(December 28, 2013 at 4:45 pm)Lek Wrote: I've been reading through this thread and if I understand correctly, athiests don't believe in anything, they're identified as atheists because they don't believe in a deity. Anyway, if this is the case, then the question doesn't apply because it's asking for your strongest reason for "believing" in atheism. But I did get some understanding of the atheist mindset.
Ah-haaa, we may have a Christian member I might like; he actually gets it without requiring the use of a concrete-breaker to get it into his brain.
I see good things!
But yes, that's the gist of it. We don't so much believe atheism is true as much as we simply do not believe. "I don't believe this" comes before "I believe I know not believing in this is true." The latter isn't often necessary except amongst "strong atheists" like myself; I answered the question in that context instead. I, personally, believe atheism is the correct position largely because I have seen no loss in my quality of life since ceasing to be a Christian, and have instead seen a prominent rise in my range of intellect, fueled by a new-found curiosity for everything I did not have before on this scale in regards to all forms of knowledge. Meanwhile, the only evidence I have from others of the gods they claim exist is, at BEST, claims of first-hand experiences similar to ones that I have experienced myself without any kind of feelings of divine presence. More common instead are the claims that came from people making claims that came from people making claims...
Lots of hearsay, lots of claims, and not a damn thing to show for it. My reaction is an intellectual one and also an emotional one; I hold to my stance that, to the best of my knowledge, there is/are no god(s). To claim that I think god exists would mean to shoulder the burden of proof; I could not do that.
