Why Do People Become Atheists?

So what are the reasons for being an atheist?

 

I think a lot of misguided lazy people become atheists because they are either too scared or too lazy to believe in something. From what I've observed atheism comes from a place of so much arrogance because many of them believe since evidence of God isn't proven through material science then there is no way it can exist. Its very sad.

 

Very good topic.

 

sorry to say but i so disagree with your whole post. my father is an atheist and i would never say that he's misguided, lazy, scared or arrogant...he just chooses to believe in something that he can see. now on the otherhand, i've met plenty of lazy, misguided, scared and arrogant people who believe in god & jesus. i will also throw in the word judgemental as well.

 

I don't want to come back on a negative note but I stand by my position. There is a very ignorant arrogance that goes with the idea that there is nothingness after death, that life is a result of random chance. I often disagree with the Christian mythology on God but I do admire their faith to believe in something that isn't obviously in front of their face. Choosing to not believe in something simply because you can't touch or see it is ridiculous. The same people who have this type of thinking have no problem in believing in molecules or atoms but when the same kind of thinking is applied to an entity that created all life it suddenly becomes ridiculous. I'm not trying to bash your dad Tarsh but its a lot easier to believe and nothing and presume that your way of thinking is all there is than to indulge in the idea there is too much that we don't know to make definitive statements like there is no God.

 

i respect your position and your standpoint andrae. we all have the right to choose our own beliefs. i just can't stomach when people who obviously don't believe in the same thing as others get names thrown at them. i love the freewill that we as people have.

 

Very true me too. Its what makes human beings so interesting

 

You do realize that your thinking about atheists - can be turned right back? I know atheists that say the exact same thing about believers: arrogant, ignorant, weak etc.
If people dont want to believe, fine - I respect that - I dont think its arrogant or weak etc - as long as they can defend their reasoning why they dont believe and they dont bash believers, Im fine with that.

 

I once considered atheism. I have simply changed my definition of god. Atheism comes when you have no proof of something like a pink elephant. I mean can you truly prove god exists or a pink elephant for that matter! on the other side can you prove the pink elephant doesn't exist or god?

 

I once considered atheism. I have simply changed my definition of god. Atheism comes when you have no proof of something like a pink elephant. I mean can you truly prove god exists or a pink elephant for that matter! on the other side can you prove the pink elephant doesn't exist or god? That's what keeps me believing in god but not the Christian god that has been made up. Since I have no proof of what god can and can't do, I can't believe in god being so all knowing and all powerful.

Q in star trek seemed to be all powerful and all knowing but the further you got to know the fictional character the further you understood he was not. The same can be said with parents and children. A parent to a child is god in many ways. He or she gives food that may come in a box. He or she has the power to turn on or off light. What may seem to you as far as the top of mount everest is just a reach away for that parent. He or she knows all and is all powerful. It isn't til you start to know more and more do you realize that they don't know all and are not more powerful. I'm not quite sure what god is or even if god exists or not but I am not going to give labels as to what can and can't do without even knowing god. I'm still trying to figure out if god is a being, an event, or simply false hope for so many.

Always remember, I simply need to know more and be more powerful to fool a person into believing. That's why you need logical evidence so as to not be fooled.

 

This is very sad. If anything the people who don't believe are less lazy than most who do believe. The more knowledge you have, the less you are tempted to believe in zeus and all of the other stuff. It takes a lot of work to gain intel. It takes nothing more than just believing to believe in zeus and all the other gods that have gone through human history.

Last thing I got to say. As a Haitian whose great grandparents believed in voo doo, When your people got an army whose religion is christian trying to put you into slavery. You tend not to believe the enemy's religion. You understand where I am coming form?

 

I agree...

I'm not sure, but last I asked, my brother was an Atheist. Like your Pops, he too is far from lazy. He's always been very successful and driven. I tease him about being arrogant, but he's my brother so that comes with the territory. He's loving and there for you when you need him.

 

I agree with you on several points but logical evidence isn't always reliable since what is considered logical today might not to be tomorrow and with that in mind I think God is undefinable by our current standards and when trying to define what he/she is we lose out on experiencing what God is.

 

When I said lazy I didn't mean sloathful I meant unwilling to seek knowledge beyond their own boundaries and the same can be said about most religions but the subject of the thread is atheism.

 

:smt023 Good to see you posting again babe!

 

I hear you, but we can't generalize. My brother is extremely intelligent, so if he hasn't sought out the knowledge, he already has knowledge of and is comfortable in his belief or shall I say, lack thereof. He's always been a man of logic, so I assume since he can't see it, he doesn't believe it. I don't know his reasons and I probably shouldn't speak on them. I think the next time I see him, I'm going to ask him if he still has the same stance.

 

This is exactly how I've come to terms with believing in God and being a scientist (anthropologist) by nature.

I was raised Catholic and now consider myself an agnostic. I've said this for many years now: I think we as humans can't possibly put into words what God may be....we can't comprehend it down here. Our brains aren't powerful enough for it.

I do believe there is an afterlife. I know this sounds weird, but I do believe ghosts exist (there are too many stories throughout the ages to claim that all are made up, IMO) and I've experienced them firsthand. You can't have ghosts without there being an afterlife, right?

As for the original question, I think there are a mulititude of reasons why people are or become atheists: something tragic happened in their lives and they can't believe that God would allow it to happen, so they reason themselves into believing that there can't possibly be a God if such and such happened; they were born into a family of atheists and never think outside the box; they can't reconcile their beliefs with their jobs (if they're scientists, etc); amongst other reasons.

 

ohhh ghosts. Ghosts are where my logic is thrown out. I have seen them on recorded so I can't say that they don't appear to exist. I just need more info to prove it. I got to admit I would be very frighten if my dead grandma was a ghost in front of me.

 

my ex's aunt & uncle are the landlords in an old pub from the 1600's in bedfordshire. i have seen pints of beer move along the old wooden table and chairs move across the floor firsthand. they got some ghost hunters in to look around & they said there was activity (of course) and they discovered a room up in the attic that has been boarded off. they're still not been in there. wish they had when i was still living there.