonest, but the better way to describe it is that is is a money making sham dedicated to ripping off gullible believers. When I researched evolution, thinking I would easily find gaping holes and huge jumps to unsupported conclusions, I found it to be solid and supported by a massive amount of supporting evidence which was further confirmed by other branches of science.



This was not what I thought I'd find and definitely did not agree with the Bible. I thought to myself, obviously the rest of the Bible must have evidence if it actually happened, so I started to research the Flood, Tower of Babel, Exodus and finally Jesus, especially those events around Jesus' life that would have been recorded by others. What I found is that there is not a shred of evidence for any of these things and indeed they do not fit with what we know about history. I also examined the "evidence" that people point out to show that Jesus existed. Unsurprisingly, I found nearly the same level of intellectual dishonesty going on in nearly every claim I checked. Specifically, I remember one apologist claiming that a Babylonian tower built in 600 BCE was evidence of the tower of Babel while another claimed that a trade road from Egypt to Canaan was evidence of the Exodus.



I realized that while absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, clearly if the Bible was true there should be undeniable evidence and it simply does not exist (not to mention that there is a great deal of evidence that shows different events occurred). After this it was plain to see that either the god of the Bible was a bold face liar or it did not exist.



So, no problems, no disappointments, no reason to leave God other than objectively checking the facts.



Edit:

Oh, I should mention that I also reread the Bible from a very objective sense. In other words, I read it not as I had been taught to understand what it meant, but from the viewpoint that it meant what it said and just like I would for any article or non-fiction book. I was amazed at what a capricious god was described, how immoral some of it was (you can beat your slave so long as he doesn't die, and if you rape your female slave and she has children, you either need to sell them together or marry her).
80s Face
2011-01-02 18:39:34 UTC
When you talk about diversity, are you referring to the irreducible complexity argument that got shot down a long time ago? I stopped being a Christian after realizing how objectively, no religion is any more plausible than the other. I was also disillusioned by how much conflict is involved in religion, and that the survival of modern religions was based on military and political ruthlessness.
?
2011-01-02 18:35:07 UTC
Its a little insulting that you assume I can't come to the conclusion based on logic. The thing is I don't see any evidence for a god. What you see as evidence is in fact not evidence of a supreme being at all. It is what it is but I have no idea how it got there.
?
2011-01-02 18:37:01 UTC
What makes you think homo sapiens are the chosen people of god? At one time we shared this planet with at least three or more humanoid species. Just because we came out on top is no sign we are most beloved of god. Perhaps we murdered his people eons ago and covered it up with Noah's flood story? How about that conspiracy? Prove the story of the talking snake and then we'll talk.
Nathan
2011-01-02 18:39:03 UTC
Because I believe that life is a one off thing for us all and you are to make the best of it.



I spent my time studying and qualifying in a good profession and I'm only young. I also own my own property.



I didn't waste my time thinking "God will provide" and listening to fairy stories. I got off my @rse and got where I am by my own doing.
GREEN ALIEN
2011-01-02 18:39:45 UTC
Most Atheists were raised in a religion, then started doing research. The conclusion was that there obviously was never a god. Most religious believe w/o questioning their belief. If you do your research, you too will understand why we don't believe.
jethom33545
2011-01-02 18:43:12 UTC
I don't believe in any gods,especially yours.I'm capable of rational thought and using critical thinking skills.This prevents the magical thinking that's invaded your brain.



Your follow up paragraph is just uneducated drivel,not worthy of response.This little "tid bit" made me think you are poorly educated.Atheists are what they are because they aren't stupid.
2011-01-02 18:32:16 UTC
Question: Atheist people who don't believe in God, why don't you believe in a higher power or God?
Brianna
2011-01-02 19:16:50 UTC
I don't believe in God for the same reasons I (and you) don't believe in Odin or Thor or Allah- the main one being no evidence.
?
2011-01-02 18:41:58 UTC
i don't believe because there is no reason to believe,there's no proof of a higher being,i don't believe the nonsense in the bible,never did even as a child
2011-01-02 18:34:36 UTC
Trollolololololololol
?
2011-01-02 18:32:56 UTC
Neither God nor random chance created the universe, it was cause and effect. Karma. The other two views are to me very arrogant and lazy at the same time.
Regwah
2011-01-02 18:33:39 UTC
So the universe is too complicated to have formed itself, so something bigger & more complicated must have made it, yeah that makes sense.
Tomo
2011-01-02 18:31:55 UTC
"why don't you believe in a higher power or God"



Total lack of evidence to support the god hypothesis
2011-01-02 18:36:58 UTC
Why don't you believe in the Tooth Fairy?



...Or do you?
tomtomtom
2011-01-02 18:34:06 UTC
Because theres no such thing?
2011-01-02 18:32:13 UTC
You don't get this yet, do you?


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