A Few Misconceptions About Atheists.

There are several misconceptions that many believers have about Atheists. Some of them are listed below.

1: Atheists are looking for god

2: Atheists know there is a god, but deny god anyway.

3: Atheists “hope” there is no god.

4: Atheists love living a sinful life, so they deny god.

If a person who claims Atheism and also fits any of the scenarios mentioned above, then they are not an Atheist. I will go over each misconception one by one.

1: Atheists are looking for god
-This would describe an agnostic or a seeker if anything. Atheists are not searching for a god. We are pretty adamant that there is no god. I have looked at the arguments for god, the philosophies, religious texts, etc… and I have found no god. No proof of a god. Because of those reasons I believe that there is no god. I am looking for truth and information of how the world works. If that somehow (even though I believe it won’t) produces evidence for a god, I will study the evidence fairly and objectively and then make a fair conclusion based on the evidence presented.

2: Atheists know there is a god, but deny god anyway.
-No. Atheists believe there is no god. The end. We deny the existence of god because there is no evidence for god. It is not as if we are denying the evidence for god, there is no evidence. Someone who knows there is a god and denies him anyway is not an Atheist, that person would believe in god, even if they do not follow that god.

3: Atheists “hope” there is no god.
-Atheists do not hope there is no god. That sort of dovetails into Pascal’s Wager. As in, Atheists do not think there could be a god, but hope there isn’t so that we are right. Once again, we simply believe there is no god. I can tell you that I personally dont hope either way. I do not believe in god because A) it is highly improbably and B) there is no evidence. I do not hope anything about god either way, I do not need to hope things about something that does not exist.

4: Atheists love living a sinful life, so they deny god.
-Once again, anyone who thinks this is not an Atheist. This person would believe in god.

More Comments: Looking for god.

 

 

I like to answer the comments left by readers in a more public way. This is to allow everyone to read them and come up with their own opinions and get involved in the discussion. This post’s comments come from a reader who goes by the name “danmondy”

Don’t fall for anything but what if you encounter a real God?

The “don’t fall for anything” line is good sound advice. I do not intend to. I have stated before that I need to see some sort of evidence. But the second part of this, the “encountering a real god” part needs some discussion.

We need to define “encounter”. If we mean encounter as in the dictionary definition like this: “to come upon or meet with, esp. unexpectedly”, then I believe that will never happen. I do not believe anyone has encountered a “real god” in that sense. No one has been able to actually prove it. But, for the sake of argument lets supposed I did run into a real god. What kind of god are we talking about? I will suppose you mean the Christian god. If I actually encountered the Christian god, and it was demonstrated that it was in fact said god, I still would not worship it. I would believe it existed, but it would need to do a lot of explaining before I could worship.

But when I say have faith, I mean pursue expecting.

The problem I have with this is that when people are expecting a certain outcome, they tend to see things in that light and bend any small amount of “evidence” to fit the outcome they wish to have. It is a flawed way to search for a god. And once again terms are changing. Faith is more or less defined this way: “belief that is not based on proof”.

It takes faith to look, but God does not want you to believe without finding. God says in the bible “taste and see that I am good.” Those are scientific words. Taste… See…

This is really flawed because it uses god and the bible as direction for searching for god. Taste and see are not scientific words. Tasting is essentially to “perceive or distinguish the flavor of”. Some people can taste some things, other people can not. While largely uniform, it is not scientific and a lot is subjective. See is also subjective. Some people see things that are not even there, some people can not see at all, some people can see colors, some people are color blind. Some people see things differently than others, their interpretations are different. Not very scientific.

What I am really trying to say is why not look for God? He wants to reveal himself to you.

If he has this desire to reveal himself to me then why do I have to look? that is contradictory in nature. Furthermore if he has this desire to reveal himself then he would be easily seen, tested, and affirmed as god. He has not done that at. This justifies not believing in this god.

-GRAtheist-

Atheism Gives No Reason To Get Out Of Bed In The Morning.

“Atheism Gives No Reason To Get Out Of Bed In The Morning.”

I have heard this countless times. While discussing Atheism with a friend of mine and he said that same thing. ” with Atheism what is the point of getting out of bed?” I can only imagine that he means God is the reason people get out of bed. The idea of an afterlife is what makes people live their life.

That is utterly sad and pathetic. It makes me sad. Its sad that people have nothing in your life that they can see value in enough to get out of bed. Its sad that people think things are meaningless unless they have the vague idea of an imaginary friend in the sky. It is utterly sad that people believe that they will have eternal life after this.

I have never been afraid or needed to search for a reason to go to bed. I have a hard time going to sleep because I feel like I am missing out on life. I am eager for each new day and I cherish each day, no matter how boring or bad.

Why?

I dont believe in an afterlife. Once you believe in an eternal life that is infinitely better than the one you are currently in every experience, every flower, every moment, every glimpse of beauty and every human interaction becomes that much more meaningless compared to “what is to come”. This world is reduced simply to “a place to wipe your feet”.

I get out of bed and enjoy and treasure every second I get. I fill my head with knowledge and meaningful relationships. I enjoy every second I get with my son and wife, and all my family. When I am sad I am happy that I can feel enough happiness to understand sadness. I enjoy the ups and downs of real life. I have people who love me, I create my own thoughts and art. I enjoy other peoples art. I enjoy nature and the wonders of the real world.

Atheism has shown me just how precious life really actually is. Because when it is gone. It is gone. Atheism quite literally opened my eyes to how to really live life. Cherish every moment, make life as good as possible for everyone you encounter (when possible).

Bonus Track:

Modest Mouse-Lives

-GRAtheist-

(up next: “Dont these little babies just make you see that there is a god?)

Atheist Vs. Agnostic

vs.

People always try to say I am not an Atheist and that I am actually an Agnostic. This is not true. Lets look at the dictionary definitions

a·the·ist –noun; a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.

ag·nos·tic -noun;

1.	a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience.

2.	a person who denies or doubts the possibility of ultimate knowledge in some area of study.

Now, pay attention people. I do not believe there is a god. I think that the possibility of a god is highly improbable. Some might say I couldn’t possibly know something like this since it cannot be proved or disproved. This is true, but on the same token I couldn’t possibly know if Leprechauns, Fairies, and Unicorns really exist either, since they cannot be proved or disproved, but I know they don’t exist. So yeah, based on that logic trail and based on the fact that there is not proof for or against god it makes it a non-issue and I am safe to say that I know god doesn’t exist.

Before anyone chimes in with “Well the bible says..” or “The bible is proof”, etc… No. The bible is not proof. If that were the case then I would be able to submit stories that involve Leprechauns as proof of Leprechauns. We all know that doesnt work. You also need to prove that the bible is the divine word of god by proving that god exists and that he wrote it or dictated it. The existence of something doesnt prove that it is correct or came from the source it claims to come from. Independent verification please.

I AM AN ATHEIST!

-GRAtheist-

The Atheist Test: Pass or Fail?

Seriously. I hope someone tries to give me this test. Its so flimsy.

Look at it (and laugh at it) Here! 

-GRAtheist-

Atheism Study

Get all the info here!

Scary in some parts, optimistic in others.

-GRAtheist-

(next post: The lady that is trying to convert me believes I am on the path to salvation….)

Atheists are Arrogant prt 2!

I found this on Youtube. It was too funny not to post.

-GRAtheist-

What is an Atheist?

I always hear people say what an Atheist is. They speak with authority about the subject even though they don’t know what it is. I am going to tell you what it is. Right now. Flat out. In real terms.

An Atheist is this: A person that does not believe in gods, deities, or supreme beings. The opposite of a Theist.

That is it. No more, no less.

If anyone tells you differently. They are wrong. If someone tells you that Atheists think they can prove that a God doesn’t exist, they are wrong. If someone tells you that Atheists will believe anything because they dont believe in god, they are wrong.

An Atheist does not believe in supreme beings. There are different forms of Atheism, such as Strong Atheism and Weak Atheism, but the base of Atheism is simply stated as “the disbelief in supreme beings”

Got it?

-GRAtheist-

Atheists Are Arrogant?

So I was having a discussion with my friend about Atheism, Religion, and many other things. He said one thing that stuck with me and has sort of irritated me, it was more or less something like this;

“Atheists bother me because they are so arrogant” -not exact quote, but it was really really close. The key elements are there.

Obviously this is a sweeping characterization of Atheists. So I am going to respond with general sweeping characterizations of people of faith (among other things).

First point is this: If you ran into someone who believed in something very unreasonable, such as Unicorns, you would find their belief without proof sort of laughable, naive even. Sort of like this: “Aww, poor guy. He believes in something that cannot be proven, something that is so clearly not true. ” This is how a lot of Atheists feel about religion. You believe in something that can not be proven. We find this to be gullible and naive.

Second point: Religious people are more arrogant than everyone else. People of faith go to church and pray to a god. A god that they think approves of them, takes an interest in their life, and will reward them for being such good people. Religious people constantly site how moral they are because they have faith, they have a stronger moral compass. Again, they have no facts to back this up. None of it.

Every Atheist I have met, read about, etc.. Is interested in truth and facts. Science and reason. If we are proven wrong, with facts we will admit we were wrong. Religious people can not do this. Not even when presented with cold hard facts that dispute their religious texts.

How are Atheists any more arrogant than a person of faith?

-GRAtheist-

A Congress Man That Does Not Believe In God?

READ THE ARTICLE HERE!

-GRAtheist-