Why do you not believe in the concept of a God?

[The Grand Nudger]

John is the first person I've encountered who holds this belief today.

It's a belief as old as christendom, called by many names.  Diabolic preemption being my favorite.  Proto and early christian apologists, responding to the then traditional stories of pagan gods as facts, explained them by positing that satan and demons preempted gods word, in order to lead future men astray.  They made it seem like there were other gods, with stories like the christian gods story.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I made an earlier post called “Why do you hate God”, and needless to say I was quickly and rightfully corrected as to how I structured the question and the incoherent post that followed. For all that responded I thank you for your positive criticism of it and how I can better word my comments.

Now my intent in all this is that I really want to hear from you all as individuals as to why you do not believe in a God or more accurately the concept of a God. I would like to hear what we as Christians call your “testimony” or story as to why you came to the conclusion that you have.

I know there is a list a mile long as to reasons why people do not believe and that’s great, but I am more interested in hearing from the individual as to why they personally do not. What lead you to become an atheist? Were you a believer before you became an atheist? What happened to cause you to turn away from your faith? What religion or God did you follow before you became an atheist if any at all? When you turned away from God what did your friends and family say or do?

I am interested to hear the impact it had on your life. Was it a positive one or a negative one? Are you still struggling with the outcome of your choice? How does it feel to be free from such ideologies and beliefs?

I know there are multiple questions involved with this, but they all together form the story of your personal choice and I think it to be better framed in this way instead of making multiple threads to get the same answer.

I thank you all for your patience and understanding and please feel free to correct me when necessary, on how I can better understand and communicate more efficiently. Thank you for your time!

Assuming that the concept of god that we are talking about is an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good being that freely desires to be worshiped one reason that I do not believe in it is because it has a self-contradictory definition. That is, nothing that is all-good would freely desire to be worshiped. A second reason is that an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good god would prevent evil and since evil is not being prevented such a god cannot exist. (To better understand this second reason you only have to realize that a very loving parent would not subject its innocent child to being raped by a psychopath no matter what the reason might be if the parent had the power to prevent.)

(bold mine)

Why? (The very loving parent analogy fails utterly, by the way)

Boru

[arewethereyet]

"Why do you not believe in the concept of a God?"

Just because a whole bunch of other people believe doesn't make it a thing. I've seen no evidence of a god.

Why do you believe in the concept of a god? Is it how you were raised? Is it what you were told you believe? Have you actually looked into the facts? Has a god appeared to you personally? Are you happier believing in the fairy tale?

[The Grand Nudger]

I could understand the last two, personally.

[zempo]

think about like this the bible said it took Jesus 7 days to create the universe but Jesus died between AD 30 and 36 but the creation of time was created in 1500 bc, they even have a time were Jesus died by quoting "For Jesus' ministry to have begun about AD 29 and extend over three annual Passovers, he could not have been crucified in AD 30. Jesus died, therefore, on 14 Nisan, 3793 anno mundi—Friday, April 3, AD 33 at about 3 p.m., a few hours before the beginning of Passover day and the Sabbath." seems strange... and another thing if fore say the gods made the universe why is there only 2 livable ones? and not all? if god was so good how come he bashes his 2 sons because they don't follow within his rules, why did it take a British person to write the holy bible? history is weird.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

think about like this the bible said it took Jesus 7 days to create the universe but Jesus died between AD 30 and 36 but the creation of time was created in 1500 bc, they even have a time were Jesus died by quoting "For Jesus' ministry to have begun about AD 29 and extend over three annual Passovers, he could not have been crucified in AD 30. Jesus died, therefore, on 14 Nisan, 3793 anno mundi—Friday, April 3, AD 33 at about 3 p.m., a few hours before the beginning of Passover day and the Sabbath." seems strange... and another thing if fore say the gods made the universe why is there only 2 livable ones? and not all? if god was so good how come he bashes his 2 sons because they don't follow within his rules, why did it take a British person to write the holy bible? history is weird.

What - and I cannot stress this enough - the fuck?

Boru

[zempo]

think about like this the bible said it took Jesus 7 days to create the universe but Jesus died between AD 30 and 36 but the creation of time was created in 1500 bc, they even have a time were Jesus died by quoting "For Jesus' ministry to have begun about AD 29 and extend over three annual Passovers, he could not have been crucified in AD 30. Jesus died, therefore, on 14 Nisan, 3793 anno mundi—Friday, April 3, AD 33 at about 3 p.m., a few hours before the beginning of Passover day and the Sabbath." seems strange... and another thing if fore say the gods made the universe why is there only 2 livable ones? and not all? if god was so good how come he bashes his 2 sons because they don't follow within his rules, why did it take a British person to write the holy bible? history is weird.

What - and I cannot stress this enough - the fuck?

Boru

i uh...uh

[arewethereyet]

think about like this the bible said it took Jesus 7 days to create the universe but Jesus died between AD 30 and 36 but the creation of time was created in 1500 bc, they even have a time were Jesus died by quoting "For Jesus' ministry to have begun about AD 29 and extend over three annual Passovers, he could not have been crucified in AD 30. Jesus died, therefore, on 14 Nisan, 3793 anno mundi—Friday, April 3, AD 33 at about 3 p.m., a few hours before the beginning of Passover day and the Sabbath." seems strange... and another thing if fore say the gods made the universe why is there only 2 livable ones? and not all? if god was so good how come he bashes his 2 sons because they don't follow within his rules, why did it take a British person to write the holy bible? history is weird.

You should probably smoke/snort/shoot/pop a little less of whatever it is you are on.

[Sal]

There's a big difference between a concept of something and something

[polymath257]

There's a big difference between a concept of something and something

Exactly. We know the *concept* of God exists: just look at all the different religions that have a concept of God.

But that is not the same as saying that God exists.

The concept of a pink unicorn exists, but pink unicorns do not.