Why Do People Become Atheists?

I Am Your Resident Atheist Here....

I've skimmed through much of the topic and I've noticed (right on the first page noticeably), there are people who tend to be woefully ignorant about the idea or philosophy of Atheism. As for me, I'll give you my reasons as to why I'm an atheist and explain my personal positions on religion.

Q. Why am I an atheist?
A. I came to the realization at an early age (yet not fully) that God simply is akin to Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and many other caricatures of the human conception. Unlike the ones I've stated, God is a rather loose definition. Whether the personal deity perspective or the Logos (Law), the idea behind it is a personal construct mainly to give some answer for what's unknowable. Either way, Atheism is simply lacking the belief in God or gods.

Q. What are my thoughts on religion?
A. I consider religion to be more of a double-edged sword. Bear in mind, I LOVE Catholic Cathedral music and the choir music which comes from it. It may have to do with me being in the Archdiocese until I started college. But I guess the aesthetics are very much pleasing. However, I also see the problems with religion and those who drink its nectar (which serves as more of a poison when consumed too much) and they start to fall into the state of delusion. In short, I love the arts which derives from religion, but I do not feel the teachings are worth considered since our emotions and attitudes have evolved, not so much on religion, but through ever evolving societies through secularism.

Q. Are Atheists More Arrogant than God-believers?
A. Humans are generally arrogant for being self-reassured, that's a given emotion when the Self is placed on the pedestal. Regarding ideology, which is more arrogant between those who believe in a god and those who lack the belief? Both are equally guilty, however I must say that atheists are slightly LESS arrogant given that those who believe in God has more of a luxurious reassurance on the answers of life, whereas Atheists generally would admit that the answers aren't simply there, and we may not know what happens. But as of now we can only speculate based on the monistic perspective of things.

Q. Do I consider God-believers weak?
A. Only those who basically feel that without god, they're nothing.

Hope that helps! I'm your resident atheist and hope all this helps. Any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to respond.

 

Satoshi Kanazawa wrote this interesting bit about why atheists are more intelligent than religious people. From the perspective of an evolutionary psychologist.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...y-atheists-are-more-intelligent-the-religious

 

So basically Athiests believe to have an answer to something as complex as God? The only way I see you as less arrogant than the popular religions is that you don't force it on others but the bottom line is your guessing too. And I know when we are grown we are less open to the idea that our assumptions could be wrong because the idea of change seems way to cumbersome but we should all remain flexible in our thinking. I truly believe God is all. Everything from air we breathe to the ground we stand. Now do I believe it/he/she is as involved in our lives as others might think? Absolutely not. If I believe God is picking favorites than fuck him I want nothing to do with him. To favaor some over others is not the act of a caring father its the act of selfish child who needs others to make himself feel liked.

 

Which is why agnosticism is the way to go.

 

I don't totally disagree but I do enjoy searching for the answers.

 

I'm a logical thinker, a scientist, so accepting the notion of God without proper scientific evidence seems both pointless and ridiculous to me, but so does denying it based on the same lack of evidence. I keep an open mind.

 

I applaud you sir. That's pretty much my line of thinking. Science actually guides me towards a belief in God based on two things. When the Wright Brothers discovered flight and the discovery of penacilin. Two of the most amazing advancements in human history that simply just required time for us to discover them. Always apart of our lives but not easy to see or experience.

 

I would prefer it if you didn't call me 'sir', since I'm a woman ...

I get what you're saying, but the discovery of these things aren't miracles. If there's enough time, everything will happen. Even though things like these have changed a lot for us as humans, they are by no means things that would be impossible - or even unlikely - in a world without God(s).

 

Sorry your avatar fooled me lol.

I don't see why the concept of God should be seperate from science. I always felt that science could answer the how but God ie faith helps us to understand why.

 

My avatar is Ringo Starr!

But the 'why' is not part of science, it's part of philosophy.

 

see...i'm not an atheist....i believe in the beatles

 

Well, since it's impossible not to believe in them, it's not really a part of religion. It's more of a universal fact sort of thing.

 

Fair enough that makes sense.

 

The real problem is that the God you perceive is as real as the ego manifested from your means of thinking. In other words, what you believe is personally a reflection of your own convictions. Also, arrogance when it comes to religion and spirituality, stems from the virtue of satisfying oneself into thinking a human made concept is the one all be all answer. To think that your certainty in a humanoid deity is what's set, when in reality, much of our existence is purely existential. Making a virtue out of nothing is what arrogance is and that's a trait followed closely by those who hold strong religious convictions and shove them down to the throats of others.

That statement makes absolutely no sense at all. The Wright Brothers happen to have stumbled upon a way to take advantage of flight, which required basic understandings of Newtonian Laws. And secondly, the Wright Brothers didn't discover penicillin. It was Alexander Fleming who discovered it. I don't see how any of these human achievements have anything to do with your faith-based beliefs.

http://history1900s.about.com/od/medicaladvancesissues/a/penicillin.htm

Science explains HOW things work. The process of the scientific method is meant to show that mere speculation alone cannot prove something true. God is merely a substitute for what we lack in knowledge. It doesn't speak of truth, nor does it speak of falsehood. It's merely a concept which drives some people to a need of comfort, or a strengthening mechanism. But all this is merely saying it's a void of oneself that needs to be filled (or created through conscience).

 

The only thing I know for certain is that we are far from knowing everything and to say there int a God is ridiculous. Maybe not in the popular sense but the fact that there has been worship of a higher power from people from all walks of life definitely points to humans having an awareness of a force bigger than ourselves. I know we don't have a full understanding of it but I do believe its there.

 

Okay, I'll break it down point by and point.

1. Thoughts aren't a form of energy. Rather, thinking is a chemical reaction within the brain which stimulates the process of thought. I'm not quite sure where you're getting this idea. Perhaps you're using the term "energy" a little too loosely. What you're basically doing is proving my point that God is merely a human construct when you made that claim.

And secondly, it's relatively confusing that on one hand you speak as though you're a theist who believes in a personal God that actually is involved in your experiences. Yet, you retracted and claimed you're a deist? You might have to elaborate on that. It seems more like you believe in a personal God than one that's "just there."

2. Ah, I've re-read your previous comment about the penicillin. I'm sorry. But I still feel it's a horrible analogy. The discover of penicillin was as accidental as the conception of viagra. The reassurance, if anything, comes from the notion that we as human beings can create some means to make the future better for us. In other words, human reason and science is all the more of greater importance.

3. We can safely agree on that we lack the knowledge on things like the origin of existence and death. That stuff, we may never know in our lifetime. BUT, much like the idea of spirits, demons, and what have you...we do know that human beings are very fascinated in the supernatural and unknown. The fear keeps us under that darken sky. That's a given. However, there are some things we are certain of and that's individual reassurance of one's own personal existence. Whatever gives you meaning to live, then I assure you that you live it fully without fail.

 

:smt023

 

There are psychological explanations to why people become believers, so the mere existence of belief doesn't at all prove that there is a God. Some people might think that them being religious is in itself an indication that God truly does exist, but accepting that statement is just ignorant, since it totally disregards the psychological explanations.

 

BigBrotherWise,

You're saying that God is like Santa Claus?????? Is that how it is?! :-?

 

In a nutshell...yes.

Whatever knowledge we lack, we as humans often substitute our ignorance with a concepts that help us cope with what we can't know.