what's a simple explanation of why I (you) are agnostic/atheist?

[stroodle]

lately i've been in the agnostic camp, maybe leaning towards atheism (my opinions are constantly changing)

anyways...

i was trying to think of a simple explanation of why i think the way i do...as if i was asked the question, "why don't you believe in god"?

this question hasn't been posed to me, but i'm just trying to simplify my own beliefs.

so what could my response be? what have you responded with?

thanks!

[Angela]

"Why don't you believe there's a Flying Spaghetti Monster? I don't believe there's a god for the same reason."

[openeyes]

Mine is, as much as I've tried in the past, I simply can't take on anyone else's set of beliefs. No static system sticks for me, my views change as I continue to experience life. I've studied quite a few systems and take whatever part works for me at the moment and leave the rest.

[cdn2wheeler]

Three simple words:

Not enough evidence.

[Nelson]

This is taken from my blog, The Clear Path.

No one can objectively prove or disprove the afterlife, god, etc. We can prove fallacies within the teachings of a given religion but that’s about it.

On the other hand, why worry about someone that won’t even reveal himself to you? Does someone you’ve never even met deserve complete and total control of your life?

This may very well be the only life you’ve got. I think an all-powerful god would understand that if there is an afterlife that he wants to share with us, it is a top priority to prove it to us.

Click Here to read the full article.

[songwriter]

Why do I have to believe it? (That could be one...)
And once and again "God" doesn't mean a thing... cause it means a different thing for everyone, is kind of a almost empty word.
I could say, of course I believe in God... his name is Paul McCartney/Michael Jordan, whatever...
Even the Christian Bible God is not a very clear concept... the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost and...

I could say, I don't know what it is (God). How am I gonna believe in somehow I don't know what it is...

Here we say a lot, that God are ourselves, our creative power to change the universe... everyone's power.
So, yes, I believe in myself. Lennon would say ("Yoko and me")... and we're close to that...

The first verse of the song is so controversial that John could not resist the temptation of repeating it.... "God is a concept... by which we measure... our pain"

YouTube - God

[silicon toad2000]

I believe the christian God was created by the pharisees to control the masses and create wealth and power for themselves.
All the stories in the bible are allegedly stolen from other cultures.
The whole old testament/new testament... I sure don't want to believe in a God who is that unstable, if s/he is real, I hope s/he doesn't go off his/her medication any time soon coz the old testament deity was a grump so and so.

[Jill]

i was trying to think of a simple explanation of why i think the way i do...as if i was asked the question, "why don't you believe in god"?

If you don't have an explanation, perhaps you actually DO believe?

[stroodle]

Originally Posted by Jill

If you don't have an explanation, perhaps you actually DO believe?

ha, no

it's that i have all these ideas and thoughts up in the air for not believing, i just don't know where to start

but i think it's more about why i do not believe in 'the general interpretation' of god. like the one described in religous books.

i do believe there is more to life than meets the eye. i do believe we are all connected and are part of a bigger picture, that we (the majority of people) have yet to comprehend.

[ticktockclok]

Under the mindset of subjective reality, believing in God makes everything that much more boring.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by ticktockclok

Under the mindset of subjective reality, believing in God makes everything that much more boring.

LOL, under the mindset of subjective reality, you ARE God.

[Alex2007]

Simply because I haven't met HHhim personally, and I don't think I will ever do.

There are those who beleive in gOD like he is an object. Better not to discuss it with them.

ThankZ

[Addict]

I like to think of it this way:

I'm a person of reason and I just don't have one to believe in a God. I'm agnostic, so I feel that it's totally possible that other people have had personal religious experiences. Maybe Jesus came in through your bedroom window and explained the meaning of life. Well, that never happend for me. I've never had a vision, been posessed by a spirit, spoken in tongues, or had God speak to me. And there just isn't enough evidence to support believing in God. Mostly, it seems that science keeps contradicting the Bible.

I'm also feeling more and more that just doing something because the people before us did it is a terrible reason to do something. I really would have no other reason to be religious.

Since the FSM was mentioned and I'm a shameless linking whore anyway, here's an article I just finished writing that mentions FSM (it's mainly about evolution):
Why Paleo Is the Healthiest Diet Possible » I’m an Omnivore

[chaostheory]

i have no problem with athiests/agnostics. i do have a few questions though. If you believe there's no God, then you truly believe when you die that's the end of your existance forever? You don't go on...just stay in the ground? Also, i have met a few athiests that still pray at mealtime. What's the point in that? i mean, if you don't believe in a God, who are you praying to?

[stroodle]

Originally Posted by chaostheory

If you believe there's no God, then you truly believe when you die that's the end of your existance forever? You don't go on...just stay in the ground?

i think thats one possibility - kind of a bummer, but i guess it makes Life all that more incredible


another way i think about it is that when we die, we may lost our ego but maybe our energy or soul or whatever you want to call it goes into its next stage. so the me, 'stroodle' is gone, but maybe my energy is transferred to another dimension - that we can not see nor comprehend right now

[Angela]

Originally Posted by chaostheory

i have no problem with athiests/agnostics. i do have a few questions though. If you believe there's no God, then you truly believe when you die that's the end of your existance forever? You don't go on...just stay in the ground? Also, i have met a few athiests that still pray at mealtime. What's the point in that? i mean, if you don't believe in a God, who are you praying to?

Believing there is no god doesn't mandate the belief that you cease to exist in any form after death. I don't know what happens after death, and I don't feel it's important to know. We'll see soon enough! (or maybe we won't -- what's important to me is living fully in this lifetime.) One likely scenario is just *lights out* -- but there are infinite other possibilities as well. I do think that the likelihood of meeting and being judged by god, who will send me either to heaven or hell, is about as likely as being met by a giant spiny talking anteater who will want to talk about "Death in Venice" while riding unicycles through a field of mismatched socks.

As for atheists who pray at mealtimes -- I have never encountered such a beast. Maybe it's a deeply-ingrained habit from childhood, or maybe they're just taking a moment to savor their appreciation and gratitude for their meal and it just looks like prayer to you because that's what you're used to. Why not ask your praying atheists directly?

[songwriter]

well... to ask about explaining why you believe NOT in "anything" is not the way I think.
Why I'm not American?, why I'm not Canadian?... I'm Spanish, and that solves it all. I mean... why do they believe in God?... would be a deeper question. If they say because of faith, you could say because of "lack of faith", if they give no reason... you wouldn't have to give one either...

[Sam988]

Simplifying, i guess just saying "Why DO you believe in god?" is fine. Of course that would lead to an endless discussion, but any answer would.


I've found that discussing these issues isn't very interesting since both people discussing it have so different perspectives that no argument will change one's mind.

What i find interesting is that i once discussed with a christian friend of mine about this issue (i'm agnostic btw). The discussion was deep and took 2 hours but didn't go anywhere at the moment, but 5 months later (we don't talk much) he told me that he had dropped church and was really happy and excited and was having the time of his life (he was a christian since child). I felt really good, because the seeds of that discussion eventually led him to free himself from the strict ties/mindsets of religion (don't take that as an offense if you're religious please, this is just my point of view).

By the way i had never been able to "deconvert" any fanatic religious person before, and this case gave me hope that it's possible, after all.

[Johnny5]

Originally Posted by stroodle

lately i've been in the agnostic camp, maybe leaning towards atheism (my opinions are constantly changing)

anyways...

i was trying to think of a simple explanation of why i think the way i do...as if i was asked the question, "why don't you believe in god"?

this question hasn't been posed to me, but i'm just trying to simplify my own beliefs.

so what could my response be? what have you responded with?

thanks!

Hi there.

My Response to the question " why don't you believe in god? " would be:

I don't rely on any god to help me in my existence as far as food, drink, shelter, friends and acquaintances.

I rely only on the merit of my actions: moral actions, verbal actions, physical actions. I make friends with people because of the conduct of my actions: I apply proper physical conducts, verbal conducts, and moral conducts according to social situations.

People like me because the merit of my conducts, not because I prayed to God.

People hired me to do a job, because they looked at the merit of my experience and references from my friends and acquaintances, Not because I prayed to God.

My wife love me because of the merit of my conducts, not because prayed to god.

I may not please everyone, and not everyone will like me; however, I have no concern for the rest of the world. I concern and care for myself first, Next for my spouse and kids, next parents, then family.... friends.... acquaintances.... insignificant others.

So, I lived by and relied on only the merit of morality, of my conducts, and of my actions (moral, physical, verbal).

Not rely on any God or deity.

And I am happy and appreciate of everything I got, because I rely only my own effort to get the things, and I make no complain to anyone or any God.

I am really the true atheist as far as I'm concerned.

Best Regards;

Johnny

[songwriter]

Hey, but you believe in other people importance in your life. I mean the rest of humans, what you to do to your boss or to your wife or to anyone has some effect on you. That's God for me, Everyone and everything. You deal well with people, and that's like.... dealing well with the Bible God, for my beliefs.
And prayer is when you dream of something before having it. I believe in God but I'm atheist... lol... what a weird one I am...

[Addict]

i have no problem with athiests/agnostics. i do have a few questions though. If you believe there's no God, then you truly believe when you die that's the end of your existance forever? You don't go on...just stay in the ground? Also, i have met a few athiests that still pray at mealtime. What's the point in that? i mean, if you don't believe in a God, who are you praying to?

Yes, most atheists believe death is the end of existence. It'd be nice if it weren't true and we lived forever, but then again, it'd be nice if I was a multi-trillionaire. Wishing doesn't make it happen.

Why would atheists pray at meal time? It seems a bit ridiculous to me. I suppose they could actually believe in something, just not a "God." They could be spiritual but not religious. I suppose. It could also just be habit, but not a habit I would want to continue. To me, it is indeed ridiculous.

[Mark Lapierre]

I don't believe in God (of any description) because I have no reason to. That's about as simple as my position can get. Everything I've encountered either has a more reasonable explanation than "God did it", or it has no explanation, and in that case "God did it" is worse than no explanation because it denies greater understanding.

I also don't have reason to believe God (of some description other than the God of the Old Testament) doesn't exist. So I don't believe that either. There might be a transcendental God who created the universe then had no further involvement at all; that's possible, and impossible to verify or disprove. That puts me in the weak atheist/agnostic atheist camp.