What would it take for you to believe in God?

[The Valkyrie]

Yes there are. There are also many atheists who would be here in a moment if they heard of this board.

You see, something that keeps many people going to church, even when they've stopped believing in any deities, is the sense of community that churches create.

Sites like this and others are communities in themselves. They also help those who have been aliebated from or kicked out of their families because the become atheists. Something that happens a lot, unfortunately.

That is unfortunate. What has been your general experience relating to Christians on the subject of the existence of God?

First up, I used to be one, but I grew out of it by my early teens.

I've debated face to face with theists who have stopped me in the street or knocked on my door. I have debated with everything from Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons to young earth creationists.

I have been threatened with hell and various other forms of imaginary punishments.

I have heard practically every form of argument an atheist can try to bring up for the existence of their deity from "Look at the trees and the finely tuned universe" to "it says so in the bible" to "it happened to me or someone I know, so it must be real" to "people who have died have seen . . . "

None of it is convincing to anybody but the person making the claims.