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Atheism: Why choose to be?

** Moved to religion & philosphy forum. **
 
I am agnostic - not atheist - but my guess is that the reason atheists don't believe in God is because they have not been given sufficient evidence of God's existence (that which is supported by reason, common sense and/or science).
 
I think it's because some people are afraid of the fact that they're not in control of their destiny. I personally believe that there's a reason why one of the most oppressed places in the world, contains the largest amount of Christians.. that would be China. They feel safe to know their oppression is just present in this relam, or phase of "life".
 
Arch Enemy said:
I think it's because some people are afraid of the fact that they're not in control of their destiny. I personally believe that there's a reason why one of the most oppressed places in the world, contains the largest amount of Christians.. that would be China. They feel safe to know their oppression is just present in this relam, or phase of "life".

Wouldn't that "feeling of safety" be an argument against atheism? People who are oppressed would, it seems, be MORE inclined to want to believe in God so they can look forward to their suffering being only temporary...
 
Why would you believe, there's no evidence.
 
Real_American15 said:
I would like to ask those whom are Atheists why are you that?

Wrong question.

Real question - why would anybody believe in any god?
 
galenrox said:
My dad told me a quote once, it was from some philosopher, I forget who, but someone asked him why he believes in God, and he said "If I believe in God, and it turns out I'm wrong, what do I lose? But if I choose not to believe in God, and it turns out I'm wrong the penalty is much more severe."
That is assuming that the philosopher spoke in a dialect that is a combination of my speech and Ron White, but the overall point remains.

Religion as post-mortem health insurance?
 
shh! said:
Wouldn't that "feeling of safety" be an argument against atheism? People who are oppressed would, it seems, be MORE inclined to want to believe in God so they can look forward to their suffering being only temporary...


That's what I said.. I said that the Chinese People use Christianity as a feeling of safety because they're being oppressed by their government.
 
I am an Atheist because science makes more sense to me. It is based on empirical evidence and educated thought processes. I am not saying that Theists are uneducated, just that science is based on educated processes. Faith is not provable and never will be. That is why it is faith. There is no evidence of any gods.
 
josh said:
Why would you believe, there's no evidence.

Although I don't believe there is a God in the classical sense,I do believe that there is a"higher power"and that the more science unveils,the more miraculous the universe appears and therefore the greater the likelihood of the existence of such a force.
I've heard of people saying why don't we see miracles these days,when the greatest of miracles is all around us!
 
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and that the more science unveils,the more miraculous the universe appears and therefore the greater the likelihood of the existence of such a force.

You are right.

That's exactly what it is.

I'm going to Princeton next fall for astrophyiscs (I'm also a liberal, and a Christian...yeah I didn't think it made sense either), so I'll touch more on a "physicists" point of view.

The more science does uncover, the more we do see about a "higher power." Stephen Hawking talks about these sorts of things in his books (The Universe in a Nutshell, A Brief History of Time - read them, they are so good!). The deeper our understanding of the universe, the more we find a place where a higher power would fit (that's almost a quote from Hawking. Though, he also said he sees it both ways - where a higher power should be "right here," and then where there isn't room for one).

Truly, I think one day science might just be able to accidentally prove there is a higher power. Of course, you could also say the opposite, but you never know.
 
PaulErly said:
You are right.

That's exactly what it is.

I'm going to Princeton next fall for astrophyiscs (I'm also a liberal, and a Christian...yeah I didn't think it made sense either), so I'll touch more on a "physicists" point of view.

The more science does uncover, the more we do see about a "higher power." Stephen Hawking talks about these sorts of things in his books (The Universe in a Nutshell, A Brief History of Time - read them, they are so good!). The deeper our understanding of the universe, the more we find a place where a higher power would fit (that's almost a quote from Hawking. Though, he also said he sees it both ways - where a higher power should be "right here," and then where there isn't room for one).

Truly, I think one day science might just be able to accidentally prove there is a higher power. Of course, you could also say the opposite, but you never know.

That's a coincidence,I recently purchased a brief history of time but haven't got round to reading it yet.Also I'm starting a Bsc degree course in astrobiology in September as a"mature student"(I don't like the sound of that).
 
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Arch Enemy said:
That's what I said.. I said that the Chinese People use Christianity as a feeling of safety because they're being oppressed by their government.

Ok, that is what I thought you said, but I was confused because your post didn't answer the question being asked on this thread.
 
im not sure that it is a choice,for me it just comes from with-in,just as many peoples faith does.either way the arguments for and against will go on as long as time itself but 1 thing is for sure! were not the one's fighting in the name of religon.
 
Naughty Nurse said:
Wrong question.

Real question - why would anybody believe in any god?
Because for most of us, once we take that first step towards believing in God, we are flooded with evidence of Him all around. For me, I cannot deny that I feel His presence around me, through me. I cannot deny the fact that He speaks to me and guides me. He has tought me how to truly love and appreciate others in this world. He has tought me to treat every day as a gift. And that even though at some points in my life I feel as though I am completely alone, I am not truly alone. There are so many reasons and benefits to following God.
 
sebastiansdreams said:
. I cannot deny the fact that He speaks to me and guides me. He has tought me how to truly love and appreciate others in this world. He has tought me to treat every day as a gift.


And you were too stupid to do this on your own? Boy that's serious.
 
Arch Enemy said:
That's what I said.. I said that the Chinese People use Christianity as a feeling of safety because they're being oppressed by their government.

One could say the same for United Statesians.
 
Urethra Franklin said:
And you were too stupid to do this on your own? Boy that's serious.

Not all of us share you're glowing sense of love for mankind and incredibly optimistic outllook on mankind naturally. For some of us, it does take the knowledge that we were created out of love and with a purpose to understand how truly special life is.
 
sebastiansdreams said:
Not all of us share you're glowing sense of love for mankind and incredibly optimistic outllook on mankind naturally. For some of us, it does take the knowledge that we were created out of love and with a purpose to understand how truly special life is.


But if you believe, as I do, that humankind is so special, why base the history and purpose of humankind on a myth?
 
sebastiansdreams said:
Because for most of us, once we take that first step towards believing in God, we are flooded with evidence of Him all around.
So what was the initial reason you first took a step towards believing? I mean, if all the evidence flooded you after the fact, what was the reason for that first leap of faith? Please tell the one's who would love to believe in a higher power but are waiting for a flood of evidence before taking that first step.
 
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