teachthemhowtothink:

I found this on the freethoughtblogs today - written by “Cuttlefish.” So freaking good. ~JJ

It’s National “Ask An Atheist” Day again… So, just what is it that atheists believe? I can answer for myself, anyway…

I believe in love and kindness
I believe in helping hands
I believe in strong…

(Source: constantlyevolvingatheist)

atheistsconfessions:

[submit your atheist confessions here]

My thoughts as well. Though, it isn’t so much embarrassment that I feel, but sadness at not believing in one’s own inner strength.

(Source: weheartit.com)

friendlyatheist:

Why do you need proof that there is a God? What’s the point? Would you live your life differently if you had indisputable proof? It’s like asking whether there is proof that wind exists. If you were struck by lightning and lived, would you believe in God then? I doubt it. If He stood in front of you and said, I am the real deal, you would probably say you were hallucinating or having a flash-back. When you can only think with a logical mind, it is nearly impossible to believe in someone greater than us who could have no beginning or end. People in general scoff at that which they cannot comprehend. You either believe or you don’t—it’s a choice. I think the universe is too large for anyone to know for sure who or what “God” could possibly be. How does not believing make one’s life better? To me, it’s pretty depressing to believe that “man” is the best thing this universe has to offer.

Wow. Lets see:
1) Would you live your life differently if you had indisputable proof?

Yes. It would be imperative to know what this creature is and how it affects our surroundings. What if it has the solution to world hunger, plagues, wars, hurricanes and earthquakes? Why is he holding out on solving these? What if he causes them? These are pretty important questions. 

2) It’s like asking whether there is proof that wind exists.

There is ample proof that wind is real, that it exists. With god no one can say the same thing. So the comparison fails. Winds and gods are nothing alike.

3) If He stood in front of you and said, I am the real deal, you would probably say you were hallucinating or having a flash-back.

If he can stand in front of me he surely could stand in the White House lawn in front of all the world’s press corps and maybe perform a few miracles while he is at it. Call me when it happens…

3) When you can only think with a logical mind, it is nearly impossible to believe in someone greater than us who could have no beginning or end.

True. No logical mind could accept, with out proof, what is illogical by definition.

4) People in general scoff at that which they cannot comprehend.

Not really. Anyone that scoffs at quantum mechanics (because of a lack of understanding) is an idiot. If someone scoffs at superstition, most likely is because it has understood it too well.

5) You either believe or you don’t—it’s a choice.

Can you choose to believe in falsehoods? Can you choose to believe gravity is not real? Really? Is belief subject to the will? How?

6) I think the universe is too large for anyone to know for sure who or what “God” could possibly be.

Or not be. And until there is proof that one exists then belief is not warranted, much less necessary.

7) How does not believing make one’s life better?

- Acceptance of reality as is.
- We would still have 2 World Trade Center towers and 3,000 innocents alive.
- Save 10% of your salary.
- Stop the spread of AIDS in Africa.
- Your kids would avoid pedophile priest molestation.
- No suicide bombers.
- More quality time with family.
- Better education (no creationism).
- Gay marriage.
- Stem cell research.
- No wars because of religion (thanks letmeinthesound )

The list could be endless…

8) To me, it’s pretty depressing to believe that “man” is the best thing this universe has to offer.

What is actually depressing is how some human beings place so little value in themselves or others. Humans are more capable than all the gods we have imagined for ourselves combined.

 I love argument breakdowns like this. 

 One of the statements that bothers me is the “You either believe or you don’t—it’s a choice.”  I feel like for so many, it is not a choice when you are baptized into a religion and are made to go to church every week from a young age; religion is typically an instilled belief and children will believe most of what is told to them (i.e. Easter bunny, tooth fairy, Santa Claus) until they discover or are told it is fairy tale.  Unfortunately, that it doesn’t happen with the existence of a deity.

 Sure, there are those that give in to reason and find the absurdity of believing in an all-knowing, all-seeing God in the face of the evils, biblical contradictions, and flawed logic of his existence despite religious upbringing; but those numbers are few in comparison to life long believers.  And then there are those on the filp-side that turn to religion after non-belief despite knowing the formerly mentioned lunacies tangled within belief.

Personally, I find more comfort in knowing that I can rely on myself and those close to me for comfort in hard times rather than an invisible, unproven deity.  I find comfort in staring in to the starry night sky and realizing that I am an insignificantly small part of the universe. And I find comfort in knowing that I am not created in God’s image, but rather free to define myself and who I want to be.

 As Jean-Paul Sartre said: “If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be. Thus there is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive it. Not only is man what he conceives himself to be, but he is also only what he wills himself to be after this thrust toward existence.”