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.

[Brutha]

There are a multitude of reason for having rituals in daily life.

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?

Meal rituals can help bonding of the people participating in the meal.
It can alter the perception of the meal. When I tell my unconscious that the meal tastes good, that can increase the fun I am having when I eat the meal.
It can also help to develop useful character traits such as gratitude.

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?

If you have the belief that our big bang was no special event, you believe that every 10^10^10^10^X years another big bang happens and you belief that a human being (you) is created by random processes the logical conclusion would be that the same random process happens again after a big amount of time, which means that the human being (you) comes again to life.

If human beings weren't created by random processes, who knows what happens in the afterlife?

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by stroodle

"why don't you believe in god"?

I say I do believe in god but as a force that is everywhere, not outside of creation and god is mutually occuring with creation.

If there was no creation - would there be god? no. If there was no god, would there be creation? no.

So, I don't have the idea that god is a personal being that gives and takes but a force that responds to our actions, intentions and deciscions. However, I do like to add that this force responds to harmony, love and peace best. It is easy to increase your experience of love and peace when you act this way. But is it hard to get backing to do evil. Evil deeds are done by yourself, the force or god does not help you with those deeds - however evil deeds do get reflected back at you from the god force to help you see the errors of your ways.

[absvan]

I believe in God.

God exists, not in the sense of an object/person sitting out there somewhere and watching you or someone who will push you hell or heaven when you die.

I understand God as a power/energy that created this universe or that which is the energy behind your breath. So going by that, god is within you.

[absvan]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

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

In SR you are god but there is a supreme power higher than you. Refer to the book "I am that" by Nisargdatta Maharaj.

[Mark Lapierre]

Originally Posted by Brutha

If you have the belief that our big bang was no special event, you believe that every 10^10^10^10^X years another big bang happens and you belief that a human being (you) is created by random processes the logical conclusion would be that the same random process happens again after a big amount of time, which means that the human being (you) comes again to life.

If it's a random repeating process the state of the universe at any point in subsequent iterations would not be the same as during a previous iteration. So the current 'you' would not exist in a previous or subsequent universe. The process would have to be non-random for the same human to come to life again.

[ShareTheWarmth]

Personally I think the existence of multiple religions proves that they are all both right and wrong at the same time. The path towards enlightenment can be traversed through Christianity, Buddhism, playing guitar, becoming a great boxer, or any other path you take in life. We're all spiritual beings and we worship with our time, energy, and thoughts. By living in the moment, being present, we can all be as happy and as powerful as we desire and get as much out of life as we want.

I guess my feelings on religion are just so broad and transcendent that I can't really find myself worshiping any one set of values with too much conviction. Not when I know that people discover are getting by all over the world through contrasting belief systems.

I worship my intuition. By that I mean that I make choices based on what feels right. I take whatever course of action that elevates my feelings. I avoid that which brings me down and holds me back.

[cdk47]

As humans we have constructed god as another human, or a person and try to search for him.

Wheather he exists or not is ir-relevant to our existance. he is not judging you .There is a system of checks and balances, so well created that nobody needs to be a judge.

you will reap what you sow.

iF you sow love you recieve it in abundance.

if you sow hate it will get you one day.

now who created it and how- this is beyond the concieving abilities of the human mind.

It exist that is the truth- this system has existed , is existing and will continue to exist-the ones that will not are you and me.

our life in relevance to the system is miniscule, a very short span.

just enjoy the stay -do not waste time on thinking who created it.

[RT Wolf]

If you had grown up in a differnet culture, you would most likely have adopted the dieties of that culture. I dunno where you live, but you're probably in north america in a big city, prolly on one of the coasts. You may well be college educated and come from a middle class background. Those are the demographics that are becoming more and more athiestic. The culture itself is becoming more secular and being scientified.

There's various reasons for not believing in god, the biggest one, as I said, is probably the culture you're inside of. Beyond that, there's various philosophical reasons why you may not believe in God. If you are a materialist/naturalist (dominant philosophy of our time), then God is just a super natural explanation that's unsatisfying. If you're a logical positivist/skeptic/cynic, then you aren't willing to believe something unless there's good positive proof for it. And so on.