For me, it isn't the lack of evidence for the existence of god(s), so much as it is all of the evidence that points to explanations for things that used to be attributed to god, but that we now know have natural (as opposed to supernatural) explanations. Throughout history, some god or another has been touted as the explanation for 'Life, the Universe, and Everything', but scientific inquiry into those very subjects has shown pretty conclusively that god(s) are/were not responsible. In fact, it has been shown that god(s) are not necessary as explanation for anything, really.
Realistically, in the modern era, belief in deities requires faith. In order to believe in god, one must simply believe in god. Trying to use 'god' as the explanation for things doesn't work anymore (except for the stupid), so it all comes down to simply believing what you are told. If no one ever told you there was a god, you would probably not have invented the concept yourself, because there are enough scientific explanations for things these days that inventing god is not necessary.
The bible (I and II) have pretty thoroughly been debunked as myth and are generally accepted as 'allegory' and/or 'metaphor' by a lot of god believers. The source of the myth of 'god' does not stand up to scrutiny. The claims that god is responsible for (list things here) have largely been debunked. What's left? Faith? Why? How is having faith in a supreme being that has never been shown to actually exist a rational belief? How is it any different than believing in pixies and goblins? <-- And there are people that do.
Philosophically, no one can say that they know whether there is a god or not, but I think most atheists can tell you they are pretty convinced that there is not. Considering the things we do know, the existence of an omniscient/omnipotent/omnipresent being does not make any sense. To me, belief in such a thing does not make any sense.
Theists like to take the statements of atheists and play semantic games with the definitions of certain words. Don't do that. You theists know what we mean, so stop trying to cloud the issue by redefining what we say. Religious faith = irrational belief. An irrational belief = delusion.
Why do you want there to be a god so badly? Is it the promise of heaven? Is it the fear of hell? Seriously. You obviously want there to be a god. Why? And before you ask why I do not want there to be a god, let me say that I don't care either way, I just do not believe the claims that there is one.
Realistically, in the modern era, belief in deities requires faith. In order to believe in god, one must simply believe in god. Trying to use 'god' as the explanation for things doesn't work anymore (except for the stupid), so it all comes down to simply believing what you are told. If no one ever told you there was a god, you would probably not have invented the concept yourself, because there are enough scientific explanations for things these days that inventing god is not necessary.
The bible (I and II) have pretty thoroughly been debunked as myth and are generally accepted as 'allegory' and/or 'metaphor' by a lot of god believers. The source of the myth of 'god' does not stand up to scrutiny. The claims that god is responsible for (list things here) have largely been debunked. What's left? Faith? Why? How is having faith in a supreme being that has never been shown to actually exist a rational belief? How is it any different than believing in pixies and goblins? <-- And there are people that do.
Philosophically, no one can say that they know whether there is a god or not, but I think most atheists can tell you they are pretty convinced that there is not. Considering the things we do know, the existence of an omniscient/omnipotent/omnipresent being does not make any sense. To me, belief in such a thing does not make any sense.
Theists like to take the statements of atheists and play semantic games with the definitions of certain words. Don't do that. You theists know what we mean, so stop trying to cloud the issue by redefining what we say. Religious faith = irrational belief. An irrational belief = delusion.
Why do you want there to be a god so badly? Is it the promise of heaven? Is it the fear of hell? Seriously. You obviously want there to be a god. Why? And before you ask why I do not want there to be a god, let me say that I don't care either way, I just do not believe the claims that there is one.