Atheists whats up?

Question

A couple days ago I asked a few questions. if you want to see them take a look at my profile. I asked if you believed in life in other planets.. most of you thought it was very likely. I asked if you believed these aliens visted us and helped ancient civilazations ie built the pyramids, higher mathmatics. Again most felt that this was likely ..not as likely as the first question i asked but still many believed in this. I then asked about the human brain, having higher powers ie Telekinesis. Many of you felt this was unlikely but were open to the idea of it being possible, and others outright believed it to be possible, My last question was about an afterlife..not heaven but some sort of existence after death. Again most answered it was unlikely or just not so. But a few answered that it was possible Talking about energy being released and existing in another form. All these are not proven, some things are outright fanciful. Yet you were open to the possibility..

So why not God?

Answer 1

Which god? Zeus? Thor?



Life on other planets is mathematicaly proveable. If life is a billion in one chance and we know of two billion planets, there is life elsewhere.



Our brains are already using all of themselves so where exactly would we suddenly get the ability to move things with our mind?



If aliens came to this planet it would be to kill us off and take our natural resources. Apex predators don't care about what happens to the prey beneath them.



I am open to there being a god, as long as that god provides proof. I know for 100% fact that it is definitely not the Christian god.

Answer 2

1. The universe is extremely vast and we are living proof that life is possible. It takes a lot of arrogance to pretend that this is the only planet where life developed.



2. There is no solid evidence of aliens visiting Earth. The pyramids were built by humans. The proof is in the graffiti they scrawled on the inside as they were building them.



3. Telekinesis and telepathy are unlikely because there is no solid evidence. However, radios and cell phones prove that it is possible to transmit signals over the air waves, so telepathy is hypothetically possible.



4. God and an afterlife are not supported by any evidence. There has never been anything mentioned as evidence of God or an afterlife that did not have a more likely rational explanation. Quite often, that explanation is that people hallucinate, misinterpret what they see, or lie. Human witnesses are some of the weakest evidence that you can use in a court of law.

Answer 3

Good question. First of all, I don't think any rational person will argue that anything has a 0% chance of being possible. Including god. So then what we're left with is varying shades of gray in the realm of possibility. We have likelihoods.

With the sheer number of stars in the known universe, the statistical likelihood of there being life elsewhere in the universe is great. And I think that most astronomers and physicists would agree that the likelihood that we humans are the only example of intelligent life in the universe is quite small. The idea that intelligent extraterrestrial life has visited Earth is a lot more of a stretch. But there have been people who have produced some compelling evidence to support it. Same with psychic abilities. Same with life after death. So a reasonable person can (and I believe should) entertain and even research the possibility of those things. But religion has offered absolutely no credible empirical evidence to support its claims that a perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing god created the universe for no knowable reason. And that he currently watches our little lives unfold with great interest even though he already knows how everything is going to turn out. The total lack of evidence combined with the enormous implausibility of the idea and the staggering number of inconsistencies and self-contradictions within religion puts the likelihood of it at very near zero.

That's why not God.

Answer 4

Because there is a huge difference between highly advanced, but naturally occurring, aliens, or real but unexplained natural powers or effects compared to an infinite being who created the universe.



Where did such a being come from? If it to is naturally occurring - i.e. it evolved and developed to become what it is now, then it becomes a highly advanced alien, not a god any more than we are gods.



In the next ten years we will create artificial designer life in the lab. Will that make us gods? Or just technologically advanced beings?





Finally I am open to the possibility of all of the above. However there is no hard evidence for any of it. Much of the evidence that would be required by these hypotheses is totally absent, apart from life on other planets. So, until you produce some hard evidence to show otherwise:



There is no known life on other planets.

Aliens did not visit us to build the pyramids.

(BTW your 'many believed this' was 3 rather skeptical maybes. 28 definate nos and one bible thumper.)

There are no ESP powers.

There is no life after death.



There is no god.

Answer 5

Yes, I believe in life on other planets. Why? Because the probability is so great due to the vastness of the universe and the amount of planets and stars. Since we've come to being, there has to be another lifeform out there.. And, it's possible that they could have visited us as those lifeforms may have been around longer and may have the resources and technical know-how to do such things.



There are many functions of the brain we just don't understand. Again, it's possible, though not probable.



No, I don't believe in an afterlife. So, no argument there.



As for god... there is absolutely no credible evidence that one or many exist. Just the fact that every society has had one makes it even more improbable. Which one would be right? We know why gods were created. They were created to explain the unexplainable. Pure and simple. Religions were built around these archaic beliefs to control the masses and possibly unite them.

Answer 6

The belief in the existence of either Extraterrestrial or homo superior powers does not necessarily require the same kind of leap that the leap of faith requires.



The problem I have always had with the belief in god is two-fold.



One, the problem of evil. Its an existential problem that I have always had with the belief of god. If god is the Omni-god I.E. Omnipotent, Omniscient etc. shouldn't our world be populated with nothing but good and everything that is pure and righteous? The answer to that is, well god is testing you. The rebuttal is rather flip but still valid. "Bully to him. I believe therefore bad things shouldn't happen to me."

Second, is the nature of belief in the first place. There is a philosopher by name of Anselm of Canterbury who wrote a really compelling dissection of the nature of belief in three parts.



1. god is, by definition, a being greater than which nothing can be conceived (imagined).

2. Existence in reality is greater than existence in the mind.

3. god must exist in reality; if god did not, then god would not be that than which nothing greater can be conceived (imagined).



The only problem with that is in the case of someone who has no concept of god at all. A person who has no idea of what god is or should be Judeo-Christian or otherwise. That argument would make no sense and be of little use to that person.



There is just one more problem with your concept and the apparent question. The question belies a problem with the definition of god and the nature of faith. It lies in two words.

Free Will.

If you define god as all knowing. A being that knows the entirety of everything, period, then every decision has been made for me (presupposing that you are correct and god exists). I have no free will. i have been created this way, and I have no choice in the matter of belief. When you sat and wrote this question it had already been written for you eons and eons ago by a disembodied spirit that guides us to something which I have no "real" control over.



Then comes the nature of faith. The second defintion of the word on Dictionary.com defines it as



belief that is not based on proof



If this is the case, and I had no choice in the matter, it was decided for me since the beginning and hence the end of time, faith is not possible. Because belief imply s that you had the free will to give your faith, hence, the absence of Free Will creates an Absence of Faith.



So while I might accept the possibility of Extra-terrestrial life, or the possibility of Homo-superior. I can not under these circumstances accept the possibility of god's existence. You however are free to believe what ever you want. Because my beliefs do not require yours.

Answer 7

*Ahem*



You are a fool.



There is a distinct possibility of alien life because there is precedent for it: Life on Earth. All that is needed is a planet close to the size of Earth in the "life zone" around a star.



There is no evidence of intelligent alien influence in human history. It is very, very remotely possible, but there is neither evidence nor precident for it. There is no reason to believe this claim.



There is no evidence that TK or other ESPer powers exist at all. There is no precident for them either. The existence of these abilities is so unlikely as to be virtually impossible. I await evidence for them. Until evidence is presented, I will remain intensely skeptical.



There is no evidence of an afterlife. There is no precident. I remain disbelieving until evidence is presented and tested.



There is no evidence of your god. There is no precedent for your god. I remain disbelieving until evidence is presented and tested.



Not all atheists are like me. Some are more educated in relevent fields (ie: physics, astronomy, etc...). Others are considerably less so. Some are more skeptical than I am about everything. Others are more open than I.



The existence of atheists who believe in historical alien intervention, ESPer abilities, or an afterlife does not in any way address the defining characteristic of atheists: The lack of belief in a god.

Answer 8

There is a difference between *possible* and *probable*



I think it is possible and may be probable that there is life on other planets. While there is no evidence, there is a logical assumption to be made.



It might be possible (but I doubt it) that aliens helped humans develop and build, it is not really probable (according to the laws of physics as we now understand them, inter stellar space travel would take 100s of years).



I do not think it is possible or probable that telekinesis or psychic power exist. There have been credible studies, there is almost no evidence to support these powers (I am aware of many bogus studies too).



The supernatural (aliens, if they exist would be natural) just doesn't have any logical support or evidence. Sorry, no god.



EDIT



There is no evidence for god. Evidence is something that can be gathered through the senses. I can't see, hear, touch, taste, or smell it. The only proof Christians have for god is a warm fuzzy feeling and a book of old myths. That isn't evidence. You have faith, you believe without evidence (that is what faith means).



So, you get conflicting answers on hypothetical situations, now all atheist can't keep their facts straight? Who cares?

Answer 9

All of the others (except God) have the possibility of being proven through observation. Maybe not with current technology as it stand today. Howefver IF these things DO exist and technology advances far enough then they WILL be able to be critically verified. God, by definition, insists on NOT being able to be proven OR verified. As you folks put it, god ONLY wants us to believe based SOLELY on FAITH.



Now Atheists are NOT saying that they don't admit the "possibility", just that without SOME possible means of verifification they find it unreasonable to believe. Faith is NOT enough for them, there needs to be at least SOME form of verifiability at SOME point in the here and now or a POSSIBILITY of it being developed in the future.



Raji the Green Witch

Answer 10

I am open to the possibility of God, but I think the probability of God, is much less than say aliens.



Atheists in general are open to things that have no solid proof behind them, but it has to be within the realms of possibility.



I think most people realize there are things that our current perception of the universe just cannot fathom. Things like energy, dimensions, alternate universes, and most importantly the connection we all share.



But getting back to God, okay there's no solid proof, but we don't have any answers to how this universe was formed. A creator is a simple answer. I think the problem is more with any current definitions of God. For instance the Bible God, who is angry and jealous, but does it out of love. The God who created an entire universe so people could serve and worship Him. The theology of it all is just so out of proportion with what a creator would really be like that it makes it hard to believe in.



I believe there is something greater than me, but I don't believe in something that can be defined simply as God. There is no evidence (worth mentioning) that shows that a higher being has anything to do with this world.



Hope that helps.

Answer 11

I think because how the concept of God is defined, at least in the western society. One must have "faith" in God which suggest there is no proof, even though religious people claim they speak with or experience God. If they experience it, why the need for faith? It's like having faith that you are alive.



Scientifically, there is no need for faith in God. The proof is the creation. If there is creation, there is a creator or creating force. Everything is made from it, so in essence, everything is from it and will return to it eventually. This fits in all major religions.



When I was an atheist, I did not believe in God when it was under the context of religion. It seemed illogical that God would make us with the chance to suffer forever in hell, or live happily in heaven forever. Everything in life is apart of some cycle. This is proven scientifically, and even spiritually. Why should the life of a human soul be any different? We came from god or force of creation, we have to return (sometime).

Answer 12

i answered these questions actually. i said life on other planets was probable because out of the trillions upon trillions of planets out there and over the course of eternity (idk how old the universe is) life probably formed on some other planet. i said no these alians probably didnt help ancient people because it was illogical for them to help. why would they? how could they have gotten there? wouldnt there have been anything written down that some mysterious people came from the skies to help build the pyramids? telekinesis i said was not possible because your mind cannot exert a physical force. neurons firing action potentials cannot lift anything or push anything. i said i didnt believe in an afterlife. this conclusion i made from what i know of dead and the fact that i dont believe in a soul. no soul, nothing to live later in an afterlife thus no afterlife if there is nothing to live in it. all my answers i made from logic. logically we cant be the only life form in the universe just because we havent seen any other life on other planets. logically it would have taken billions of years for any possible life to enter this solor system traveling at the speed of light (which is impossible). ive already answered how logically telekenises is impossible and how ive come to the conclusion that there was no life after death. god however defies all logical thinking and therefore since god defies the laws of logic, physics, and any other types of laws out there. that is why i say god is impossible. you cant talk about the existance of god and logic simultaneously.

Answer 13

I agree on there being a difference between possible and probable.



Life on other planets is both possible and probable. There is a some evidence especially from exploration on Mars that conditions existed that would have allowed for life on this planet. Also, life doesn't necessarily mean little green alien men!!!! It could have been bacteria, single celled organisms, etc.



Second could aliens have helped ancient civilizations. Not probable or in my mind even possible. Again, life on other planets doesn't mean little green men!!!!



No "God" for me!!!! There is nothing you can do to prove that God exists cause indeed he does not.



Read "The God Delusion" or "God: The Failed Hypothesis".

Answer 14

Atheists do not believe in an afterlife. Period. If someone says they do, they are not Atheists, they may be Agnostic I don't know or care.



Aliens, or any kind of life on other planets, have nothing to do with religion, their potential existence is more to do with statistics and probabilities. God(s) is a creation made up by primitive people to help them understand the world around them, and then later as a way to control those people by those in in power.

Answer 15

Aliens could very well exist. We know life evolved on this planet, so why not others? We established a precident.



The others we didn't buy because there was no evidence to support them. Just as there is no evidence to support a god. There is no evidence to support telepathy or aliens visiting.



But unlike alien life, for which there is a precident, we have no precident for god. We have never seen a god, we have never seen a bit of a god or an act of god or any reason to suspect there is a god. And that's why we don't buy it.

Answer 16

Because there is overwhelming evidence that points to God not being real.



Where with all those other phenomenons you talk about, there is small evidence of its possibility and also the science of probability.



Its not that we believe in certain things without proof, its that we can SEE the proof of something not being real.

Answer 17

I am an Atheist. I used to be a Christian.



There is no God. In that alone I am 100% confident.



Given the size of the universe it is very likely that life exists elsewhere. Given the size of the universe, it is very unlikely that we will ever be contacted by other life forms.



There is no life after death. Yes, the energy that we are composed of will survive. But we as individuals will not.



There is nothing spiritual and there are no mind over matter powers. People cannot talk to ghosts. People cannot bend spoons with their mind.



I just read one of your questions and your poll results do not correspond with what you wrote above. On the ESP question, an overwhelming majority said, NO, it is not possible. What gives?

Answer 18

I think many things are possible, I don't devote my life to worshiping them however. It's more logical (a lot more logical) that there could be life on other planet than something like God existing. Like wise, but to a way lesser degree, with the other arguments. Except telekinesis, that's just plain silly.

Answer 19

I have read a lot if things in this yahoo answers thing and I really like yours.I am questioning myself about this..and I really don't believe in God..but..if there is evil and I KNOW that there is evil I have seen the eyes of the devil. So if I believe in evil,demons,spirits and such..well..why wouldn't there be good things? You hear about angels helping people and good things as well as evil things.I am not making sense here am I? What I am saying basically is this..does good exist with evil?

Answer 20

I can't believe how many people I'm hearing say that there is no evidence that God exists. Look around, there is a universe, an earth, animals, plants and you. There is your evidence. This can not be an accident. . Science cannot explain it no matter how hard it tries. Remember that much of science is theory that is taught as fact. It is sad that many people believe that they are just accidents. I am not.

People don't want to believe in God because they have to accept that he is their creator and that he has the power of life and death and judgement. Aliens- oh well, at least they won't judge us for our sin. People are afraid to believe in an all powerful God so they decide to be offended by Him and totally reject any mention of Him as the "answer" to life. They want to remove Him from all public arenas. They claim that those who believe in God are irrational. But who is more inrrational---the one who believes in a God he cannot see or the one who is offended by a God he doesn't even believe in.

Answer 21

There could be an afterlife without God. In fact, the likely hood of a God is so improbably it can only be believed by someone conditioned to believe it, as you appear to be.

Answer 22

Why not unicorns?



I think you will find most atheists will admit the existence of the Biblical god is possible, just highly unlikely. There is no proof that any god exists, and that there is lots of scientific proof that the Bible is not literally true.

Answer 23

I noticed in the Dogs section you talk about "Pit Bulls." Do you know you are referencing an evolved animal. An animal that did not exist in Biblical Times (similar to the American Bull Dog) but evolved to be what it is today through breeding?



Just thought you'd like to know.



A Q for you:



Is God made of matter?



No. Then he does not exist.



See my thread to realize how you sound to us.

Answer 24

Believe what you will but for GODS sake keep it to yourself... This kind of debate just makes me an angry person, get over it and if you don't like the answers you get don't flamin ask these questions it will always draw an intense and mixed response. p.s God who?

Answer 25

whats up is.......if your great master plan was to "catch us" in some sort of lie...you know...like an AH HAAA!! moment and convert anyones beliefs...it's gonna take more than what you have to offer.



people who don't believe in god probably don't believe because ther's all this conflicting stories...and just how many religions are there? 10? 20? 1000?

Answer 26

We all know there is no god, that the whole idea is nothing more than a way to keep ignorant people in line. Why do you constantly try to make us believe in myths?

Answer 27

Give it a rest we do not have to believe in something you do just like you wouldn't understand why we do not believe. Are religions in so much danger they just have to beat the poor dead horse over and over? How lovely we are wrong sheesh so much for open mindedness huh?

Answer 28

I'm an atheist.



I think god is possible... but I personally don't believe it.



I think hard atheism ("god does not exist") is just as difficult to defend as theism.

Answer 29

I have the same attitude about the existence of a deity as I do about all those others.



Show me hard evidence, and I'll believe.

Answer 30

even you say that, that does not mean god is in the picture.

to believe a being look like us controling the everything is not very logical. especially when they say that we need to worship him some more.

i believe the other things you say don't need any worship and it don't condemn us to hell if we don't believe in it or sent to heaven because we believe in it.

Answer 31

I don't get why believers in god are always trying to twist things to try to make believers out of nonbelievers. All most of us want is to be left alone.

Answer 32

Because what you dont realize is that theres plenty of proof that God does not exist.

Answer 33

no only the life on other planets is possible, and i mean AMINO ACIDS. you might be thinking like aliens chillin somewhere.



and MICROSPHERES.



you are very confused about that i can tell.

the rest you may have just made up.



telekineses? thats frustrating you would lie about that.

Answer 34

you see, wolfgame, it's this way. I am open to everything, but choose to believe what I want. Isn't that simple? Smile and be happy.

Answer 35

To answer the BIG question, "Whats up?" I answer time and the rent.

Answer 36

not god.



oh boy i am good, get it. u ask whats up. i said not god. i am the funniest person alive. no i am kidding, i need sleep

Answer 37

When you can prove to MY satisfaction that God exists, then we can talk.

Answer 38

aliens helping earthlings? hmm. i dont think that's possible

Answer 39

Because you're an imbecile...............ah, okay that's kind of harsh......................er, no you are indeed an imbecile.

Answer 40

very good.