In relation to the OP, do I believe that atheists can or do have as great a sense of awe and wonder as theists have?
I do indeed ... why not?
That being said, I think that atheists tend to have a lesser sense of gratitude than theists, however. The reason I say that is because theists are usually taught to be more conscious of their 'blessings' and the good things in their lives. And they regard all these things as a favor from God and a mercy towards them. Their houses, cars, family, children, their appearance, their body parts, their eyes, nose, ears, brains, hearts, food, shelter, money, happiness, and so an so forth, are all favors from God. So when theists reflect on the wonderful and amazing things in this world, they might feel feel a sense of awe and wonder, but on top of that the feeling is also accompanied by gratitude and appreciation towards their Creator (whatever name they call him by).
Atheists think that everything that they need for survival are pretty much an accidental byproduct of mere laws and forces. It all just happens to be this way for no reason and they take it for granted. For example, an atheist might be peacefully eating a healthy and delicious meal one day, and later he starts to feel a sense of wonder while thinking about the food that he is eating, but he probably doesn't have the same degree of thankfulness in his heart for being able to enjoy these kind of things as most theists have.
That's the reason I think that atheists might be somewhat less grateful for the things that they have, even though they still might have a great sense of awe and wonder about everything.
I do indeed ... why not?
That being said, I think that atheists tend to have a lesser sense of gratitude than theists, however. The reason I say that is because theists are usually taught to be more conscious of their 'blessings' and the good things in their lives. And they regard all these things as a favor from God and a mercy towards them. Their houses, cars, family, children, their appearance, their body parts, their eyes, nose, ears, brains, hearts, food, shelter, money, happiness, and so an so forth, are all favors from God. So when theists reflect on the wonderful and amazing things in this world, they might feel feel a sense of awe and wonder, but on top of that the feeling is also accompanied by gratitude and appreciation towards their Creator (whatever name they call him by).
Atheists think that everything that they need for survival are pretty much an accidental byproduct of mere laws and forces. It all just happens to be this way for no reason and they take it for granted. For example, an atheist might be peacefully eating a healthy and delicious meal one day, and later he starts to feel a sense of wonder while thinking about the food that he is eating, but he probably doesn't have the same degree of thankfulness in his heart for being able to enjoy these kind of things as most theists have.
That's the reason I think that atheists might be somewhat less grateful for the things that they have, even though they still might have a great sense of awe and wonder about everything.
