A question for atheists. I'm mot trying to be ridiculous or naive...just interested. Why...?

Question

...do you not believe there is a God? What do you think about those who think there is a God? What do you think happens to you when you die? What if you are wrong, and when you die, it turns out there IS a God?

Just a bunch of questions I've wanted to ask and try to understand. I want to see what other peoples points of views are.

Answer 1

I don't believe in God because I don't think his existence is very probable, and I think that for some people, religion is used as an excuse to do terrible things.To me a persons religion doesn't really matter that much, I care more about their personality. When I die, I believe that my body will rot in the ground. If there is actually a god I hope that when I die he will judge me not on my religious beliefs, but on my morals and actions during my life.

Answer 2

I don't mind whether someone believes in God or not however I do grow tired of those fervant believers who look down on us mere mortals who either don't believe (or at the least are unsure) with their smug sense of superiority. They accuse atheists of being close minded but ironically the exact opposite is true. I am certain that most atheists, if presented with irrefutable evidence of the existence of God, would accept they're wrong, ridicule Richard Dawkins and start attending church. Yet the religious types can provide NO evidence for their assertions. Flip it around and an atheist can present a cornucopia of evidence that, whilst not necessarily disproving the existence of God, can certainly call into serious question almost everything written in most religious texts about the history of humanity and the Earth. Despite this though most believers still cling to what is written in their ancient documents compiled by ignorant men whilst pouring scorn on the evidence presented to them by some of the greatest geniuses mankind has ever produced. An extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof and the burden of proof lies with those making the extraordinary claim. Therefore the burden lies with the religious types as it is impossible to prove something doesn't exist.



I actually do believe in God but I'm not religious. I'm also open to the idea of an afterlife. After all the human body and brain is sparking with energy and many believe that this energy could be a physical embodiment of our consciousness and sentience. If this is true and we bear in mind that energy cannot be destroyed (a fact of physics and not some esoteric belief) then that energy must go somewhere after the body dies. If said energy is for all intents and purposes the embodiment of us (i.e. our soul) then perhaps our consciousness carries on on some higher plane of reality. Even Einstein subscribed to this idea. Although whether there will be someone there wagging His finger at us is not something I can answer.



I know that sounds like a contradiction in terms but when you think about it I believe that most people don't really have a problem with God but rather with religion and the kind of things done in His name. I can't say for certain if God exists, what He wants from us if He does or His involvement or lack thereof in our day to day lives but isn't that the whole point?

We live in the most advanced age that humanity has ever experienced yet for every one thing we can explain there are a billion, billion other things that make up the rest of reality which we can't. I mean we can send men to the moon but we cant explain why a ducks quack doesn't echo (true fact by the way). Yet some of the most ignorant people in our society have the arrogance to claim that they can understand and interpret the mind of an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent being!



If God does exist then surely He/She/It is the very definition of an abstract entity and that being so one could argue that ANY interpretation of God is both 100% correct and 100% wrong at the same time

Answer 3

hi :)



No i don't believe there is a God. Honestly, i think that most religious people can be rather pleasant, i don't appreciate however, when they judge other people who dont have their beliefs. im sure a lot of atheists can agree with me in the sense that we are all tired of seeing religious people judge other people, whether its for being gay, or atheist, or of another faith or whatever the matter is. All to often that is what happens and they somehow judge us for not believing in their stories, when honestly they have no real basis.



As for what i think happens when we die..... i dont know. i think that is what all of us should acknowledge. None of us can actually know what happens. Perhaps their in an afterlife, maybe we all become ghosts, idk. Maybe what really happens after we die is more wonderful then eternal life in "heaven". Thats a question for tomorrow and until it comes, their is no sense in us pondering it.



Well, if there is a God, then i guess there is nothing we can do except acknowledge that we were wrong i guess. Hopefully God will be kind enough to understand why we thought what we thought.



I hope i answered your question :)

Answer 4

I don't know if there is a God or not... There might be...

But with the evidence that we have today I don't see why I should say for that there is one... I simply don't know... I am against all who say that there is a God out of emotional attachment (most theists to that without knowing) or out of ignorance.

There might be something that lets the consciousness continue on a journey of some kind but it is highly improbable that it has something to to with the Bible or Koran etc...



What if I am wrong? This is a funny question... It means that is there is a God he will punish (with hell) everyone who doesn't believe that he exists.

And you know what? If there is such a thing as a all powerful being in the universe I strongly disagree that he would punish someone on that basis. On the contrary... I strongly believe that he/she would be an awesome dude!!! And furthermore I think that he would give a much grater reward for not believing and searching than for naive gullibility.

Answer 5

I like your question! I think a lot about things like this, because I wonder how somebody would react if they were proven wrong after having an extremely strong opinion on something. Recently, I was wondering what would somebody who believed that they were getting into Heaven so strongly but then when dying, they were sent to Hell. How would they react? - their whole life living a lie? I'll use Shirley Phelps-Roper, who strongly asserts that she will go to Heaven but, in my opinion, is extremely evil. Another example - somebody who really strongly believed that humankind is contributing to global warming (which I do, more or less agree with) is proven wrong, and it turns out that humans actually have had no effect on the environment - their whole life living a lie. It's a very interesting subject.

Anyway, I apologize for veering off subject, I just wanted to illustrate how I am on your same wave-length. I am not necessarily an atheist, because I try not to hold strong opinions about anything. However, I do not necessarily believe that there is a God (simply because there is no scientific proof). But it is impossible to prove that something doesn't exist, so there very well may be a God. And of course, if one believes in God, then God does exist. I have no problem at all towards those who think there is a God, but I may have a problem who does not accept (nor attempt to understand) other peoples' way of living (but obviously, this does not pertain to you, or else you would not be asking this question).

I feel that when you die, you simply stop perceiving anything. It's like when you go to sleep and wake up later without having any kinds of dreams (or possible interruptions from moving around, etc.) except you don't wake up. You just stay like that, which is something that we, who are alive, could not possibly comprehend. If it turns out that there is a God when I die, then I would be happy to accept that. If I go to Hell, that would definitely be a bummer, but hopefully God would be lenient and allow me into Heaven simply for my efforts in trying to be a good person.



The truth is, I am not afraid of dying. I am afraid of living - it terrifies me that I might end up unhappy eventually or without friends or family or living a pointless life or doing something that really hurts somebody or destroying something, etc. Hopefully, I will be able to accept whatever ends up happening to me (I have the tendency to mostly accept whatever happens), and as I have said before, strive to be a good person all the time. But still - with huge things like that, it is just scary to me.



Of course, I am leaving out the subjectivity of things and only expressing the opinions and feelings that I have come to know for the sake of this answer being as simple as possible (and obviously, judging by my four paragraphs, is something that I cannot do haha).



=]

Answer 6

I'm not really an atheist any more than any other religion, but I might be able to answer a few of your questions.



Usually religious people believe due to strong emotional reasons.. They have strong feelings that tell them something is true.. Most Atheist's simply don't have a strong emotional response telling them to believe in a particular religion.. In lack of that they believe what they think is most likely..



It's not so much a matter of being able to believe in something, just in order to cover your bases in case you might be wrong. A person will still believe what they feel or think is most likely the case.

Regardless of any desire they might have to cover their bases.



As to what might happen if an atheist came up against god is any body's guess. But if this god is a Magnanimous force of good then I doubt he would condemn someone for something they had little choice in.. Even I wouldn't do that, and I'm far from an imperfect being. An atheist doesn't make a conscious choice not to believe in God any more than a religious person chooses to. It's simply what they believe.

Answer 7

I believe in a being greater than us, Chelsea, I just don't believe he created the world or gave us free will, or whatever. I most certainly think he isn't a God, just an advanced force of Nature. I don't he's benevolent either. He enjoys the peoples of the world fight other him (80% of all human conflict throughout history was caused by religion) or has one hell of a "no interference" policy.



As for the people who believe, yeah sure believe, i don't mind (or a certain extent care) about what others think, as long as they don't force feed me ideas on God's existence.



As for the afterlife, i think it ends rather quickly, almost as soon as you die. Then we have the pleasure of being eaten by insects and other beasts who feed on carrion, and having our skin peeled back and our organs and other soft tissues devoured. I'm a cheery sod.



If, when i die, I meet God, I'll stand corrected and I'll give a chance. If I'm cast onto Hell to burn forever more in the temperas flames so my soul shall be purged of all sin and vice for the rest of eternity, then he'll have proved my point that he's not benevolent.





Just as a side note, the Catholic Church was held political power in Italy and an influence on politics throughout Europe. All of the time they preached to behave, and not cause a fuss, it all seems like an elaborate way (though one that doesn't surprise me) to keep the uneducated masses loyal. The Church appears to be more of an Organisation, rather than any kind of representative body.





Just my views, hate me if you wish, but I've got love. (lol)

Answer 8

I don't believe in god because I don't think there are good enough reasons to motivate such beliefs. What do I think about theists? I tend to think that they haven't sensibly thought through the issue (though I wouldn't say that about all theists). I don't worry too much about what will happen if I'm wrong. Even If it turned out that God does exist, I think it would be impossible to say what would happen. Religions like Christianity or Islam seem to severely anthropomorphize god and make a lot of assumptions about what god's like. If god really did exist, I think there would be very little you could say about it at all, let alone what it's attitudes are towards humans doubting its existence. It probably wouldn't even make sense to talk about such a being having attitudes or opinions in the first place.

Answer 9

I believe there is no God (especially God of the Bible) because there is no evidence, and no need for God as an explanation of reality. Scripture accounts give God too many conflicting personalities, most of which are very unpleasant, making me think these stories are the figments of men's imaginations.



Those who think there is a God seem to get a great deal of comfort from their faith. Many if not most of them, do not appear to practise their religions as they should, probably in the belief that attending their church is what really matters, and God will forgive them their sins.



When we die we enter the perfect peace of eternal nothingness, as it was before we were born. There is no eternal suffering in Hell and no eternal bliss in Heaven, simply nothingness.



If I am wrong and there is a God, then I suppose my fate for being created imperfect will be eternal torture of the most extreme kind with no let up; forever in Hell's fire, with laughter and mocking by Satan as I suffer. I will then come to understand that God is far worse than the Devil because He made me imperfect in the first place; gave me free will, and using my God given logic I made the wrong choice. I hope if I'm wrong, you will find perfect bliss forever more at one with your loving God by your side.

Answer 10

its really not accurate to say atheists "don't believe" or even "disbelieve" in God. Atheists claim that there is no proof or even evidence for the existence of God. Religious people have "beliefs" Atheists have facts. Personally I think most people who believe in god are suffering from the same sort of delusion as the people who believe in Santa, the tooth fairy, and unicorns. Its just immaturity, mainly intellectual immaturity. I think when you die, the energy that makes up your mind dissipates, and the material that makes up your body decomposes. There is no evidence to support a belief in life after death.



If I am wrong, when I die, I sincerely hope that God will be understanding and kind. He made me skeptical, he gave me free will, and then he went to TREMENDOUS effort to hide or disguise every single shred of evidence for his existence. I will, in all honesty, declare and explain my personal belief that I think most religious people are "God's Children" while atheists are "Gods Rebellious Teenagers"... if he truly is the "Loving Father" Christians want me to believe, he'll give me the old "prodigal son" type of hug and welcome me into heaven.

Answer 11

there is no evidence to support or prove any god/goddess/creators existence



there are no measurable effects , and if there was a being like a god, there wouldmost definately be noticible measurable effects, as evyerthing leaves a trace



i think, whatever, their business, i dont really care unless and until they come bothering me



i think there is any number of possiblitys, my personal beleifs are either we become energy/soul and exist on an energy plane, or we just die and our energy dissapates into our surroundings,



if there is a god, then it doesnt matter, it isnt what any religon has claimed, as no human can actually understand or know what a god is or isnt, thats the point, they are above human understanding



;-)

Answer 12

Reasonable questions, I'll give it my best:



1. Right, no God. I only believe in things for which there is good and adequate evidence. For God there is not one scintilla of evidence. I also don't believe in poltergeists, unicorns, the Easter Bunny, or mermaids. Only in things or entities for which there is good and adequate evidence, like the Great Meteor crater, or the liberty bell.



2. I think theists are in the thrall of an obsessive neurosis. They obsess over their own mortality. This becomes a neurosis that gives rise to delusions. In some, like Charlie Manson or Osama Bin Laden, it becomes a psychosis, and can give rise to anti-social behavior, including homicide.



3. At death, the light goes out. The body goes back to the Earth. The ripples left by your deeds go forth as the testament to your spirit -- what you stood for while you were here. Example: Norman Borlaug -- his dwarf wheat is still saving about a billion people from starvation. That's the ripples he leaves behind. That's the testament to his spirit and good intent toward humanity. He did it with deeds. Beethoven did it with notes. Einstein with equations. Martha Graham with dances. Huge Hefner with fold outs. Grotius with treatises on law. We leave fragments of our fleece on the fenceposts of this world, and when we are gone, they testify that we were here.



4. If I'm wrong --



Hi God, hope you are proud of me, I did live in your image, I was free the whole time. Nothing told me what to think except myself. I accept full responsibility for myself. Hope you see me as a chip off the ancient block, a fragment of the Vishnu Schist. You have a great reputation for being merciful, and apart from being an atheist, I tried to lead a good life and help other people. So if you see something of yourself in me, willful and autocratic as I am, and free, hope you will take that into account.



[It's my little counter-proposal to Pascal's Wager -- He and I never played poker of went to the casino together, so I don't know who is the better gambler -- I do know that being free right here right now has the highest value for me -- to be in the thrall of anything is to not truly live]

Answer 13

1.) I see no good reason to believe there is a god.



2.) Very complex question. Some people believe in god because it makes them feel good, others because they believe it is the most logical answer to explain the mystery of existence.



3.) I don't know. I'll let you know.

Answer 14

Chelsea,



Thank you for asking this question. It means a great deal to me that you are actually interested in why I don’t believe. Even though I am an atheist, I think that you and I are kindred spirits because I am also very curious about what makes Christians believe.



Do I not believe there is a God? Correct, I don’t believe God is a real entity, especially not one ascribed with the attributes of the Christian Bible.



What do I think about those who think there is a God? I think that there are some very intelligent and enlightened people who believe in God. For example, one of my contacts, Sylvia C., is a Christian who is full of love for everyone including a hardheaded atheist like myself. How could I not admire her regardless of whether I agree with everything she believes? My parents are Christian and most of my friends are Christian. My husband who is rivaled only by my Dad for being the most kind hearted, loving, and intelligent man on the planet is a Christian and I have immense respect for him. So, yes, it is possible to still love and respect someone even though you don’t agree with their religious beliefs. It is their character that makes them great people not their religious affiliations.



What do I think happens when I die? I think we all know but have chosen to repress the knowledge. There isn’t sufficient space for me to explain it articulately here so I will just leave you with a brain teaser. Would you or I still be able to think even if we didn’t have knowledge of neurons and electrochemical reactions? Would we still be able to perceive matter even if we didn’t know what atoms and molecules are? Of course we could and why do you suppose that is? So why is it so difficult to fathom that just because the body stops functioning it doesn't necessarily mean that you cease to exist? I don’t believe that intellect and perception are necessarily predicated on the existence of matter, but I do believe the reverse is true.



Why can’t science find the human soul? You didn’t ask this question, but I felt it might be pertinent. First, it is difficult to find something that you don’t believe exists to begin with. We once believed the world was flat and that the earth was the center of the universe. Inventions like the telescope helped to change our perception of our physical reality. Using radio telescopes, today, we can even extend our vision into other galaxies. No one will question the existence of a soul once science creates and instrument to detect it, but how many people will have to die in ignorance before that happens?



What if I am wrong, and when I die, it turns out there IS a God? My reactions would depend on what kind of God I am confronted with! If he truly is a loving, kind, and caring God then I suppose I would enjoy meeting him. However, mankind’s relationship with the God of the Christian Bible appears to be very one sided. If the Christian God is the one I am confronted with then my reaction would be irrelevant because I would be sent straight to Hell. I don’t think the Christian God would be very pleased to see me.



If it were possible here are some of the questions I would shout as I plummeted into Satan’s pit: How can I accept that Christ died for my sins when I hadn’t even been born yet? It’s not fair to Christ and it’s not fair to me. I wasn’t the one who ate the Forbidden Fruit! I didn't commit the original sin. I didn’t get to vote on whether or not I wanted Christ to die! Wouldn’t having a God here on earth have done far more good than allowing him to be killed? If Christ were alive today surely you would have groves of believers, God. If I could have voted I would have told Christ not to sacrifice himself for me. But since Christ was God I’m a little confused as to how that was a sacrifice anyway. Adam’s original sin is what damned mankind in the first place so if anyone was sacrificed shouldn’t it have been Adam and only Adam?

Answer 15

The issue of Atheism is important. From my experience it's about communication more than differences. What happened was religious leaders chose to promote hierarchical concepts of 'God' and that's not what 'God' is. Hierarchical concepts: judgment, omnipotence, creator, etcetera. When people say they are atheists or if you think they are, it's usually because they have more accurate values of 'God' than religious leaders like Thomas Aquinas whos ideas dominate the issue.

Answer 16

Ask in the R&S section. All the atheists hang out there, trust me. I've been around there for a long time to know that the majority that are there are actually atheist. You'll get over 20 answers more there than you would here.

Answer 17

My favourite is whilst they think of you're stupid and could have forgot somethin'. This female knew i replaced into raised Methodist and stored beating the fundamentals of Sin and Repentance into me. Ohh, yah, the finished I have no sense of morality factor... rattling i've got have been given nothin'

Answer 18

~~What if you are wrong, and when you die, it turns out there IS a God?~~



I used to say ... that if you believed in God and He didn't exist... it didn't matter

but if you didn't believe in God and He did exist.. then you're screwed...



BUT it dawned on my.. if you say that as your reason for believing in God... then .. you DON'T REALLY BELIEVE IN HIM... it's like you've attempted to take out an insurance policy.. and IT WOULDN'T WORK THAT WAY .. if He exists.....



I'm agnostic.... I don't KNOW if there is a God (or which one/s He is)... but I am not going to *JUST BELIEVE* or rather say I believe just to save my sorry butt from hell's eternal burning... I would see that as actually being unworthy of Heaven....



Faith in God.. from how I see it ... HAS TO STEM from a belief in his existence.. NOT WHAT you MIGHT get from it IF you believe in him...



I hope that makes sense to people.

Answer 19

Why do you not believe there is a God? It is not a matter of belief. This is precisely what separates dogmatic people from atheists. It is not about what we believe but about what we know and understand. As an atheist, I consider myself a person who relies on factual science to answer important questions that everyone tends to ask (how did life on earth started? why are there hurricanes and earthquakes? why do bad things happen to good people? for example). To approach these issues people may want to believe something, like the story in the book of Genesis or develop a code of morals involving invisible beings that punish and reward human actions, such as gods, demons, angels and other supernatural stories. But atheists want to understand and know something, so we rely on what has been tested and studied by scientists and humanists. God, the story of creation, the miracles of Jesus Christ or reincarnation are things that cannot be understood, observed, studied or tested, all there is to it is to believe it and see Biblical text as more than ancient literature. For an atheist this is not enough. To believe something does not make it real. For example, children believing in the tooth fairy because other people have been telling them about it and they engage in a ritual where they get cash for baby teeth does not bring the tooth fairy to life. I know this might sound as an insulting, demeaning example for people who obviously don't see God on the same level as a child's tale but in essence it is the same. You either believe a story or you observe, investigate and understand. Atheists don't simply believe "there is no God", rather we have studied and gathered enough tested data to conclude that there is no God.



What do you think about those who think there is a God? a number of different things. Ultimately and at the base of everything I think their belief is flawed of course but it really depends on the theist and the kind of things they do with their faith. I have no desire to socialize or even listen to people who base their entire existence on what their preacher or faith minister says or who think the Bible is the beginning and end of everything. That to me is a sign of a very small mind who seeks to be told what to do and how to act instead of being an independent being. However, I realize that not all theists are this way and religious people come in all shapes and sizes, so although I don't think their faith is useful or ultimately right, I can of course get past that and see them for other things, like their personality and how they treat others.



What if you are wrong, and when you die, it turns out there IS a God? I will worry about that once and only once I'm dead. I think it's pretty absurd and lame that people see their believe in God or some divine power as their "lifesaver in case of death". I have chosen to learn and exist day by day and enhance my understanding of existence through experience by actually living, instead of being all conserned about something that has not occurred yet. In my opinion, people waste too much time thinking about the day they will die and what is going to happen, so they turn to a series of promises that no one has witnessed or actually seen and base their entire existence on these conditions. I think being an atheist is rather liberating, because we're not afraid of embracing our own mortality and the temporality of our lives, we don't fear punishment, we're not in a constat trade of "I do good then God rewards me" type of thing. Rather, we're just ourselves and think/act/behave out of our own free will, instead of attaching every action or incident to the afterlife, salvation, someone watching us and judging us or the fear of hell.

Answer 20

God is just an imaginary being created by primitive man to explain the unknown.



Religious organizations use god in their pyramid scheme to deceive gullible people because these people have fear, uncertainty and doubt about life/death.



Heaven and hell are created for their pyramid scheme. They said rich man cannot go to heaven so you should empty your bank account and donate the money to them. They said money is root of evil, you should donate all your money to them or you will go to hell.



They want their followers to remain ignorance and gullible so that these people will continue to give them free cash $$$



So why should we believe in their pyramid scheme and give them our money ?

Answer 21

i was raised catholic but saw past all that.. learned that there is probably not a "god", why do you think there has to be a god? doesnt it just seem completely illogical? who would have created this god, and his creater, and so on? id like to know why do you think there is a god? it just makes no sense (to me) but if you believe in that than that's cool

Answer 22

God is Law

Answer 23

Sorry I am giving an answer when the question is not asked of me.



http://www.answersingenesis.org/media/video/ondemand/four-power-questions/four-power-questions





"The atheist can't find God for the same reason that a thief can't find a police officer"

Answer 24

...belief is like an opinion - good, bad or otherwise, since its 2010 when is showing up? how can i be wrong you have no proof - just a belief too...

Answer 25

Too many crack pot beliefs, some creator in the sky, upsets my stomach, come on,...who created Him?

Answer 26

I don't know why.i just don't. I don' think anything happens, unfortunately...If i'm wrong? then, I'll go to hell...

Answer 27

this is my take on this issue: http://mystic-paradigm.blogspot.com/2006/09/quest-for-god-what-who-where-is-god.html