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Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
#1
Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
We hear it often, we are atheists because we don’t want to follow God, because we reject God, because God, God, God, we are bad people.  I find all of these things to be laughably, often intentionally ignorant.
 
Me being an atheist has nothing whatsoever to do with God, oddly enough.  God doesn’t come into it at all.  If you think about it, that makes perfect sense.  I don’t believe in God, so of course he wouldn’t come into it.  I don’t have some opinion of the Tooth Fairy which is the reason for me not believing in it.  I didn’t reject Santa Claus, I don’t hate him, I don’t have anything against him, I just don’t believe he’s real.
 
For me, atheism is not something I chose, it’s a conclusion I reached.  I seriously contemplated the existence of, specifically, the Christian God (I’m American.  Why would I bother with any of those “fake gods”, after all?).  I talked with people of different faiths.  I listened to what they had to say.  I read the Bible.  I thought about it.  I didn’t “reject God”.  I didn’t get angry at God.  I didn’t decide that I didn’t want to obey God.  I just came to the conclusion that it was all made up.  It’s really that simple.
 
The idea that I don’t want to obey God is particularly laughable to me.  I rarely drink, even though I could by most Christian faiths and, of course, the Bible is actually not against consuming alcohol.  I don’t do drugs.  I don’t rape donkeys.  I don’t kill people.  Mostly I get up, I go to work, I go home, I eat dinner, I watch some TV, I go to bed, I rinse and I repeat.  That is essentially my life.  By most Christian faiths, God doesn’t have a problem with any of that.  All I would have to do would be to go to church now and then and give away some of my money.  It really wouldn’t be a big deal.  My daily activities would hardly change at all.  By even the extreme Christian beliefs there are only 3 things I would have to do.  One, I would have to stop smoking.  Okay.  I want to anyway.  Two, I would have to stop drinking.  I don’t even like alcohol.  I don’t care.  Three, I would have to stop looking at boobies occasionally.  If my wife showed me hers more often I probably wouldn’t anyway.  It would not be a tough, life-altering change.  I would have no problem following the rules laid out by even an extreme religion.  I already follow most of them.
 
So no, I did not “reject God”.  It’s not that the rules he laid down are so tough that I just can’t bring myself to follow them.  I’m not angry at God any more than I was angry at Santa Claus when I didn’t get that one super-special Christmas gift I wanted at age 12.  I simply don’t believe.  It’s a simple and straight forward as that.  There is no conspiracy.  There is no secret shame.  There is no desire.  In fact, I would like eternal happiness with my family without the complications of life as we know it.  That would be super cool.  I just don’t believe it’s real and I’m not going to pretend I do just because I want it to be real.
 
I do take exception to some of the portrayals of God.  The idea that he would light me on fire for all eternity for nothing more than being tricked by the devil he set loose on me, I have a problem with that.  The idea that I am somehow complicit in “original sin”, which wouldn’t have happened in the first place if he hadn’t hired Satan to babysit his newborns, I have a problem with that.  I don’t see these things as “moral”.  I see them as the actions of a monster.  But I don’t choose what I want to be moral and what I want to not be moral any more than I choose who to be attracted to.  These things just don’t seem moral to me.  They make the whole story not make sense, contributing to my disbelief.
 
In my entire life I have never seen magic by any name, be it spells or miracles.  I have known many to claim magical things.  My nephew was married to a woman who could point out all the haunted houses in a big city.  She could “feel it”.  For the record, I thought she was just nuts.  She didn’t show me any magic, she just claimed to have it and know about it.  And that’s what every claim has been like.  The guy who used to sell me magic books back when I was into it told me he couldn’t “show me” magic, but he still “knew” it was real.  And Christians can never “show me” miracles, but they “know” they’re real.  All these people making similar claims, why should I believe that any one of them is right while the rest are bullshit?  In short, I shouldn’t.  If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck, it’s probably a duck, right?  What legitimate reason could someone possibly give me for believing JUST THEIR magical claims while discounting all others as ridiculous?  Especially when their claim sounds EXACTLY the same.
 
So I don’t “reject God” so much as the idea of God, because, from my perspective, there is no God to reject.  It’s just a magical idea, like so many others we have all been rejecting our entire lives.  It’s only special because people think it’s special, like any other idea that some people think is special and others do not.  It’s no different to me than a 9/11 conspiracy, Bigfoot, crop circles…  It’s just something that some people think is really something, but can’t back with any real evidence, so they resort instead to “arguments”, which they mistake for being the same as “evidence”.  Ideas aren’t special just because the one who has them wants them to be.  They’re special when there’s something to them.  Every holder of every woo idea out there thinks his or hers to be particularly special because they have meaning to them, and they think that I’m ignorant because those ideas don’t have the same meaning to me.  So they make up insults disguised as explanations and they label me with them.  On UFO forums I am a “septic skeptic”, for instance, while in religious conversations I “reject God”.  It’s a way of saying “I AM RIGHT!” without actually saying it.  After all, how can I reject a God which doesn’t exist?
Have you ever noticed all the drug commercials on TV lately?  Why is it the side effects never include penile enlargement or super powers?
Side effects may include super powers or enlarged penis which may become permanent with continued use.  Stop taking Killatol immediately and consult your doctor if you experience penis enlargement of more than 3 inches, laser vision, superhuman strength, invulnerability, the ability to explode heads with your mind or time travel.  Killatoll is not for everyone, especially those who already have convertibles or vehicles of ridiculous size to supplement penis size.
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#2
RE: Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
When someone gives me some testable, convincing evidence of a god I will convert in a second, that's what convincing means, hasn't happened in 61 years though.
As far as I can see belief in gods is in the same category as belief in pixies, goblins and the monster under the bed, I outgrew the need for an invisible friend a long time ago.
The meek shall inherit the Earth, the rest of us will fly to the stars.

Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups

Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud ..... after a while you realise that the pig likes it!

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#3
RE: Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
(December 20, 2016 at 4:47 pm)zebo-the-fat Wrote: When someone gives me some testable, convincing evidence of a god I will convert in a second, that's what convincing means, hasn't happened in 61 years though.
As far as I can see belief in gods is in the same category as belief in pixies, goblins and the monster under the bed, I outgrew the need for an invisible friend a long time ago.

Absolutely.  Hell, they don't even have one single reason more to believe what they're preaching than for any of the things they don't believe.  So instead they have to rely on "negative arguments" to tell me why the other guy is wrong.  I agree.  The other guy is ALSO wrong.
Have you ever noticed all the drug commercials on TV lately?  Why is it the side effects never include penile enlargement or super powers?
Side effects may include super powers or enlarged penis which may become permanent with continued use.  Stop taking Killatol immediately and consult your doctor if you experience penis enlargement of more than 3 inches, laser vision, superhuman strength, invulnerability, the ability to explode heads with your mind or time travel.  Killatoll is not for everyone, especially those who already have convertibles or vehicles of ridiculous size to supplement penis size.
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#4
RE: Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
People often equate belief in God or Christianity with following a certain prescribed set of rules or things they must accomplish. This is where Christianity differs from all other religions. Salvation has nothing to do with following rules or living a certain way. Yes those things may come, but they are not a prerequisite.

It appears to me the Bible itself, and the events depicted in it, and the life of Christ, are among the strongest evidence for God. The Bible is testable. If you find it to be true then what it claims should hold some weight. At the end of the day it is still entirely up to the individual if they desire to subscribe to it.
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#5
RE: Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
(December 20, 2016 at 5:04 pm)PETE_ROSE Wrote: People often equate belief in God or Christianity with following a certain prescribed set of rules or things they must accomplish.  This is where Christianity differs from all other religions.  Salvation has nothing to do with following rules or living a certain way.  Yes those things may come, but they are not a prerequisite.


None of that matters, unless you can provide demonstrable, falsifiable evidence and reasoned argument to support your case that a god actually exists, and created a system that requires 'salvation'.


Quote:It appears to me the Bible itself, and the events depicted in it, and the life of Christ, are among the strongest evidence for God.  The Bible is testable.  If you find it to be true then what it claims should hold some weight.  At the end of the day it is still entirely up to the individual if they desire to subscribe to it.

Not in any way is the Bible evidence for the existence of the god character depicted in it. The Bible is the claim.

How is the Bible 'testable'?

You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
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#6
RE: Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
Internal consistency ?










ROFLOL
 The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it. 




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#7
RE: Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
Question here, and I know it's a stupid question, but bear with me. When you analogize a god or a number of gods to the tooth fairy, etc. are you saying they are equally improbable? In that sense, are you saying straight-out they don't exist, or just that they are highly improbable of existing?
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#8
RE: Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
Some of us maintain there is more evidence for the tooth fairy than 'god'.

I myself repeatedly received quarters from the TF back in the 60s . . .
 The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it. 




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#9
RE: Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
(December 20, 2016 at 5:51 pm)RiddledWithFear Wrote: Question here, and I know it's a stupid question, but bear with me. When you analogize a god or a number of gods to the tooth fairy, etc. are you saying they are equally improbable? In that sense, are you saying straight-out they don't exist, or just that they are highly improbable of existing?


I believe the analogy used to compare un-evidenced supernatural entities.

Gods, Tooth fairies, leprechauns, etc are all members the set of un-evidenced, unsupported, supernatural entities.

You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
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#10
RE: Why I'm an atheist, a point of confusion for many theists
(December 20, 2016 at 5:51 pm)RiddledWithFear Wrote: Question here, and I know it's a stupid question, but bear with me. When you analogize a god or a number of gods to the tooth fairy, etc. are you saying they are equally improbable? In that sense, are you saying straight-out they don't exist, or just that they are highly improbable of existing?

It's saying that they're both made up.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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