Why Atheists don't believe

1. Lack of evidence aside, I don't personally see the need.2. I reject the idea that any being deserves one's unconditional worship or submisssion. Of such things is tyranny made.3. God's supposed will, nature and intentions have been defined down the ages by humans with their own social/political agenda.Even if there WAS a God, I would see no need to worship him any more than a child worships any decent parent. Neither would I feel obliged to live according to His Will. If God was petty enough to snuff me out for thinking for myself (with the intelligence he gave me) then so be it.I would ask him how he created the universe though! ;-)This message has been edited by RickJB, 05-11-2006 05:49 PM

Never understood this idea. Sends his son to be tortured in a Roman province 2000 years ago to save.... ME? Not that it was too much of a sacrifice in the end - the sneaky bugger then brings his son back to life in a cave!An since then? Nothing. Not a miracle in sight.I guess that's why they say God works in mysterious ways...

I don't think so. The Christian God - particularly the OT version - sounds like the sort of vindictive, controlling, judgemental character most spend their time trying to avoid...Just my opinion, of course! ;-)

That's not for you to say.In any case I think there plenty of hope for me without God thankyouverymuch!

Hope that I can live a happy life surrounded by people that I love. Hope that I can continus to make a way in the world that I enjoy.After I'm dead? I'm dead. That's it. Game over.Even if there is an afterlife, so what? If God is petty about who he lets in then so be it. If I'm rejected I'll be in the company of 4 billion non-Christians and hundreds of millions more who are counted as Christian but care not a whit for religion.I'm not about to waste this life grovelling to some unknown entity for the sake of the next.

Fine. I honestly don't care whether I meet God's grade ot not! That's what I'm saying. I have no interest what he thinks is "just", any more than I have an interest in "knowing" him. Acknowledgment in this sense can clearly be equated with submission.By the way, what do you think will happen to non-Christians come judgement?

Of course - I'd have alot of questions. My point was that as long as he shows me no sign of his existence or intentions then I for my part have no interest in his standards of justice.Even if God does exist, why I should accept his views on justice? Is this a slightly elusive way of saying that non-Christians (those who haven't "found" Christ) are doomed to hell? Yes?So how realistic is it to expect a poor Hindu in India to "find" Christ? Does the reality of one's unbringing and culture offer no reprieve?

So all religions except Christianity are mumbo-jumbo? It's just as well that you're a Christian then isn't it! Very... convenient! Sorry, but you just confirmed them, as far as I'm concerned.

Yes, but as was hashed out on another forum you have no way to demonstrate that your "truth" is anything more than a belief.It's certainly not a prediction derived from a theory as you have no empircally supported hypothesis. You have only your belief.So, to return to the point it would (in my opinion only, of course) seem deeply unjust of God to discern between any type of religious faith as they all seek and work with their own set of "truths" - their own paths to God, so to speak.Your faith is no more true than any of the others.The baseless, arrogant assumption that one group has special access to God over all others is one of the traits of fundamentalist religion I most dislike. I'm pretty sure you really think Christianity is true! In any case what you are implying here is that belief of the "wrong" kind incurs Godly punishment for making the "wrong" choice. Yet by some sick conincidence God seems to have created any number of religions with which to confuse people. You might well argue that this represents "temptation". Sounds like a sick joke to me.So no rethink, then.Edited by RickJB, : Tags fixed.

So what? That's their belief. They have no empirical evidence. You seem to think I haven't read into religion, but I promise you I have, quite deeply. When one boils down through either the passionate scolarly endeavour or the beautiful devotional art one is left with a central set of very basic absurdities whose primary use is directed towards political and social control.There's no doubting the power of myth and mystery to inspire, but there's also no doubting the power of dogma to oppress.Edited by RickJB, : Fixed spelling.

I've never argued with this, so there's no need to keep repeating it. I merely make the point that though you feel that you KNOW the truth of your belief there is no empirical way to show it's validity over other faiths. This is YOUR opinion, your belief, your "knowledge". People of other faiths have theirs. What if Islam is the correct path and you are wrong? As far as I'm concerned they are ALL man made!

This is the same tactic you've used before - someone questions how your "knowledge" can be shown to be valid without empirical evidence, and then you blow the argument out into a debate about the very reality of existence.I can't see how it helps you, and it is totally irrelevant. In THIS existence, THIS reality (whatever it constitutes - be it a physical reality, a product of your imagination or the work of magical fairies), you cannot produce emprical evidence to back up your "knowledge". He said to oneself, Iano! In any case your very extistence can be empirically confirmed by third parties. There is no such third-party confirmation for your "knowledge" of God. Ultimately there is no such certainty. We may all be a dream! Whatever the nature of reality, however, it does conform to many predictable rules and we are bound to work within them.

Sorry, but the burden of evidence lies with you. Lami cannot ultimately prove a negative, but he can, since no emprical evidence of any sort exists to support God, discount his existence as immaterial.It falls to you to show empirical evidence of His existance, but you are clearly unable.None of us (religious or not) "knows" the truth of God because He lies outside what science considers physical reality.Edited by RickJB, : Typos.

But it is! Everything in our minds is derived from empirical experience. Even the idea of God itself has been derived from a response to our environment. Agreed, so:-You see a table. I see a table. They see a table. We percieve a table.You "know" God. I don't. They "know" another God. Whose perception is the "right" one? How can we tell?Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.Edited by RickJB, : More typos!!

Iano, can I just have a response to this, please?----------You see a table. I see a table. They see a table. We agree that we all perceive a table.You "know" God. I don't. They "know" another God. Whose perception is the "right" one? How can we tell?Cheers-Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.