Ask an Atheist

you yourself limit the universe itself as being the product of god.

Good job assuming bro.

Good job assuming bro.

Thanks. Now read the rest because that's barely what it's about.

I believe in Kamina-ism. He believes in the him that believes in you.

No, but really... I've been agnostic for as long as I can remember. Always trying to tell people that I'm not Atheist and if I was so what? I don't hate Christians, I don't hate Catholics, I don't hate Buddhists, I don't hate any other religions. The thing I 'don't' with all of them is agree with their beliefs. I don't think a deity can exist that would make such terrible things happen to a world he created. There's no reasoning behind this but many Christians will pull stuff out of their butt and defend the fact that it's from the scriptures and Bible. I have read the Bible, twice. I know what is in it and it drove me to my 'religion' or lack thereof. Radical Christians such as those that go to extremes like 'it was meant to be' and 'God intended it to be this way' need to drop it. But on the other side of the spectrum I think some radical Atheists need to drop the whole "God doesn't exist so go away" kind of act. That just means you don't know what you're talking about and you just say you're an Atheist because you don't believe in what the Christian guy down the street does. Unless you know you're info like Satellite, please don't put a religion under your belt and say I'm undecided. The absurd arguments need to go, the intellectual ones can stay.

This is why I'm in the middle. I don't know if there is one, but neither do you. So quit saying there is or isn't one, cause I'm not saying until I know or am unable to know because I'll be dead and nothing will happen.

Since there are not really many true and rational quotes from Agnostics, here is one that I believe in from Epicurus.

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"

Thanks. Now read the rest because that's barely what it's about.

I did read it, but, what, you want a circle jerk or something? *yawns*


You're defining God by your own way of understanding, by your own beliefs on what should and shouldn't be. You think that if there is a divine being that created everything it wouldn't have created death and such since it could have created a planet where there is no death. You're pouring all your beliefs and understanding about humans to say that God doesn't exist or shouldn't exist with the way the world works. You're defining God by defining that humans defined him to ease their mind and such or whatever.

Whether God is perfect or not such never be part of a debate about whether God exists or not, a being whether perfect or unperfect can create something as proved by the worthless and useless humans who have created many things. Many of them flawed and with weak backgrounds. Recreating the same thing many times to make it better.

I did read it, but, what, you want a circle jerk or something? *yawns*


You're defining God by your own way of understanding, by your own beliefs on what should and shouldn't be. You think that if there is a divine being that created everything it wouldn't have created death and such since it could have created a planet where there is no death. You're pouring all your beliefs and understanding about humans to say that God doesn't exist or shouldn't exist with the way the world works. You're defining God by defining that humans defined him to ease their mind and such or whatever.

Whether God is perfect or not such never be part of a debate about whether God exists or not, a being whether perfect or unperfect can create something as proved by the worthless and useless humans who have created many things. Many of them flawed and with weak backgrounds. Recreating the same thing many times to make it better.

And I'm saying you yourself define god by the very means you so "subtlety" mocked me for. You have defined imperfection, a human concept, and attribute it to god. Our imperfections may very well be what is, considered by god to be, perfections (sorry to sound like a after school special). To say something is outside the box you have to define what the box is and the problem is that we barely know what's in this box called the universe.

Two questions:

What is your definition of a God/deity?

Why do you not believe in one/more God(s)/deity(-ies)?

No, I do not feel satisfied with the answer "When believers understand why they deny existance of all the other deities(of other religions), they understand why I deny the existance of any deity at all.", so I'd like you to explain to me why believers deny an existence of other deities and what that has to do with your decision.

Fun looking thread we've got here.

What is your definition of a God/deity?

An entity capable of both generating the physical laws of the universe and operating well outside of them.

Why do you not believe in one/more God(s)/deity(-ies)?

I see no reason to. It's not a question for me. It's simply a non-issue. I don't worry about it. Or at least I try not to. When I stop to ponder things like the nature of the universe and the possibility of some higher power, it simply adds stress to my life I have no use for, so I try to avoid it. I understand that religion and god work the opposite way for some and can be comforting and stress-relieving, but not for me. Kind of a naive answer, I guess.

On the side, I will say pondering the universe does lead to odd internal thought processes. On the rare occasion I get to stare at a clear night sky somewhere without light pollution, my mind just goes off running on deep thoughts. Deism seems reasonable to me. That's pretty much the theist equivalent of "I'm not going to worry about this" so I kinda like that. But again, that's really just when my head jumps on a hamster wheel and starts running.
I find Spaceporn (16000x9000 24MB Milky Way image) to have a similar effect too. On the other side of the coin, space porn also gets my mind shouting stuff like "HAHA! SCIENCE DID THIS! Mankind is incredible enough to get into space and piece together these images with satellites and an understanding of waves beyond visible light like infrared. WE SHOULD GO THERE! Let's go way out in space! Oh holy crap, CAN YOU BELIEVE WE'VE GONE TO SPACE?"

An entity capable of both generating the physical laws of the universe and operating well outside of them.

Does the "operating well outside of them" mean that a God/deity is omniscent and/or omnipotent?


Also, since I didn't say that I read this statement, I could probably come up with my points (I don't really consider it relevant to the discussion though - so heh.)

Our wolrd spins around probabilities. What's the probability of something that has no evidence behind it? If we simply use logic that what we can't prove exists, then we will have to question the whole existance of this universe. We couldn't trust any of our senses. Only thing we could prove is our own, personal existence cause we are able to "think". We would certainly fall into deep state of paranoia and anxiety. Humanity would be lost.

First, what data/logic proves your theory that our world is not pre-deterministic?

I don't really know if I interpreted your question correct, but I think you mean "What's the probability that something exist even though it has no evidence behind it?", correct? To answer that question: Between 0 and 1, depending on the "something" and what you consider as evidence. For example, we assume humans haven't discovered every single species on our planet, and even though we have no evidence for this, scientists all over the world say it's very unlikely that we've found all the species.

As for the "we couldn't trust any of our senses": The thing is, we can't "trust" any of our senses - at least we can't assert that something is true because we've experienced something through our senses. We can both agree that drugs are physical chemicals, right? When these chemicals are introduced to the body, it alters the mind. This proves that your consciousness is just a balance of physical chemicals that can be played with, meaning we cannot, per say, trust any of them unless we are 100% certain of what physical chemicals alters our mind in our current state and know the effects of them. Since we cannot do that (in order to be 100% certain, you have to get that data from somewhere, and that is trough your senses. Which may or may not give the correct answer.) we cannot be 100% sure that something is true if we got that information through our senses.

So, Satellite, as far as I see, you do not believe in a God or deity because religions deny other religion's Gods?

How can anything create itself out of nothing?

Isn't that what we assume happened when Big Bang occurred? Possibly not create itself, but that mass suddenly existed at a certain point in time, but didn't just before.

Does the "operating well outside of them" mean that a God/deity is omniscent and/or omnipotent?

If we're talking a singular god, that would probably have to be the case for omnipotence. I don't really think omniscience is needed. If we're talking multiple gods, some or all of them may be "mostly-scient/potent".

I put that statement in to try and differentiate a bit, since we're creating a few items that ride the edges and even break a few natural physical properties. Metamaterials are what come to mind. Rethinking, "law" may not be the best semantic choice. But in my mind a deity can really throw stuff out the window that we're quite accustomed to without any technological aid. Like gravity or the conservation of energy.

One thing that kinda drives me nuts is how a god could come into existence. Pondering that quickly turns into some Inception absurdity.

I like to think of the universe as a paradox in itself. The only reason for its existence is its own existence. I also like to think that, the fact that I existed in this universe is reason enough to believe I existed, left my imprint on it, and it already has a meaning.

However, how did the universe come to exist? Nobody knows, but even creationists (I mean people who believe in any creator) have to assume their own paradox.

God exists to create the universe... But would God exist if he didn't create it? Or even more importantly. Where does God come from? Something else created him? And if he created himself, well, that's even more paradoxical :p

Your answer for why you don't believe in God(s) really doesn't make much sense, at least not to me. You say "Why does a single religion deny existance of deities created by other religions? What makes them so confident?" What makes them so confident is the fact that they have faith that their God(s) is/are the true creators of this universe and everything that inhabits it. I understand why I believe in the Lord God and not Allah/Hindu Gods etc. but you don't seem to have a good reason why you don't.

Q:

Peanut butter or Jelly? Both is not an option.

I BELIEF THAT WE ARE JUST AN GIANT ALIEN EXPERIMENT ON THE NATURE OF BELIEF SYSTEMS IN YOUNG SENTIENT RACES.

Your answer for why you don't believe in God(s) really doesn't make much sense, at least not to me. You say "Why does a single religion deny existance of deities created by other religions? What makes them so confident?" What makes them so confident is the fact that they have faith that their God(s) is/are the true creators of this universe and everything that inhabits it. I understand why I believe in the Lord God and not Allah/Hindu Gods etc. but you don't seem to have a good reason why you don't.

What it boils down to is that the logic that underlies just about all religious faith is severely lacking in evidence and logical reasoning. Just as you reject other religions for not providing a valid explanation for the universe, so has yours left us wanting.

The main point of contention is that much of religious belief has, in our view, little ground to stand on, often supported by a lack of intellectually honest inquiry into the foundations of said beliefs. When the evidence arises to support those claims, then they will be accepted.

How did God come into the picture in the first place? If He's out there, does this imply we were destined to sooner or later know of Him? Otherwise, was He not brought into the scene because of human's incapabilities in comprehending the universe?
Couldn't there have been no concept of an almighty being surpassing all human's limitations? Probably not, seeing how humans actually love to overcome their own limitations, the thought is there, take it to the extremes and we're bound to develop some kind of God at some point in time.
Granted, this is assuming logic, which God is supposed to be free from as well.

However, if no one is in the forest to hear the man, is he still wrong? Were us to be extinct and were there to be no sort of life form to ponder God, would He still be existent? WHY are we aware of God in the first place? Are we special? Do dogs have their Gods too?

Your answer for why you don't believe in God(s) really doesn't make much sense, at least not to me. You say "Why does a single religion deny existance of deities created by other religions? What makes them so confident?" What makes them so confident is the fact that they have faith that their God(s) is/are the true creators of this universe and everything that inhabits it. I understand why I believe in the Lord God and not Allah/Hindu Gods etc. but you don't seem to have a good reason why you don't.

Why do you believe in yours and not others? Is it because they taught you to do so since you were born, or because you prefer one over the other?

Because that alone is an opinion as valid as not choosing any.

I myself am agnostic. We don't know what the hell happened back then, but I believe there must be a something... However, we can't really guess that. And that's my personal opinion too.

Belated answer and without reading most of the thread (just ignore me if it's already been said):

This is translated freely by me from an article in Hebrew, here.

Asking an atheist how he knows there is no god, is like asking him how he knows there is no polar bear standing behind him drinking orange juice through a straw. The answers to the two questions are similar: there is no reason for it to be there, and furthermore, the universe becomes far more complex and incomprehensible if it turns out that it is, in fact, there.

That only counts for the annoying atheists who try to convert people, not everyone is like that.

Why do you believe in yours and not others? Is it because they taught you to do so since you were born, or because you prefer one over the other?

Because that alone is an opinion as valid as not choosing any.

I myself am agnostic. We don't know what the hell happened back then, but I believe there must be a something... However, we can't really guess that. And that's my personal opinion too.

No, I actually wasn't taught since birth, went through sort of a revival last year. It's about faith, it's something hard to understand unless you actually do believe. I believe in God because he chose me to be given the word and eternal salvation while He owes me nothing.

Meh, I'm not trying to seem like one of those if you don't believe in God you're a heathen blahblahblah people so forgive me if it comes out that way.

I have a question.
Do You believe in the Big Bang Theory? If so, where did the substances come from?