How can my belief be so strong?

[Mister Agenda]

We finally get one of the proverbial 'faith in no God' types so many fundies think we all are, and we won't take his word for it. He's sure there's no God, and can't justify his surity. We need to be more careful in using the word 'faith' than theists do, but that doesn't mean we should eschew it entirely. We just make to sure we don't fall into the trap of equivocating its meaning when we use it.

[Ben Davis]

We finally get one of the proverbial 'faith in no God' types so many fundies think we all are, and we won't take his word for it. He's sure there's no God, and can't justify his surity. We need to be more careful in using the word 'faith' than theists do, but that doesn't mean we should eschew it entirely. We just make to sure we don't fall into the trap of equivocating its meaning when we use it.

Do any of us ever just take anyone's word for anything..?

But yes, we don't often get this type of antitheism here which is why I would encourage him to participate, actively. Diversity is strength!

[houseofcantor]

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.

I used to get pretty rabid when peeps called me a stalker, but then I got over it.

Besides, the standard theist cannot be trusted to clearly define any term; I'm not seeing why they should be allowed to define this one.

(Of course, my problem is that I have a ridiculous amount of faith, being a prophet and all, and it cannot be labelled other than faith.)

[Andy]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I knew using the "F" word was going to stir the pot a little! Religious conotations aside "faith" is often defined among other things, as "strong belief." Having said that there are some things I have to have faith in. For example I believe in many scientific theories. Many such theories require a far higher understanding of mathematics than I posses to truly understand the proofs. I have faith that those with higher math knowledge will confirm or disprove such theories for me!

[pineapplebunnybounce]

Actually believing that there is no god is quite rational. It's an incredulous claim and most who claim god exists can't even define god. Is it intellectually dishonest to claim that hogwarts doesn't exist in the real world? No. Normal people generally don't think creatures or beings in fictional works exist. Only people throw a big fuss if it's god and ask you to prove it, when they shouldn't even ask if it exists in the first place.

Every time I'm asked if I believe in god, I ask them to define god. It's a fun one, because they actually struggle to come up with a definition or even a description that sets god apart from a random guy or an alien.

[Tonus]

I often find myself wondering why my faith is so strong. I call my belief that there are no gods a faith as I lack any better verbiage to describe it.

There could be any number of reasons why. Perhaps it is psychological. A very confident and aggressive person may not be willing to accept doubt in a position and prefers the absolute because he feels he can convince/compel others to see it his way. Others may simply feel it's the more rational approach. The common example of creatures of legend may be waved off by some, but there are many such things we regard as myth with no doubt whatsoever, and few people (theists included) will say differently because they feel the same way.

It may also be an indicator of our deep desire to know things for sure, to have closure. Humans seem to truly hate not knowing, not being sure. We have to know. We have to have the answers. We do not like waiting to find out, so we will accept whatever we have at present and accept that. "God absolutely does not exist" may be an ironic example of a "gaps" argument.

I believed in god for many, many years but could not justify that belief, and trying to do so left me with the realization that he was not there. Can I prove that? No, I cannot. But the more important thing for me is that, for more than 2/3 of my life, I tried to prove that he DID exist. Failing that, I accepted that he doesn't. If the closest anyone can get to convincing me that I'm wrong is to say "you might be wrong" then I figure they're only a step or two away from where I am now.