If I were an Atheist

[QuarkDriven]

@ Drew-2013, it seems that this is rather a guidleline of what you would like us to do vs. an argument of "if you were an atheist". Some of which I agree with. i.e. no body should be bashing and name calling anyone else for their beliefs or any reason for that matter.. except the WBC, but thats a different case altogether. Who said that ahtiesm is not growing? People are giving up their faith everyday. Sure, a lot of people don't come out and publicize it but in a world where people view rapists in higher regards than atheists, you can see why. You will lose friends, your family may alienate you, you can be at risk of losing your job, etc... but none the less, we need to come out. Thats probably why we don't see a higher number and it seems to "not be growing". You are seriously mistaken if you think we "enjoy being contrary and being part of a small often loathed minority".

We don't say it's a fact that god doesn't exist. We tell you we think its highly unlikely that a god does exist. There is no evidence of it. What evidence do you have for believing in a god and a book which was written by man, 2,000 years ago does not count as evidence. its a fictional book. Saying i dont know if a god exists is what makes us more open minded. if a god reveals him/herself to the world, you'd see a lot of atheists believe and a lot of people of other faiths, what ever those faiths may be, convert to what ever that faith is. it would be one world under one religion. So no, its not "weak" to say i dont know if a god exists, its just high improbably that one does. What I would say is weak is accepting and believing in a god because a book tells you to. There are other books that tell other people the same thing and they all make the same claims.. their god is the only god and you're all going to their hell for it...

yeah the santa argument sounds childish but its done on purpose. we all know santa doesnt exisit.. we all know the fairy's and unicorns don't exist and there is no evidence that a god exists yet people still grow up to believe. why? One reason could be childhood indoctrination. parents push religion on children from an early age. children are too young to understand something like the concept of god yet it is imposed on them

dropping the bashind and demonizing... i agree with you on that... people shouldbt be subject to that because of their beliefs. at the same time, please don't impose your religion on me. we shouldnt be subject to that as well. if you believe im going to hell, it is your right to believe so... just keep that shit to yourself.

"God doesn’t exist so it must be a belief that God doesn’t exist". its not a belief that a god doesnt exist. its a lack of belief that one does. a belief is something that people regard as true in their eyes. as i've said above, we don't know if a god exists, it is just highly unlikely that one does.... there is no evidence for such a claim and thats a pretty big claim to make. therefore, we think there is no god, unlike the religious who believe without evidence.. guess thats why its called faith huh.. believing without evidence...

although i agree with some of the stuff you said, that doesnt make your argument for atheism "better than most" atheists.. it just looks like a small list of things you'd like atheists to stop doing. Actually, the only case you make for atheism in that rant is:

-There is no direct evidence a Creator caused the universe.

-The laws of physics over vast periods of time appear to have caused all the things we observe including our own existence.

-Much of the universe appears to be chaotic and unguided.

-Evolution appears to account for how living things developed on going complexity.

and even then, you would have to tweak some words...

-Much of the universe *is* chaotic and unguided. Even most of our planet.. most of it is covered in water which is unhospitable to us and alot of it is shaking, moving, too cold or spewing lava...

-Evolution appears to account for how living things developed on going complexity.
you say appears as if to say this scientific theory is just a theory.. a scientific theory is a fact. just like the "theory" of gravity, unless you want to belittle that and say, it appears as though we are not floating away and if you lose your balance, you will fall. Evolution doesnt "apear" to account for how life became more and more complex. Evolution *shows* you how life came to what we know now.