I was asked the other day, for about the 50th time, “OK, so you’re an Atheist, gimme a 30-second reason that you’re an Atheist”I’ve given lots of answers to that question, depending on my mood. There are so many reasons to be an Atheist, and so few (read that: NONE) to believe in a deity.If I don’t really have the time or patience to get into a discussion, I simply say “If there was a god, I’d be dead by now” and walk out of the room, leaving behind me some awkward laughter and desperate cries of “wait!!…” I think my favorite response, in 30 seconds, is that every god that has ever been invented by man has had the exact same evidence in support of it (him, her, etc). They’ve all had stories or books, miracles, fanatics, and for most, war and destruction. All but few (I never say “all but one”) of these gods have been largely dismissed as mythology, and the remaining gods have nothing that separates them from the myths. Ergo, they are myths too.The religionist who asks, who in my case has always been Abrahamic, doesn’t really care to hear criticism about their deity. They don’t like that I mention multiple current gods or lack of evidence separating myth from god. I find it an effective “shut-up” and then I quickly change the subject. I find silence plants good seeds.What’s your favorite elevator pitch? Give me your best 30 seconds to tell the readers why you’re an Atheist. Maybe we can all tweak our talk!
My elevator pitch is “why I am not a Christian” since that’s the religion of all my would-be converters. I say that atheism is a very hopeful and positive worldview that honors the goodness of human beings. In contrast, Christianity at its center says that humans are so hopelessly and irretrievably wicked that they require magical intervention (Christ’s sacrifice) to ever be good enough for God. I was born okay the first time. Telling people they are bad unless they get supernatural assistance is just a negative and unproductive message.
I say: give me every reason you have for not believing in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, and you’ll have my reasons for not believing in God.
mycroftdavis,
Ah, but there is a reason to ponder the question I posed. It is that people who believe in at least the possibility of an afterlife are asked to prove the existence of God. Of course, the people demanding an answer to such a question know it is not something that can be proven in the scientific sense.
Therefore, it is legitimate to ask the same type of question to those who seem to be so certain that since they do not think there is a God there can’t be one.
Then we have to ask, are people who believe in the possibility of an afterlife any different than those who do not believe such a thing is possible? I say they are not: one believes and one does not. It’s still a belief which is all we can safely say with any certainty.
Now with respect to reasoning you are entitled to your analysis as am I. I’m only asking if it is reasonable to pass judgement deeply held beliefs since we cannot prove or disprove the existence of God in any event.
I have a lot of things to say, so I just pick one depending on who is asking…
I’m an atheist because I care about real things more than imaginary ones.
I’m an atheist because I don’t like being lied to about God.
I’m an atheist because so many of today’s Christians are hypocrites, and someone has to tell the truth.
I’m an atheist because I am too deeply spiritual to obey an imaginary idol.
I’m an atheist because bad religion spreads like a plague and tears good people down for no reason.
I’m an atheist because atheists are so intense, so smart, so careful, so honest, so mature, and I can’t afford to not be one with them.
I’m an atheist I want to take care of life on earth. Because life on earth is fragile, and I know that if I believed in God, I would just leave it to him.
I’m an atheist because I know what God is, and I know he was never meant to exist.
I’m an atheist because God is a poor substitute for a real father, and a truth statement is a poor substitute for the truth. Reality is what we are bound to, regardless of our possessions and pleadings and imagined forms of how to see it.
There are so many reasons why. What does you say when people ask you why you don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore? One answer is: “Because I’m a grown-up and I know better now.” Another answer is: “Because that would be silly.” Another answer is: “Turns out, he doesn’t exist.” But if you’re saying this to a child, are these answers appropriate?
Sometimes you can’t be lazy. Sometimes you can’t lie.
Sometimes it’s better just not to say anything at all.
You’re responsible for the outcome of what you say. Remember that.
Yesterday’s religion is today’s mythology. So, today’s religion is – Yep! tomorrow’s mythology!
I just have one question: Can anyone prove with any certainty that there is no God?
More to the point, is it safe for us to assume that as human beings we possess the physical capability of detecting a spirit world? If we were being perfectly honest, could we truly believe that as human beings we are capable of saying definitively that there is no God simply because we believe there isn’t one?
“I just have one question: Can anyone prove with any certainty that there is no God?”
Ugh. Can any prove with any certainty that that bees are the actual rulers of the world? No, and there’s an equal lack of reason for worrying about the two questions. With no evidence of any sort for the claim, why investigate the silly thing, or worry about disproving it?
I only believe in the certainty of that which can be demonstrated. Reason is the only reliable test, and reason, applied to the accumulated learning of humankind, indicates that all religions are equally silly, and that the best current assessment of our existence indicates no purpose behind it. So we must apply reason and compassion to make our own purpose, not follow the myths of ancient ignorants.
“stepping off soapbox, sorry folks.”
It is up to those who say that god
exists to prove it.
Yes the burden of proof lies with the christians. No one can absolutely disprove the existance of say Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny but it is accepted that these are mythical creatures. If you believe in something surely for you own sanity you would want to know one way or another if what you believe in is real or not? It is not up to us to disprove the existance of a god.
We are mearly saying that based on what we observe today and have learned about the physical universe the idea of a greater power seems just as fanatical as say the Easter Bunny. Like I said I can’t proove the Easter Bunny does not exist nor can I prove that god does not exist. I’m a percentage man the chances that he does not exist far out weigh the chances that he does.
When people start giving me all the reasons for being religous I pretty much listen. I tell them I just don’t share their faith. Then pretty much without fail they say, ‘Well, you shouldn’t take a chance that there is a god.’ With that I follow up with, ‘Yeah, I used to tell people that same line when I was 15.. then I turned 16 and realized it wasn’t a logical reason and still didn’t make me religious.’
I believe that logic and reason trumps myth. While I am not yet an atheist, I explore the possibility that there is no god. I do not necessarily believe there is a god but I do not believe there is not a god either. The burden of proof falls to those purporting the myth that there is a god IMHO. There is no proof. I have yet to have an elevator experience… per say.
Although people claim lots of reasons for not believing and that does not mean they are not “atheists”.
However, if you take the Occams Razor approach it seems to be the most solid. All claims being considered, the simplist is the most likely.
Religion is superflous. It was started at a time when people lacked scientific knowledge. They simply made up stories and filled in the gaps with “god did it”.
Being angry at the behaivor of theists might be a reason. But, in terms of “all loving” it makes no sense logically. Why would an all loving all powerfull god allow it’s children to be tortured by atheists and then turn around and blame it for the ball he stared?
Certianly that is a moral logical fallacy. But, ultimatly if you claim a deity, you cant re create it in a lab, or falsify it or set up controls.
30 seconds or less? Easy.
If there were a god and s/he created us, we wouldn’t have to poop, get snotty noses, or pass gas. If there were an entity that could create the universe in 7 days, I would think s/he would have done a better job of it.
I always ask which god ; the jewish , christian or islamic god. The usual reply is “there is only one god.” This gives me a chance to inlighten them on the different principles of their religion and their gods. Once in a great while I will see a light go on in a person, then I will quote W.K. Clifford who says ” It is wrong for anyone, always and everywhere to beleave anything on insufficient evidence.
another responce = The question is not why I’m an atheist, but why arent you?
If I’m asked if I believe in a god, I simply respong with “I believe in myself.”
Having grown up in the bible belt I don’t have a lot of tolerance for fundies. So my reply – although I’m practically never asked – is a shock response just to get them to shut up. Oh, so what’s my response?
Look, if there is a god, when I die the first thing I’m going to do is kill that *%#@!. (fill in your own explitive).
Also, I would just like to add, I would never say, if you can prove…. Yes, it is for them to prove, but it is not something that can be proven. Also, it’s like saying, “well, maybe there is a god, but I don’t see the proof.”
No there is no god(s). End of sentence, period.
Finally, if anyone wishes to enter serious conversation I always send them to Joseph Campbell’s Mythology series. If you read it I don’t see how one can look at any “holy” text and say that it is the word of god. It’s total myth.
No gods existed till people existed who could communicate their unanswered questions about their world. Since none of the peerage could answer the questions, gods were invented to take up the slack. Seems reasonable for a time when sun was thought to be a chariot driven across the sky. To believe now…is just unfathomable.
There are two short proofs I’m ready to offer on paper to anyone I run into who asks why I’m an atheist. Here is the first one:
(The arrow means ‘implies’)
1. To have a moral obligation to believe a just god exists, you must realize (& therefore believe) that you have that obligation. [No one, no matter who, just by telling you that you have an obligation to believe something, can impose such an obligation upon you]
2. To believe you have that obligation would require that you believe that a just god exists. [There can be no moral obligation to believe a just god exists if no just god exists]
3. (1,2->) So having a moral obligation to believe a just god exists implies that you have satisfied it, making the obligation moot and ineffective.
4. (3->) Assuming there would be no ineffective moral obligations in existence, there is no moral obligation to believe a just god exists.
Recently I have been answering why I am an athiest with the question ” because if I told you this morning that jesus told me to take the day off and go fishing you would call me crazy” to me that is a simple answer because even the religious call crazy the people who say God told me to do it!
I keep things simple.
No one was ever born a theist. And why become one? To reject any particular religion isn’t to reject any particular god; you can’t reject something you don’t believe in. Rather, rejecting religion is rejecting the things that other people have told you.
As one example, when I reject Christianity, I am not rejecting Jesus–I don’t believe in Jesus in the first place. I am rejecting what other humans have communicated to me. It is unfathomable to me that I could be punished at all–much less for all eternity–for not believing what people tell me.
Human judgment is so poor that the decision of whether or not to drive through a yellow traffic light can be harrowing or even deadly. I once decided to order seafood, then paid for it later with stomach cramps.
Yet, on these same tenuous powers of judgment, the fate of one’s “soul” is to rest? It makes no sense.
As Robert Ingersoll said, “It cannot be true, and your religion is a lie. If it is true, I hate your god.”
I think I wandered from the point, but what I meant to get across is that I feel there is no reason to believe in any god, much less any particular god. It is an axiom that we exist, but it isn’t an axiom that god exists.
—-
Above, sbj said that if you respond “No” when asked “Do you believe in god?”, you are saying that god does exist, but you don’t believe in it. Sorry, but that’s not true. You implicitly know that when people ask that question, they mean “Do you believe in my god?”. Therefore, it’s the same as if they had asked, “Do you believe in the existence of god?”
Do you ask a 1000 year old redwood if it has a soul before you cut it down to make a stupid deck on your house?
A far, far smarter & eloquent man than I named Ingersoll (the only republican outside of Lincoln I’ve ever admired) said these things:
“God so loved the world that he made up his mind to damn a large majority of the human race” – “Man in his ignorance supposed that all phenomena were produced by some intelligent powers with direct reference to him” – and, “I would rather that every God destroy himself; I would rather that we should all go to eternal chaos, to black and starless night, than that just one soul should suffer eternal agony.”
I think that covers a good 30 seconds worth?
prescription drug rx online
In your free time, visit some helpful info in the field of drug online prescription store
how to win at poker
Take your time to take a look at some relevant information about play free poker
project management
…
well, look how big and beautiful the world is, it has to be created by someone, and that someone is God Almighty.Everything is in sequence. How come we cannot live on any other planet? only this earth provides oxygen and everything else for each human to live. The devil and evil spirits are around and they are changing the minds some people and this is why some people feel that there is no God. This is a test from God to see whether you believe or not and if you do you will be granted eternal life in paradise and if you dont believe then you will be granted eternal life in the hell fires. Although we may not be able to see God, he is there. the world and everything in it is not just a coincidence, it was created.
kim,
I can’t decide whether you are joking or serious. I hope joking for the sake of your logic and level of intelligence.