What Do Atheists Believe In? April 13, 2009

What Do Atheists Believe In?

By Guest Contributor
April 13, 2009

This is a question all of us get asked: If you don’t believe in God, what do you believe in?

There are also a lot of similar answer most of us tend to give: I believe in the goodness of people, I believe in nature, I believe we all find different ways to answer that question, I believe in the Golden Rule, etc.

It’s really just a bad question. Just because we don’t believe in a God doesn’t mean we don’t believe in anything. And just because someone says they do believe in God doesn’t mean we know anything else about them.

Reader Claudia is trying to find a perfect answer:

… I do believe in plenty of things (love, the beauty of the universe, the joy of inquiry and discovery) but when confronted by a religious person with that question I always get the feeling that they want me to give one clear and simple “God substitute” that gives final and total meaning to my life.

I have no pseudo-God so I end up hesitating or appearing to be much less clear on what I do believe in than what I don’t.

I think it’s important to be able to answer a question like this because failure to do so only reinforces one of the more insidious stereotypes: that atheists “don’t believe in anything.”

How do you respond to the question?

Do you know of any response that just leaves the questioner breathless?

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  • Tony

    I believe in myself, family, friends, and the power of science, education and reason to move humanity forward. I may get disappointed from time to time, but am optimistic in the future.

  • I believe there is no greater power than the Human Mind.

  • I like to say I believe in most of the ideas theists believe in–but with lower case letters. They talk of Meaning, Significance, Goodness, Hope, Love, etc. The capital letters indicate how everything has to be Ultimate and Universal. I talk instead of meaning, significance, goodness, hope, love, etc. Who needs Meaning (ultimate significance in the scope of the universe) when you can have meaning (for life’s not a paragraph and death I think is no parenthesis–eec).

  • Ron in Houston

    We all know the answer to that question.

    We believe that babies taste better fried than roasted.

  • Jason R

    I always thought that question reflected more on the person asking the question than the person answering it. To me it signifies that the person asking it is probably one of the following things (not a complete list): naive, non-introspective, lacking of imagination.

    That question is a big signal that my line of thinking is very different from theirs.

    Generally, when I am asked that question I just give a little head tilt and say: ahh reality.

    And I think reality pretty much covers it all. If its not part of reality, I don’t believe in it.

  • The Future,
    That most people are pretty good,
    Free speech,
    Human life should be preserved,
    That genocide, slavery, rape and torture are all inherently wrong.

  • TalentedChimp

    I don’t believe, I think.

  • I think it’s helpful to answer that question by reminding people that many of us free-thinkers don’t necessarily rule out a God *prior* to the Big Bang. We need to win hearts and minds by delineating the evolution of our reality in the closed system that began with the Big Bang. But believers I’ve met rarely also understand that I at least am completely silent on the question of whether there is a God prior to the origin of the Universe. The question doesn’t particularly interest me – but leaving the door open seems to mean a lot to them.

  • Jakanapes

    I always ask them to define what they mean by “believe in”.

    Things that I think are important? Freedom, equality, fairness, etc.

    Things that I think are true without any evidence? Nothing.

  • TheDeadEye

    I believe in things that are believable.

  • Contented Man

    I find it impossible to give a specific answer because it is a non-specific question. Their question may as well be, what do you eat?

    That said, I really like TalentedChimp’s answer: “I don’t believe, I think.”

  • I believe that children are our future
    treat them well and let them lead well…

    i always loved that song.

  • Anna N.

    The problem is that believing in the goodness of people, love, the beauty of the universe, etc, is not the same kind of belief as believing in god. It’s the same word, but it doesn’t mean the same thing (as so often happens in these kinds of conversations).

    There is no one thing to say, because a lot of us don’t have a replacement belief. I don’t have some hole in my mind where god-belief is “supposed to be”, that needs to be filled up with something else.

  • Reginald Selkirk

    I believe in ice cream. And I’ve actually seen it.

  • I believe in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things.

    (Oops, no I don’t. That was somebody else….)

  • Tony

    I believe it’s NOT butter.

  • Frank

    The short answer: I believe in those things which I have good evidence and/or arguments for believing, and not in those things which I do not have good evidence and/or arguments for believing.

    The long answer requires a long conversation.

  • Andy D

    I usually avoid the question because everytime I have it, it goes into “Well my pastor said that you have no reason to be good, so obviously you’re not”. However, one time I was with someone who simply wouldn’t drop it so I gave them this little speech.

    I do believe in something greater then myself. I believe in the power of 6 billion human beings. I believe in something much greater then the human construct of “God”. God is only a machine that we invented to seperate ourselves based on fear and hatred. God only provides us with another excuse to divide ourselves and prevents us from reaching the true potential of the human mind. So yes I do believe in a higher power, and when I wrong somebody it only puts up more walls.

  • lurker111

    It’s a bogus question that doesn’t deserve an answer! Just because other people believe in something, so freaking what!?

  • NYCatheist

    I believe in the truth.

  • Hemant, the way I usually hear the question is “What, you don’t believe in anything?” to which I reply, “No, I believe in lots of things, like human rights, equality of the sexes, that we have the ability to better ourselves etc.”

  • I’ve never been personally asked this question, but I think I would answer first with “What do you mean?” to get them to clarify. If no clarification is forthcoming, I’d answer with a question such as, “Do you believe in anything other than God? Why does belief in God preclude the belief in anything else?” (giving an example if necessary).

    Someday I’ll get a chance to put my answer to the test. 😉

  • Jonathan Simmons

    I believe that’s a stupid question.

  • Tony

    If I were to answer seriously I would say that I believe in the power of the scientific method. Unfortunately this would be completely misunderstood as a belief that science has all the answers which of course would be something different.

  • Something like this (I’m still not sure who wrote it):

    An atheist’s creed

    I believe in time,
    matter, and energy,
    which make up the whole of the world.

    I believe in reason, evidence and the human mind,
    the only tools we have;
    they are the product of natural forces
    in a majestic but impersonal universe,
    grander and richer than we can imagine,
    a source of endless opportunities for discovery.

    I believe in the power of doubt;
    I do not seek out reassurances,
    but embrace the question,
    and strive to challenge my own beliefs.

    I accept human mortality.

    We have but one life,
    brief and full of struggle,
    leavened with love and community,
    learning and exploration,
    beauty and the creation of
    new life, new art, and new ideas.

    I rejoice in this life that I have,
    and in the grandeur of a world that preceded me,
    and an earth that will abide without me.

  • chancelikely

    I believe in reality.

  • Les

    The wonderful thing is that atheists DON’T, as a collective, believe in anything.
    The individual chooses what to believe.

    😛

    We don’t NEED a breathless answer, we need an honest one.
    And that’s it.

  • I believe that this life is all that we are promised.
    I believe that supernatural answers are not answers.
    I believe that war, torture, child abuse, rape and murder are the closest things to evil that we can find in this world. Theft, lying, and adultery are simply unfair by comparison.
    And, I believe that rational skepticism is a virtue. Denial and ignorance are not. The goal of the thinking human being is to try to discern one from the other, with minimal existential crises in the process.

    Do I expect anyone else to agree with any of that? Not really (though I would think most atheists would agree with the first two). Herding cats, and all that.

  • It is my firm belief that it is a mistake to hold firm beliefs.

  • beckster

    I look them right in the eye and say, “I believe in you.”

  • That is kind of a silly question; like someone said before, it assumes that there’s some singular “God Substitute” that the atheist believes in in place of God.

    I’ve gotten into many irritable discussions to that end, trying to explain to people that, in some views, there simply isn’t a God. Nothing that substitutes for God, nothing that does what God is supposed to do. I don’t believe in God; that doesn’t mean I believe in something else in place of God that serves the exact same purpose. It means I don’t believe the world works the way that you — as a follower of this God — believe it does; and thus, I don’t think your explanation is necessary at all, in any form. That’s what it means.

    Take Frank Turek, for example; he and his supporters are constantly blogging about “what atheists worship instead of God,” etc. etc. People just don’t seem to understand exactly what it means to not believe in God, to the point that I tend to question whether it’s truly ignorance, or just malicious stupidity.

  • Atheism doesn’t define what a person DOES believe. Not all atheists are going to believe in the same things just because they happen to share a lack of belief in a god or gods. Conversely, atheists also often happen to be secularists, humanists, naturalists, materialists, etc… stances that do profess and/or offer something. These stances are separate from atheism. They are just stances that happen to portray what some people that may also happen to be atheists do believe in.

    Read More – http://www.travisjmorgan.com/blog/2009/03/19/atheism-and-hope/

  • Abner Cadaver II

    I believe in reason, liberty, justice, and humanity’s will to better itself.

    What do theists really mean when they say God gives their lives meaning? Is it the same feelings and thoughts with the supernatural facade?

  • I generally attempt to clarify the question. I might respond by reference to causing harm: Do you believe that suffering is a bad thing? Or perhaps I’ll reference killing: Is it ethically wrong to kill an innocent?

    People generally respond affirmatively to these clarifying questions. When they do so, I agree with them and follow-up.

    I don’t murder or rape, for example, regardless of the non-existence of a deity. Therefore, doesn’t this suggest that I am as moral or perhaps more moral than someone who refrains from causing unnecessary suffering for fear of divine retribution or desire for divine praise?

    From this line of reasoning I make it clear that I generally hold similar beliefs as they do save for the supernatural assumption.

  • Claudia

    The problem is that believing in the goodness of people, love, the beauty of the universe, etc, is not the same kind of belief as believing in god. It’s the same word, but it doesn’t mean the same thing (as so often happens in these kinds of conversations).

    There is no one thing to say, because a lot of us don’t have a replacement belief. I don’t have some hole in my mind where god-belief is “supposed to be”, that needs to be filled up with something else.

    That nails the issue for me. I guess a better question would be; How do you quickly and clearly make a theist understand that atheists don’t have a “God hole” they need to fill with something the way tofu burguers cover for beef burguers?

    The whole point of the confusion is that any answer given without making this clear will sound silly. I believe in the power of human inquiry, but I sure don’t believe in it like a theist believes in god.

    I don’t believe, I think.

    That’s a really good one when dealing with annoying fundies (who are thankfully entirely absent in my life). However I think that it doesn’t much help our reputation with people who could potentially have their preacher-instilled bigotry defused.

  • When asked that question by someone whose intent is “Well if you don’t believe in God what do you believe in” I usually just start singing Don Williams’ I believe in you.

    I don’t think the question requires a simple answer. God creates a simple answer for his “followers”. The stance I have chosen in life requires thought, evaluation and determination. What do I believe? I believe that I am still figuring that out completely and I believe that I am lucky to have that option. What I don’t believe in is “The simple answer”

  • I think the answer to the question is to clarify the question.

    To me, statements of belief aren’t very useful as they don’t often are lacking in completeness and correctness. I strongly prefer value statements.

    For example. The statement, “Blue is the best colour in the world,” is an identity statement. However, since it is clearly cannot be objectively demonstrated to be true, it is actually a belief statement. How many religious people incorrectly apply beliefs about something to identity? “God created the earth,” etc. I’m sure many of us fall into the same trap.

    So the statement, “I believe that blue is the best colour in the world” is more precise. However the claim that is believed can still be debated. It is also somewhat trite. So what, I believe that red is the best colour in the world? So it can lead to needless conflict as the person is either right or wrong. And still, I have to wonder, what it is exactly this person is trying to say?

    On the other hand, a value statement would look something like this: “I like blue.” This statement is not debatable or confrontational. It is also what I am trying to say and no more than that.

    So I would answer with value statements:

    I value science over superstition.

    I trust logic over magic.

    I prefer fairness over tradition for tradition’s sake.

    “Our words today shape our thoughts which shape the words of tomorrow.” — Me.

  • GribbletheMunchkin

    This is quite easy for me since in addition to being and atheist i’m also a transhumanist.

    So when asked what i believe in I can say
    “I believe in the ability of humans to improve their condition. I believe this is not only possible but a moral obligation. I believe we can use science, reason and technology to improve our bodies, minds and society. I believe that we will one day change ourselves to the point when we can no longer call ourselves Homo Sapien and that this is a good thing. I believe that we are leaving behind the brutality of our past in favour of a better future but that regressive forces such as religion (to name but one) are impediments to this forward progress and should have their impact upon that progress reduced as much as is possible and ethical.”

  • Hopeful

    Wow, Gribble nailed it.

  • Steve

    To believe in something is to accept it despite any facts.
    I always describe something as either being possible/impossible or probable/improbable (together with a few superlatives e.g. ‘most’, ‘very’)
    By saying ‘I believe . . . ‘ you have automatically reduced yourself to the other person’s level of acceptance instead of judging matters from the available data.

  • Josha

    I hate this question. Humans form beliefs about the world around them. To believe is to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something (dictionary.com). I believe in a lot of things, I just don’t believe in anything supernatural.

    My friends respond, “How can you not believe in anything supernatural!” To which I say, “How can you?”

  • Mathew Wilder

    I believe I can fly…I believe I can touch the sky.

    Nah, I’m just fucking with you. I agree that “I don’t believe, I think” is the best answer yet.

  • Morgan55

    Of the several replies I’ve given to that question, the one that seems to be most readily understood is, “I probably believe in all the same things you do, except for the supernatural stuff.” I leave it to them, or any subsequent discussion on religious compartmentalism, as to how that’s possible.

  • My answer is simlar to the one Dan Gilbert gave above. I try to emphasize the similarities between myself and the questioner. I try to point out several things that we both share a common belief in. I then point out that we both believe many things, and some of our beliefs are the same, and some differ. Like everybody.

  • BernieK

    We’re being concrete in accepting the question as a philosophical one. Of course it’s better to know something on evidence than take a leap of faith to believe an untestable idea. Most people with religious beliefs know that (I almost said believe that.)

    When a religious person thinks about giving up an irrational belief in God, they are worried about a lot more than the philosophical question.

    Religions include communities, families, business relations, children and grandchildren, feelings of self-worth. To come out of the closet of agnosticism (which is very common within religionists in their heart of hearts) re-quires a big leap socially, not just philosophically.

    I think we remind them of their agnosticism or out-right atheism, which they can’t imagine giving up.

    Look at what Jim Haggard had to do to stay a Christian. He had to renounce homosexuality, talk the Christian Sexual Conversion stuff, that he’s really heterosexual with a problem sexualizing his poor relationships and ideas about men. Why? Because he misses the Christian community, and family, and business associates, etc. Because of the shame of rejecting his religion, and the loneliness.

    It’s not a philosophical issue, it’s psychological and sociological. We shouldn’t be so concrete in accepting the question.

  • Inono

    Short answer, “I believe there is no god.”

    Long answer, written by Penn Jillette:

    I believe that there is no God. I’m beyond Atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy — you can’t prove a negative, so there’s no work to do. You can’t prove that there isn’t an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word “elephant” includes mystery, order, goodness, love and a spare tire?

    So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God. She needs to search for some objective evidence of a supernatural power. All the people I write e-mails to often are still stuck at this searching stage. The Atheism part is easy.

    But, this “This I Believe” thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life’s big picture, some rules to live by. So, I’m saying, “This I believe: I believe there is no God.”

    Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I’m not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it’s everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I’m raising now is enough that I don’t need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.

    Believing there’s no God means I can’t really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That’s good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around.

    Believing there’s no God stops me from being solipsistic. I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures. Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I’m wrong. We can all keep adjusting, so we can really communicate. I don’t travel in circles where people say, “I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith.” That’s just a long-winded religious way to say, “shut up,” or another two words that the FCC likes less. But all obscenity is less insulting than, “How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do.” So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that’s always fun. It means I’m learning something.

    Believing there is no God means the suffering I’ve seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn’t caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn’t bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future. No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future.

    Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-o and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have.

  • Richard Wade

    The confusion starts from not clarifying the two very different meanings of “believe in.” One is to assume the truth or reality of something in the absence of evidence. The other is to hold something in esteem, to value or support it. I do as little of the first as I possibly can, and plenty of the second.

    If I’m asked by a theist, “Do you believe in anything?” they are almost always keeping the two definitions undistinguished. If I try to answer without clarifying the difference, the confusion will continue. Such clarity takes time and effort on my part, and patience on the questioner’s part, so the first thing I ask is “Do you have about 5 or 10 minutes for a clear answer?” If they don’t, I say that it wouldn’t help to give a quick, sound-byte answer.

    So my clear response has to include an explanation of what skepticism is, and then a list of the values I hold. When I get to that part, the questioner and I most often have plenty in common. We mainly differ in what we need to be convinced of a claim.

  • To me, that question reveals a basic inability to imagine something outside the Christian’s own belief system. I used to work with a fundamentalist who found out I was agnostic and accused me of “backsliding.” They are just applying their own world upon us and expecting us to have the same basic needs, because they can’t imagine anything else–like Christians who are unable to imagine anything other than Christianity as a basis for morality, so non-believers must not be moral.

    The question “but what do you believe in??” I think is not asking about your belief in rainbows or puppy dogs; instead it is the person saying they don’t understand the ability to not rely on faith, so they restate the same question, expecting some answer that is similar to a belief in god. You can’t possibly not believe in god, so you must believe in something. In this case, “believe” means religious faith. It’s like the guy in Spinal Tap showing the dial that goes to eleven. When the interviewer asks why not just label the louder point as “ten,” he can’t understand, and insists, “but this goes to eleven!” because he can’t see it any other way.

    I think the correct answer is, “in the sense of believing in a higher conscious power such as god, I don’t believe in anything.” I would ask that person why they think it’s necessary to believe in something, and get around to the wisdom of accepting that there is knowledge we are not privileged to, and that’s okay.

  • stephanie

    I believe in one less thing than a theist.

  • I believe in people.

    When pressed to explain, i go into the typical humanist refrain.

    Speaking of which, I wish this “Atheist Movement” were more of a Humanist Movement. It would be more effective in showing how secularism is better, remove the myth that we have no morals, and in general me more productive to society. Instead we seem to focus on trying to reason with generally unreasonable people, fighting over complex ideas that the typical person doesn’t understand or care about. Idk, just a thought, total digression…

  • I usually fire back with “Why do I need to believe in something” if that doesn’t work my response is the same as many here. I believe in myself, my friends, family, science and the human drive to know more.

  • Jay

    I believe in reality
    I believe in the natural world
    I believe I’ll have another beer

  • Siamang

    The question “but what do you believe in??” I think is not asking about your belief in rainbows or puppy dogs; instead it is the person saying they don’t understand the ability to not rely on faith, so they restate the same question, expecting some answer that is similar to a belief in god.

    I think it’s even less of a question than that. I don’t think it’s even a question, as much as a bunch of words they parrot, reflexively.

    I recognize the response well. I’m a confirmed meat-atarian, married to a vegetarian, and the “lash out first, formulate a sentence that makes sense second” was my normal MO when dealing with vegetarians before I kind of grew up in that area.

    It’s an “oh yeah, well what’s your answer to this one mr. smarty-pants!!!” kind of thrust. Best to slowly, calmly work the question into a different mode.

    I honestly think the best response is along the lines of Richard’s. The best thing to do is to get them to go over the question slowly, to try and get them to think about what they’re really asking.

  • GullWatcher

    When I’m being polite, it’s “I believe in lots of things, but I don’t worship anything”.

    I think I’m gonna be borrowing the ‘reality’ or “I think instead” answers for when I’m not feeling so polite.

  • Veritas

    I believe in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; in the Constitution of the United States; in the central concept that at our hearts, all men and women are equal and most are good.

  • I believe in nature, sort of a philosophical paganism that acknowledges reality and humanities place in the huge systems of interconnected matter and energy.

    Ethically, I believe in Superman. No, seriously. In any given circumstances, if you know sufficiently enough about Superman (modern…please ignore the ethical status of the covers of “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen” and so on) then all you have to do is ask yourself, “Assuming full information and barring kryptonite and magick, what would Superman do?” Hasn’t failed me yet, and far more realistic than Kant or Aristotle. If you are on the opposite side from Superman in an ethical issue, then you are most likely in the wrong.

  • I seem to recall an article cited on Daylight Atheism, featuring a 91-year old atheist woman. When they asked her what she believed, she said, “I believe in people and ideas.”

  • I believe in a good number of things.

    I believe that the world would be a better place if everyone had reliable and up to date anti virus and anti spam software.

    I believe that politicians work for us and should therefore do what is best for us. Not necessarily what we want but we should be able to trust them to do what is best. I don’t but I think I should.

    I believe that war is a last resort and never the best option.

    I believe in the power of goodness, niceness and happy thoughts.

    I believe in science as a way of knowing.

    I believe in an awful lot of things. It’s a shame that some people only believe in one thing.

  • Siamang

    Here’s a good answer:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB_htqDCP-s

    Storm by Tim Minchin

  • I love Claudia’s response, it similar to what I would say.

    I feel that I do have a purpose: evolution.
    I am a part of something bigger: the universe.
    I believe in the wonders the universe holds. The beauty it possesses. Sure, these aren’t things I “believe in”, per se (I don’t have “faith”), but its all semantics. Nature and, on a bigger scale, the universe are amazingly beautiful things that inspire me and bring joy into my life on a continual basis.

  • Shauna

    Things just are. The world doesn’t require my belief to exist.

  • A good question and it’s got a lot of good responses. I run an atheist-friendly Christian website,and one of my aims is to promote the view that atheists are human beings and believe in lots of the same things that open-minded Christians believe in. Your answers prove it.
    I like Seneca’s comment: “I am a human and nothing human is alien to me.” He was a pantheist, I think, but the same sentiment could be found among numerous belief systems.
    My site is http://www.wesleyschair.com.

  • Polly

    I believe in myself. And after years of being told that I’m a worthless sinner, boy does that feel great.

    I believe in my capacity to think problems through and determine, if not the final truth, as reasonable an approximation as anyone else. And, I know I can get a hell of a lot closer to the truth than a book of stories.

    I believe that I’m WAY better and smarter and well-informed than Jehovah, Allah, and Jesus all put together. Jesus was an asshole. It needs to be said. He was a racist who called Samaritans ignorant and Phonoecians “dogs.” He virtually introduced the concept of Hell into the global consciousness.

  • Mathew Wilder

    Batman is a way better (and cooler!) moral exemplar than Superman!

  • I believe that there is no final answer, but with a little cleverness, we can make a better world for us all.

  • Siamang Says:

    Here’s a good answer:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB_htqDCP-s
    Storm by Tim Minchin

    Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I posted it on my blog as well!!!

  • For once I find myself in the position of being able to say what answer I did give, rather than guess what answer I might give if I were in this situation – since I responded to precisely this question only a few hours ago.

    My response, after some thought, was to point out that the question assumed some kind of god-substitute, and that I couldn’t answer such a loaded question in those terms, but I offered to attempt to answer a less loaded question.

  • AxeGrrl

    I believe that if human beings dedicated more energy to truly caring for one another, and ensuring a more ‘level playing field’ for all, then the need for the belief in some supernatural ‘God’ would (eventually) disappear.

    I say this because I think that a lot of ‘God belief’ arises from the apparently inherent unfairness of the natural world….

    If we successfully created a world that was more fair in terms of the most basic needs (like food, shelter and education), I think we’d see a significant drop in religious allegiance.

    And despite the very real fact that such a goal is unlikely given our ‘current global situation’ I DO believe that human beings have the capacity to (ultimately) achieve this.

  • Autumnal Harvest

    I believe in Crystal Light. Because I believe in me.

  • Andrew Price

    Do no harm

  • Karma Jingpa

    I am vegetarian and I get asked all the time: “If you don’t eat meat, what DO you eat?”

    To me, this is the same stupid question from people who can’t imagine living life differently than they do.

  • Silverback

    I do not believe. I reason.

  • marcus

    I believe in psychology. It’s the only thing that will help humanity and the problems that confront us. We put almost no funding towards psychology. If we don’t understand ourselves, our injuries, our emotions, our defenses, our subconscious, our core belief systems, our childhood…we will never make healthy decisions. Politics, chemistry, science, astrology, astronomy, sociology, are all not psychology and will not enable us to understand where we are headed and why. Especially in America the topic of psychology almost seems taboo, mostly out of pure ignorance. The advertising and war industries are the only ones interested in psychology, and that, only as a manipulating tool, not for healthy and balanced reasons. People too often rely on spirituality instead of psychology, just think of 12 step based groups to deal with addiction and other diseases. The pharmaceutical industries are merely look at the person from a purely chemical point of view. Besides the medical industry can only cure 10% of illnesses. Most every article or book I read on any topic is usually lacking psychological insight, which is the main thing of importance when it comes to the human condition. Psychology is what I believe in and what needs much more support, financing and reverence. Read any book by Alice Miller to get an insight going! Or read my manifesto and see my paintings at livejournal.com under boycott2008.

  • Hank Bones

    Atheist: I don’t believe in god.
    Christian: You don’t believe in God? Then what do you believe in?
    A: Well, do you believe in Santa?
    C: No.
    A: You don’t believe in Santa? Then what do you believe in?
    C: That’s not the same thing.
    A: You’re right, no one kills in the name of Santa.
    /applause, bow to crowd

  • Kevin

    “Don’t waste my time with such an outmoded question.”

  • Richard Wade’s Evil Twin

    I’d like to try this:

    Theist: “So, you don’t believe in God?”
    Me: “No, I don’t.”
    Theist: “Then what do you believe in?”
    Me: “I believe that somewhere in the darkest niiight, a candle glowwwwwws.
    I believe for every drop of rain that falllls, a flower growwwwwwwwws.
    EVERY TIME I HEAR A NEWBORN BABY CRYYYYY, OR TOUCH A LEEEEEEAF OR SEEE THE SKYYYYYYYYYYY
    THEN THAT IS WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII BEEELIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE!!

  • AxeGrrl

    Autumnal Harvest said:

    I believe in Crystal Light. Because I believe in me.

    *teehee*

  • Being a soldier gives me a bit of a cheat:

    Duty.
    Honor.
    Country.

  • ashton clark

    I believe in the world
    I believe that you should live your life the way you want to live your life, and not by the rules of somebody else

  • SeeingisBelieving

    It’s not “what I believe,” it’s what I know. I know that a man named Jesus Christ walked the earth, I know that many people saw him and witnessed his teaching and manipulations of matter (miracles), I know that he spoke about love and righteousness and explained who God is. I know that He is the word in the flesh (God). I know the Catholic church’s BS drove many people away from this.

  • CalliopeTheMuse

    I believe in Humanity and their ability to eventually overcome primitive superstitious beliefs in gods. They did it before, with the Greek and Roman gods. They can do it again. Just give them time.

  • Taydra.

    I believe things happen randomly. Nothing revolves around this “thing” people call god…

  • Rachael

    I have come from a catholic / religious background. When i was looking for what my new beliefs related too ( i no longer believe in a God), i must admit when i came to this site i thought , im not an atheist, i believe in something, just not a god’ . But after reading all these posts about believing in humanity, truth, the mind, and the universe, it actually brought me to tears that i actually found people with the similiar views of life and death to what i have come to now live by.

    I dont believe, i think!

    Thank you all !

  • My Answer:
    ‘I believe in evidence’.

  • choobie

    I believe in a properly performed scientific method.

  • matty

    family, friends, and the power of science, also i beleave in the power of science very strongly i beleave in evaluation

  • steve

    As a theist, I see the question in terms of world view/belief system. Not believing in something is ok, but it says nothing about what you do believe in. Obviously there is a great deal of diversity (as there is within theism) but are there some general tenets that are common to a reasonable percentage of atheists? There are a number of areas to discuss – origins of life, meaning of life, etc. One that probably gets more discussion is ethics and morals…are there absolute standards similar to the fundamental laws of physics or are they derived from consensus?
    I enjoyed reading many of the responses to this thread…

    Steve

  • Cesc

    I am not a beliver in god but that does mean i have no stand in life….i belive with the strength and power of our mind as we thats what will help us determine our life rather than putting everything of fate or god…we make our choices in life and we have to stand up to it…god does not do anyhting to us

  • becky

    We had an atheist at church wednesday night. we were studying the book of Daniel. It was good to have him there. He said some good things. I hope he comes back. No one tried to convert him nor did he try to convert us…we just all listened to each other.

  • way to Step Up, atheists! very nice thread; i’ll be stealing a lot of the good ones. titter, it would be fun to go make trouble at a religious event with some of you, i can see that. 😉

    if i like them and just don’t want to embarrass them, i say, “well, i studied comparative semitic philology and the anthropology and languages of pre-monotheistic religions in Divinity school for ten years, so it’s sort of complicated.” people’s eyes glaze over and they change the topic, quick.

    if i don’t like them, i say, “i believe you’re an inferior for asking the question, but really, do you want to know?” again, i rarely get an affirmative reply.

  • fiddler

    Rofl, chicago dyke! I do the same quite often, though worded slightly differently.

  • Rchagoya

    I don’t think people are necessarily asking you to be rude or to be judgmental(if they are that’s a whole other story). but i think its simply human nature to feel like you should believe in something. not that all people do but but for most people its natural. please don’t believe that you are above people for there beliefs just as you wouldn’t want them to look down on you for your beliefs(or lack of).i think that you should be more open with the discussion of mind and the things you believe to be true or not. i thought this was a “friendly atheist” website?!

  • Youranidiot

    The funny thing is….you’re the inferior one and you don’t even know it!! I think the absence of the tube steak is making your brain soft!!

  • I believe in life, moral rules, happiness…
    Not in religion or any kind of creature who “rules” everything.

  • At Peace

    You assume here that all believers are unintelligent.  I understand every word of your attempt to make yourself sound superior, and I’m not impressed.  I have met different “types” of people who call themselves atheists.  Some seem to be at peace, which is hard for me to understand, because my peace comes from knowing God.  However, that is not for me to judge.  Then, I see people who are angry, clearly not at peace with their anti-religious philosophy.  This makes more sense to me, but it makes me sad. 

    If you have confidence in your belief system, you would have no need to make those different from you feel inferior.  I understand that people of all faiths behave this way, and it wrong on all accounts.  I can appreciate that atheists are tired of certain stereotypes, so are Christians.  It is automatically assumed, that because of my faith, I am lacking in intellectual ability.  It just isn’t true, and I hope that more people would understand this. 

    That being said, as a Christian, I am not here to “fit in” with the world.  My heart is with all of those who are suffering, and I hope that you all find peace.  I just think that greeting misunderstanding with hostility is no way to treat anyone.  It will only tear down communication, and widen the gulf between people of different beliefs.

  • Faiq

    If we want to be objective, let us put away whatever prior knowledge and prejudice first. Then, let us try to read Holy Quran with our open mind. I am sure we will find a new horison of a new way of viewing our wolrd. Just try to read, Dear friends….

  • Noneof Yourbeeswaxe

    i belive in god the i am , he is real u all will figure that out someday … yes medical indstry can only cure !10 % of illness but my god the god that gave his only son to die on the cross for all of our sins and cure 100% of illness !  before its too late belive ! my GOD IS THE GREATEST GOD EVER !!!! 

  • Laurie Rangel

    But, If god isn’t really there, Just like kids, why would  you want to believe that. don’t you dwell, about  it?  Imagine you were dying,  or you have a  uncurable disease, wouldn’t it be more simpler to believe you were going to a better place. If your kid was dying, what would you say? I’m not trying to judge, I’m just trying to understand. My husband is an atheist, we have 3 kids, and I don’t push my beliefs on him and he doesn’t on me. What I know, makes me dwell. Basically I would have been better off not knowing, even if it’s not true. 

  • Kingfisher10101

    Who sets the moral rules?

  • Kingfisher10101

    “I do not believe in atheist’s, therefore atheist’s do not exist”

    God

  • Kingfisher10101

    A fool says in his heart “there is no God”

  • Kingfisher10101

    Im a christian and i believe in all of that as well.

  • Kingfisher10101

    That is a really good answer, but not correct. There are two other places you dont belive in that a theist does, heaven and hell. So i guess there is at least three things if not more.

  • Rchagoya

    WOW something really bad must of happened in your life to make you so hateful! Even if you do not believe in Jesus you have no right to put Christianity down,I’m sure that you don’t like it when someone puts you down for your beliefs,so why in the world would you put others down?! I really hope that you find peace and quit being an black hearted bitch 🙂 take care!

  • Anonymous

    I believe… 
    the earth revolves around the sun
    the earth is about 4.5 billion years old
    our universe is about 13 billion years old
    in seperation of church and state
    in the other ten ammendments to the constitution
    that science education is important and practical 
    that religion does more harm than good
    mysticism has had it’s day and should be abandoned

  • Paulyd2011

    godless hethens is all you are

  • Paulyd2011

    taht was the most ignorant thing i have ever read .grow up!!

  • Paulyd2011

    um the whole world is evidence ,you are evidence . boy not that smart  are you .

  • NUTAMUG

    I do not believe in God. I believe in a scientific way of the Earth built. Rocks & dust formed to create each planet in the universe like it does with stars. All the materials that are discovered and undiscovered in the Earths ground is what was floating in space before Earth was joined. God, to me, doesn’t exist and it’s what I choose to believe. I do not believe in the bible or any of the biblical stories. Some myths and legends are often believed by me. Sorry, but that’s my view.

  • Randyreviewer

    Just came on this post– loved the line above “My god is the greatest god ever!!!” (couldn’t make myself use the all-caps shouting again.) So, they seem to feel there have been a lot of other gods as well, and there was some sort of game show or something and “their” god came out on top? Love it.

  • Jfdominguez91

    Wow, very well said..

  • Basketballsamu

    then how can you explain human beings… someone had to create us, and you also can’t explain how the universe even happened… everything has a creator you think it just appeared?? 

  • Lucas Bluecat

     Evolution.  Check it out.

  • Lucas Bluecat

     You and I do.  Our society does.  We always have and will. 

  • Lucas Bluecat

     It reminds me of teen girls screaming “THE B-BOP BOZ ARE THE GREATEST BAND EVER!!”

    yeah.

  • Imadam23

    To all the at atheist’s out there.. When you guys say “I dont BELIEVE  in anything”  key word believe, then why do you people BELIEVE in evolution, rocks, trees, formation of the planets coming together creating this so called world of ours as you guys would say it.. when you believe in something, and it can be anything you want then that makes you a believer because in somehow someway whatever u believe in has a creator and that creator is GOD. . What bothers me is that atheists say that the world was made by rocks and all these weird things. Then let me ask you this question, if the world was created by evolution then Who created humans, dinosours and etc?

  • Lucas Bluecat

     Wow!!  First let me say Atheists dont say ” We dont believe in anything!”

    Atheists DO believe something. They actually believe MORE than a
    Theist. Look at a shelf of science and biology text books. Look at a
    shelf of encyclopedias. In fact look at an entire library of
    non-fiction material.

    Look at people, look at logic, look in the mirror at yourself.

    That is what an Atheists believes in.

    BTW when you say ” What bothers me is that atheists say that the world was made by rocks and all these weird things.”  What do you mean?  Atoms?  HA!

    You are clueless… 

    Have a nice day!
     

  • JOHN

    AN  ATHEIST  WILL ALWAYS ASK FOR PROOF THAT GOD EXIST . THE PROOF IS THERE  LOOK AROUND , HOW CAN A GAS CLOUD MAKE THIS BEAUTIFUL  UNIVERSE . HOW CAN EACH PLANET BE PERFECTLY ROUND .IF IT WAS MADE BY A GAS CLOUD THEIR WOULD BE NO AIR ON EARTH NO OZONE LAYER . BECAUSE THE WORLD WAS THERE BEFORE LIVING LIFE .HOW WOULD A GAS CLOUD KNOW OF MAKING A OZONE LAYER FOR LIVING LIFE . THERE WOULD BE DUCKS RUNNING AROUND WITH A LIZARDS HEAD .EVERY ANIMAL IS PERFECT EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD IS BALANCED OUT PERFECTLY. HOW CAN SOMEONE  ASK FOR PROOF OF GOD WHEN GOD IS IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM. HOW CAN A ATHEIST BE SURE THAT  THERE IS NO GOD ,IF THEY NOT WILLING TO BELIEVE IN A SPIRITUAL REALM.  IF THE WORLD  THAT THE ATHEIST BELIEVE IN WAS THE TIP OF THE ICE BERG , THE HUGE MOUNTAIN OF ICE UNDER THE  TIP OF THE ICE BERG  WOULD BE THE SPIRITUAL REALM . WE CANT SEE THE HUGE BLOCK OF ICE UNDER THE WATER ,WE CAN ONLY SEE THE TIP ABOVE THE WATER .THAT IS HOW IT IS IN THIS LIFE ,WE ARE IN HUMAN FORM NOT SPIRITUAL FORM YET . AND THE  ATHEIST WOULD SAY WERE IS THE  PROOF LOL  WE ONLY SEE THE PROOF WHEN WE DIE .  IF THE ATHEIST BELIEVE IN A GAS CLOUD OR BIG BANG ,WHAT CREATED THE GAS CLOUD .WHAT CREATED THE ATMOSPHERE  AROUND THE GAS CLOUD ,EVEN BETTER WHAT CREATED THE NOTHING. WERE DOES NOTHING BEGIN OR END   . ATHEIST OR TO QUICK TO THINK THAT NOTHING EXIST OUTSIDE THIS WORLD  ,BUT THEY ARE FORGETTING  THAT HUMAN MINDS OR TO PRIMITIVE TO UNDERSTAND . SURE ! HUMANS MADE IT TO THE MOON AND BACK . BUT THAT WOULD BE CHILD’S PLAY TO GOD.  JESUS  THE SON OF GOD AND THE ATHEIST WILL SAY WERE’S  THE PROOF . THERE IS PROOF ATHEIST  ,FIRST OF ALL ACCEPT THAT THE HUMAN BRAIN IS TO PRIMITIVE TO BEGIN WITH  . AND THEN TRY AND IMAGINE THIS WORLD BEING IN THIS UNIVERSE  SURROUNDED  BY NOTHING AND NOTHING AND NOTHING FOR LIGHT YEARS AWAY  .IF WE ARE THE ONLY THING IN THIS NOTHING WHAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF BEING HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. WHAT FOUNDATION DOES NOTHING REST ON . THE INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THIS NOTHING HAD TO COME FROM SOMETHING.THAT INCLUDES THE SO CALLED GAS CLOUD  (EVOLUTION)     . THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THEN WHAT MEETS THE EYE.

  • Do you think God had a hand in that…

  • I think Joseph Campbell said it best, “God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought.  It’s as simple as that.”

  • :)

    Oh really? Cool, so…um…u mind showin me how that works? 🙂 Can ya do an explotion and have awesome things come from it? ;D 

  • :)

    Actually, our Nation was founded in Christian beliefs 🙂 

  • :)

    Cool…so what’s our purpose in life? 🙂

  • :)

    omigoodness!! Imagine if every driver thought that way?? :O lol “I believe in cars, I believe that u shld drive ur car the way u want to drive ur car, and not by the rules of stop signs n stop lights” Actually, rules were put there for our own good…we have stop signs n stop lights to protect us, so that it’s fair for everyone, n so that no one gets hurt. I hate having to stop when im running late, but how many accidents have taken ppls lives just bc someone ran a stop light?? or was driving under the influence?? :'( It’s not always easy or pleasent to follow rules, but they’re for our own good. Of course, some of them…haha 😛 but u get my point?? :O hehe

  • :)

    haha!! nah, i think he’s just excited about all the awesome things God has done in his life that that’s why he said it like that!! 😀 

  • :)

    but actually, we all have fait 🙂 When we sit on a chair we have faith that it’s gonna hold us 🙂 n things like that, but we all have faith 🙂
    And…that’s so cool…but um…since u said evolution…do ya mind explaining how that works? ;D Can ya do an explotion and have something wonderful come out of it?!

  • :)

    Actually, i have had a lot of Atheists say that to me too, so i can understand where he’s coming from. 
    But yeah, i also agree that u guys have tons of faith! 🙂 
    I mean, it takes alot of faith to believe that out of an explotion all this awesomeness was created!! Cause honestly…ive never seen that happen, all explotions ever do is make a huge mess 😛 lol 
    And believing that we don’t have a creator!!! That’s huge faith right there!!! Cause i mean…even POOP has a creator!! 😛 

  • :)

    cool, so can u show me how an explotion creates awesomeness? cause all i’ve ever seen it do is create a mess. and like i said before, we have to have a creator…even POOP does!

  • :)

    cool, so what’s our purpose in life? 🙂

  • :)

    Cool…so what’s our purpose in life? 🙂

  • :)

    of course u believe! everyone believes!! 🙂 and u have tons of faith if ur an atheist! 🙂 I mean, it takes a lot of faith to believe we don’t have a creator right? Well, everything has a creator…even POOP! ;D

  • :)

    Cool…so what’s our purpose in life? 😀 

  • :)

    Oh, n i almost forgot…um…u do know that EVOLUTION IS JUST A THEORY RIGHT? 🙂 oh, n did u know that science still can’t explain human emotion??? i mean if u believe in the power of science…n technically science cant explain human feelings…than do u not believe in emotions either?? :O 

  • :)

    actually, did u know that basically…all the wise sayings come from the bible? they’ve just been phrased diff? 🙂 and all the good advice ppl give, it was first written in the bible? 😀 And all those things that God said not to do bc they are sins…actually end up hurting us if we do do them? Crazy huh? It’s like, He’s trying to protect us, not boss us around 🙂 

  • Whitt_adam

    You all are goin to burn. Sad to say.

  • Actually, no it wasn’t. Direct quote here: “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion…”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Tripoli#Article_11 

  • Grizzlyjoeblotsoffur

    So if you want to lie then lie if you want to steal then steal if you want to kill then kill
    dose that sound right …NO
    Wy because somthing in are heads tells us its not
    look at nature and think about it
    its all about survival
    Do you think a dog or a pack of dogs feals sorry for a weaker dog going hungry. NO is he going to take up a collection for it No
    But we as humans show love compaction a higher form of intelligence that no outher living thing on this earth has man was put here by GOD.

  • Grizzlyjoeblotsoffur

    Every thing of this world has a beginning and a end
    So lets look at evaluation
    so how ever long ago all the dust and matter floating through space come together to form the earth. Let me ask this. What happens when two objects meat when in motion ……….do they join…
    no they bounce off and if its moving in space there is no gravity to slow it down it keeps moving but lets just say by chance it did gather together to make the earth whats next water? How did it get here? Ok so lets say its floating through space too and it also joins the dust matter too whats next? Air you cant have life with out it right? How do you think it got here ? But it got here and it made the o zone to keep are atmosphere separated from space .then what? Plant life right? Every plant comes from a seed or seed like start .so where did the first seeds come from? But somehow plant life started after the water and land divided whats next ?Life. ????? How? Well lets just say it up and poped out of nowhere. There is a the first living thing on land lets call him frank. Now frank is a little blob of life . Frale little blob. So frank sets out into this new world .but when he crawls out of the shade he dried up and dies. But he comes back and says i got to have a thicker skin to keep me from drying out so he comes back with thicker skin and trys again but after a long time of crawling hes getting nowhere so he dried out again and died but he comes back again but this time he has legs …do you see where this is going …evaluation is bs to many maybes and what ifs is it so hard to believe that the earth was created every thing came from something

  • Phodge0919

    Its not a matter of believing in those things it’s a matter of knowing where they come from, take love for instance, it’s a non-tangible thing. How do you know to love? Who put love in your heart? How did you even know it was actually love? Take the goodness of people, who declared their deeds good? Who made the “Golden Rule” and declared works to be good, where does the inspiration of law abide? Who gave men their thoughts? The reality is you would have to believe in someone higher than you or your belief becomes a unsolved mystery

  • JoAnn Williams

    My answer to this question is:  I don’t need to believe in god and heaven to know that I can live a very happy and satisfying life and be content with the fact that when I die that’s the end.  I totally understand why the majority of humans believe in a god.  They believe because they must.  It would not be possible for them to happily live their lives on earth not believing that they will be going to heaven and seeing the loved ones they have lost and that there is “something” after death.  It would be devastating and totally unbearable for them to believe that this is all there is of their lives.  I feel  sad for the majority that have the need to believe because, even though they believe in god and heaven, I feel they must have a great fear of death.  If this isn’t true then why wouldn’t they end their lives when they lose the love of their life and could see them again if they ended it? 

  • Who created the atoms? Rocks? Monkeys?

  • Well said.

  • Wilsonruston

    although, I do beleive in jesus, there are ways to claim “jesus didnt create us.” like, what really created the universe? well, what about “the big bang theory.” then it began a process, from all kind of creatures, being passed down. The question could be not “who made us?” but, “what did we come  from?” like, what if we come from cave men? And next, something could come from us.
    like i said, i am a beleiver in jesus. And i do beleive he died for our sins, just answering your question. SO, there are other ways to beleive how we came about.

  • Gjwilliams33

    I never argue or even debate with those that believe in a creator.  I don’t because I totally understand that those believers must believe in order for them to live happily here on earth.  I don’t put their beliefs down as they have every right to believe in anything that makes their life on earth as rewarding as it can be no matter how much it goes against my common sense.

  • Me

    You are an idiot.

  • Yourmom

    You really are the dumbest person on the whole Internet. Wow.

  • Azel

    Whatever purpose we find for ourselves. That there is no God, and thus no externally imposed to us purpose, doesn’t mean that we can’t create one for ourselves.

  • Ari

    Then you don’t know the meaning of the word “know”. You’re confusing belief and knowledge. You don’t know Jesus was real because there’s no physical evidence for him: IF he lived, he left nothing behind.
    Your only “evidence” of him comes from a book written by anonymous Bronze Age authors, heavily edited over centuries into several different versions, with some events having been written about decades after they happened, in an age with no Twitter or digital cameras. I’ll admit that Jesus isn’t just in the Bible, though! He’s also in the Quran: have you read that yet, to find out more about your dear lord?

    Interesting name you have there: SeeingisBelieving. How can you believe in god or Jesus if you’ve never seen them? Your lord Jesus is about as real as Lord Voldemort.

  • yello

    How can you believe in air or wind if you’ve never seen it? You can’t see it but can feel it and know it’s there.

  • Jrsaxonred

    I feel many aethist like you started in a similar place you did…in church. Religion is bad but Jesus Christ saves. Many people have had bad experiences under leaders preaching false gospel. They focus on legalism, fear, growth, and prosperity. I totally understand why people don’t believe sometimes. Reason and logic is man made. Anything created by man will fail and let us down in due time. Focus on the Gospel. It is a true story that has been challenged many times for credibility and it always prevails. The main problem is that bored men think they are smarter that God.

  • Rodeogal20

    Wikipedia yes that is a great source of information.

  • me

    Haha no it was not. It was founded on the ideal that all people should have religious and political freedom. Also, a lot of our founding fathers were deists soooo… ^-^
    [Learned all this in a basic American History class.]

  • Edd

     Did we really need god to tell us something that just requires common sense?

  • Ellen

     Can you show me how to make a woman out of a mans rib?

  • Edd

     But you know how it’s generated, how do you know god is around you? You can feel it. Why? because……

  • Edd

     Anyone can do whatever they want to do to, each their own consequence. We didn’t need god to tell us something that requires common sense. Don’t you think that we are also like a pack of dogs? Sociable, but turns a blind eye on the needy. By the way, why would you think dogs would take a collection? They don’t have the capability for it. Why would you judge someone or an animal on their incapability, how does that make you better? Why do you hold yourself with such high regard? We, the humans with such a high form of intelligence, were put here by god? For what? to pollute, cause war, famine, and destroy the Earth? Or is it just you that is perfect? We are just like that pack of dogs you described, would you give a damn about a weak dog that was not in your pack? A starving African child on another continent? A laboring Chinese child? Victims of natural disasters? A weak homeless dog? Do you take a collection up for them? No, because you can’t and you don’t want to, and even if you did it would leave you as poor a rat.  Even if you were perfect and rich, it wouldn’t make a change, because not everyone has the same values as you. But god put us here right? So it’s o.k. Belief in god relieves us of personal responsibility. It’s all about survival for us too.

  • Jimmy Jo Jo

    As an atheist it would bother me too if other atheists said ‘the world was made by rocks and all these weird things’.

  • Sydneybrown7

    To everyone who’s asking what created that atoms that evolved into the earth, and are saying that everything has to have a creator.. who created your “god”?

  • Sspringventura

    I am also atheist. I believe when you die, you die. That there is no heaven or hell. How could there be a god? How can someone create the earth? And if he did, who creates him? It just dosent make sense to me. And no matter how many time I explain my beliefs to people, they try to change my mind.

  • Marley Friends

    Then where does common sense come from?

  • Senpai

    No one can KNOW if God is real or not. One thing I do know, however:

    If we evolved from apes, there would still be an in-between. I do believe in Evolution; but Humans have always been Human and only Humans have evolved to other forms of Human.
    I also know that if things are just the way they are because they are, I’m one that survives death and always will, because I was not only legally STILLBORN (dead at birth), I was also declared dead during a surgery mishap in Fourth Grade and I came back from that, as well.
    So, if there are no higher powers, please begin bowing down to me.

  • Lucwaug@comcast.net

    I believe atheist are lost and I pray they find there path back to god. There is no way you can say god does not exist. Big an atheist reads this… God is real… I will pray for you….I hope others will pray to… Oh and I’m 14… And I am smart enuf to belI’ve in god. I don’t need prof

  • Edd

    Common sense: Good sense and sound judgment in practical matters. If common sense tells me god doesn’t exist, then I will heavily lay my assumptions that god didn’t create common sense. At least, that he doesn’t control what I think. It is very similar to individual intelligence and inquiry.

  • Edd

    That’s a really narrow minded perspective you have there. What makes you so sure  you know you’re on the right “path”? If you think prayers are the solution to atheists, aren’t you being a little illogical? What will your prayers do? If you believe in god and atheists don’t believe in your specific religion or god, I don’t think praying is going to be very effective. You’re think you’re smart enough to believe in god, but you’re not quite smart enough to think about the situation and the specific statement that you are making.

  • Crcaudle

    Ellen,  Please tell me exactly how air & wind are generated?  If man evolved from an ape then why are there still apes?  Where did the ape come from?  Where is evolution’s missing link that would prove that evolution actually exists?

  • Cocksuckers

    Who is saying anyone can make an explosion?  You make me rage!! You ARE the dumbest person on the whole Internet. 

  • Samual McSamualson

    I love these conversation because they are incredibly entertaining to see fanatics on both sides blindly defend their side with out any scientific tangible proof that their own beliefs are the right ones. Christians (and other religions) put FAITH in the stories of the bible, quran, torah, etc. because the human race needs something to believe in to keep themselves sane. Religion throughout the times was created to explain what could not be explained, to unify people under a central moral system and (unfortunately) to control the will of the masses. When titans walked the earth to create quakes and Zeus ruled on mount Olympus and punished people with great storms and lightning, this is how these phenomenon were explained. Just as Atheists put their FAITH into the belief that their is no god and that everything can be explained by science, which we already know that it can be scientifically proven that not all things can be proven by science. Science cannot prove that their is a consciousness, and yet we all believe it is there (Theory of Consciousness). We cannot prove that humans evolved from monkeys, but people still believe that it is the truth (Theory of Evolution). We cannot prove that there is god, yet people still believe. We cant prove that there isn’t a god, and yet people still believe. The religions of the world weren’t created by scholars, they were born from strife. The were led by emotion and hope that there was a purpose to the suffering that was life in those days. It is only feasible that as technology grew and the ability to observe things at a deeper level grew, that the belief in god (for some) would diminish to the belief in science. And frankly there is nothing wrong with that. Religions use god, allah, jehova, jesus, Buddha, ganesh, etc. to explain what cannot be explained. Others believe that it is supposed to be that way because that is just they way it is supposed to be and do not need an explanation to enjoy it. And others believe that there is a rational explanation for everything. You are all right.

  • Lucas Bluecat

    Your understanding of scientific theory is incorrect. Science theory is based on what is true. Gravity is a science theory. Everything in a theory has been proven true and testable. We didn’t evolved from monkeys. Monkeys we see today evolved with us from a common ancestor.

  • Trish

    There is not one thing the Scientists can not prove in the Bible. There are many things that have already been proven. Google and look at both sides of the story. The Bible is real. God is real, science cant even begin to touch or explain in a logical way how things got here, the human body and mind. Sorry to say those great books we are suppose to learn from that they use in the school system are not all telling the truth. I feel sorry for those of you that don’t believe, for those that beg to God when they need his help when a loved one is dying, Sometimes the loss of a loved one brings us to God, and Praise God for that. People want answers then. There is a heaven my friends and a hell. Hell is not a party with friends like most non believers think. We do have a choice it is given by God, for those that don’t believe so be it, but as for me I wanted more, I wanted to know I was going to see my Dad again and my granddaughter who died at eight days old, I have faith, without that what hope do any of you have. I rather know the truth and be grateful for it. I have seen both sides of the story only one way speaks the truth.

  • Trish

    when we were created each one of us has a longing to understand and we have a heart to question what is real and to search for answers, You can not look at creation and not wonder how or why and the amazing way it all works together. You really need to find a good study Bible and a Bible teaching church and just see for yourselves. You are not out a thing by looking, Yet you have everything to gain if you find what is missing.

  • trish

    Edd, have you read the bible? If not you just don’t know what is in there. You don’t boss people into not doing one thing or doing something else, lead by example people will follow, We are all given a choice, Look at our country when people followed God our country was blessed, People are falling away and our country is falling at a high rate of speed, Time is based on God, he must have done some pretty amazing things if time is base off of him. Just a thought.

  • trish

    Well, that’s your first problem believing what you learned in history class. One Nation Under GOD. In God We Trust, It was founded on God. Not religion. School teaches we come from apes too.

  • DavidMHart

    I think you may be getting the New England puritan colonists confused with the people who organised the various American colonies into a country under a federal government in the aftermath of the American revolution. The New England puritans did come to North America to set up a theocratic utopia. But other groups of European colonists did not. The Dutch who founded New Amsterdam (now New York) set it up to be a cosmopolitan trading hub, with no particular religious ethos, the Quakers who founded Pennsylvania were very keen on religious and political freedom; the slave-holder who came from Barbados to colonise the Deep South were in it for profit pure and simple, and so forth for other groups of European colonists. But, some time later when the various colonies rebelled against British control, and then entered into negotiations to set up a unified federation, the constitution that they agreed upon did include strong protections for freedom of religion, enshrined in the First Amendment.

    So – some of the original colonies were founded on Christian beliefs, but the nation as a whole certainly wasn’t.

    Also, the ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance was not inserted until 1952 and thus has nothing to do with the founding of the USA. And ‘In God We Trust’ did not become the national motto until 1956 although its use on coins dates from the time of the Civil War.