Why Atheists don't believe

Like many here, I too am not atheist, but will answer nontheless. I actually used to, but as I grew older and started looking at the issues myself, I realized that all the stuff I had been preached as a child was baseless, with no evidence in its support. Sure do. When my boss says that we need five more pizzas made, I make them, I don't go to check if we are actually out of pizzas; I just do it. Why? Because if we end up wasting a load of pizza at the end of the night, that's his own loss, not mine. However, when it directly impacts my life, I most certainly would not accept (I don't believe in anything) something without good evidence to do so.Trék

Yes, it does have something to do with the evidence. My boss has the evidence at hand, and he/she made a decision based on it. I trusted his/her decision without having to see the evidence for myself. In a case like this, the evidence exists, but I am just trusting someone else to interpret it.Like CK has said, though, it is really a case-by-case sort of thing. You can't group all the events in someone's life into one big pot as if they are all the same and hold an equal amount of importance. Why can you say that? What is this "authority" you are talking about? And what do you mean by "stuff"? In this case, I am very much unwilling to believe you based on just what you've said. I want some evidence in support.Trék

I don't think I agree with this. I would assume that not believing is where it starts. The default position is a position of non-belief, and the position of belief only comes after. You have the order a little twisted. The problem, is that you are seemingly talking about real chemical reactions. However, the last time I checked, faith and doubt were not elements on the Periodic Table. You can't cause reactions by sprinkling fairy dust on the brain. Well, I'm pretty sure I do like pizza. Then again, I'm not atheist.Trék

Yes, I agree with you there. They are real chemical reactions. But faith and doubt aren't real things. The preception of faigh and doubt are themselves chemical reactions: the are not the source of the reaction. This is my opinion. Are you saying that a baby sends brain signals to his distant mother and it is those signals that cause her to lactate? I'm no expert on this, but there was a thread about it. I do believe it has to do with timing though. Many times when I sense people staring at me, and I turn around, there is no one there. However, I couldn't blame someone if they did stare... who could resist ? Perhaps that's what it is. Perhaps it is that some people are simply content building their lives on ideals that have no evidence backing whatsoever. I think we all know from being children that we learn puting our hand on the stove is a bad thing because we do it. Being humans, we are also able to recognize when other humans are experiencing discomfort, and are generally going to avoid those activities we see causing said discomfort.Trék