How can my belief be so strong?

[rexbeccarox]

Welcome. Please don't call your lack of belief a "faith." Faith describes believing in something in spite of lack of evidence, or even evidence to the contrary. You don't believe in God, so you don't "have faith that God doesn't exist." You are just being rational and skeptical like a good critical thinking individual.

It's bad enough when Christians claim that atheists have to have faith to not believe in God, we don't need atheists saying it too.

I think what he's saying, though, is that his is a "faith" because his lack of belief is so strong, he thinks he knows for sure, without reasonable evidence to conclude such a thing... but that's just what I read from it.

Welcome, Andy!

[Jacob(smooth)]

Hi Andy.

The strength of your belief could be down to reactance bias. People have a natural Tendency to resist a perceived attempt by others to limit their choices. Religion is, both overtly and covertly, "pushed" on all of us. More so I believe in the US than over here. It would be quite normal for this to change simple lack of belief into a definitive belief of lack.

[NoraBrimstone]

Hiya, Andy! I'm Martine. :)

You don't hold a "strong belief" at all. You're just nore rational than a lot of people. You'd probably feel as strongly if everyone around you started believing pixies steal socks from washing machines despite never having seen one, and tried to make out there's something wrong with people who say "It's reaaally unlikely to be pixies." And arguing "If there are no sock pixies, where do all the socks go???" And taking your "I don't know." As proof of sock pixies.

Its the gnomes.
They've moved on from underpants theft.

Gnomism is bollocks. Gnomes are fake sock thieves. Pixiism is the true faith! Only Pixies steal socks! You bloody Infidel!

[Simon Moon]

Welcome aboard!

I'm not sure I would call your disbelief in the existence of gods 'faith'. Unless you took the position, that no matter how much evidence you were presented with, you would still continue your disbelief.

Of course, the lack of demonstrable evidence is a rational reason to disbelieve. Especially when one would expect to find evidence.

As far as having 'no evidence that gods do not exist', you are unnecessarily taking on the burden of proof.

[zenblaster]

Welcome. Please don't call your lack of belief a "faith." Faith describes believing in something in spite of lack of evidence, or even evidence to the contrary. You don't believe in God, so you don't "have faith that God doesn't exist." You are just being rational and skeptical like a good critical thinking individual.

It's bad enough when Christians claim that atheists have to have faith to not believe in God, we don't need atheists saying it too.

That was my thought also when read Andy's post.

I do not spend any effort being atheist nor do I treat it like a religion. Quite the opposite, I devote as much time thinking about others gods as I do their fairy tales.

[Minimalist]

I call my belief that there are no gods a faith as I lack any better verbiage to describe it.

You should stop playing in the other guys' ballpark. The people who assert that there is a god...almost always the one they were brought up to believe in....have the duty to provide evidence that it exists. You are under no obligation to prove a negative.

I have found that when they make an assertion of such a god it is easy to shoot down. Their failure to demonstrate that their beliefs are reality is their problem...not yours.

[houseofcantor]

Man, don't be tellin' a buncha atheists 'bout no faith.

I find it kinda hilarious how a bunch of rational types get all kinds of irrational over the concept of faith.

[Esquilax]

I find it kinda hilarious how a bunch of rational types get all kinds of irrational over the concept of faith.

I think that mostly comes down to how often we're accused of having faith, and yet it's a pejorative term when applied to us alone. It'd be like if you'd been dogged by accusations that you had a fetish for sheep all your life; in time, you might get pretty rabid at the slightest intimation.

[Ben Davis]

from the UK!

Please, I'd encourage you to get involved. There aren't many people who share your viewpoint outside of buddhism so you'll probably bring some fresh perspective.

I understand your use of the word 'faith': you make the claim 'there is/are no god/s' without evidence or reason. However you'd probably be surprised at the level of knowledge that's driving your feelings, if you spent some time in honest self-reflection. It's often true that our deepest 'intuitions' are subconscious responses to information we already have but don't consciously articulate.

[Faith No More]

I find it kinda hilarious how a bunch of rational types get all kinds of irrational over the concept of faith.