Why are Atheist Atheist?

[JustinFoundChrist]

Heres what I always thought about atheist:

What is so hard to believe that there is someone who cares about you? To believe that there is eternal life with nothing to fear or cry about. To believe that someone died for you and loves you so much. To believe someone can save you and defeat all your enemies. To believe that someone will do anything for you, as long as you believe in him and trust him.



Care to answer why they don't believe?

[Joshua175]

John 3:20 "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."

Simply spoken, they don't want to be told that what they do is wrong and they don't want to change their behavior.

[scarred]

does it really matter why they are? in our eyes, we are right. in their eyes, they are right. it is simple as that.

[Brandon777]

Originally Posted by Joshua175

John 3:20 "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."

Simply spoken, they don't want to be told that what they do is wrong and they don't want to change their behavior.

Yes, and Yes.

Originally Posted by scarred

does it really matter why they are? in our eyes, we are right. in their eyes, they are right. it is simple as that.

Proverbs 16:4 The LORD works out everything for his own ends--even the wicked for a day of disaster.

It certainly does matter! It sounds a cold and stiff to have that attitude. The reasons for following God are more than a business deal, more than a settlement in court like some would have you believe. Christ didn't just die so that we wouldn't have to go to hell. He died so He could be together with us with love, innocence and a complete wholeness of soul. To quench our deepest longings, which ultimately for every creature is to love God.

[djness]

Originally Posted by JustinFoundChrist

Heres what I always thought about atheist:

What is so hard to believe that there is someone who cares about you? To believe that there is eternal life with nothing to fear or cry about. To believe that someone died for you and loves you so much. To believe someone can save you and defeat all your enemies. To believe that someone will do anything for you, as long as you believe in him and trust him.



Care to answer why they don't believe?

I never understand why people ask questions about someones viewpoint that isn't their target audience.....why ask on a christian chat site what athiests believe? Go and ask them, wouldn't that make sense.

[Relena7]

Originally Posted by JustinFoundChrist

Heres what I always thought about atheist:

What is so hard to believe that there is someone who cares about you? To believe that there is eternal life with nothing to fear or cry about. To believe that someone died for you and loves you so much. To believe someone can save you and defeat all your enemies. To believe that someone will do anything for you, as long as you believe in him and trust him.



Care to answer why they don't believe?

There are many reasons. Even if I were atheist (which I'm not), I still couldn't answer for all of them.

I could see them asking questions similar to that about Christians.

"How can they just believe some giant bearded man in the sky made us all from nothing?"
"Why do Christians ignore things that science obviously proves?"
"If this god loves us, why do people in poor countries suffer?" etc.

You would have to look at the big questions through their eyes to understand. Though I warn you, you might not like what you find.


Although I was raised Christian, I spent a few years of my life a confused agnostic period. It wasn't my choice to not solidly believe in God, it was actually a dark and confusing time for me. My transition into adulthood caused me to lose my spiritual footing long enough for my thoughts to get out of control and threaten to take over in a scary way.
I could have easily turned atheist if I wanted to at that time. But something within me refused to let that happen.

[LovesBrokenDream]

I used to be an Atheist, before I came to know Christ. Full turn-around, huh?
Anyways, I went through some really hard times when I was younger and I just couldn't understand why God would allow those things to happen to me? I felt abandoned. Whenever someone brought up the idea of God, I wondered why He had left me behind. I also wondered how someone could believe that a book that had been passed down for thousands of years was still true. It seemed much more likely that things had been changed to make the idea of God seem more realistic. Oh, I was also surrounded by a lot of hypocrites, so that didn't help my view of things. My little sister is currently an Atheist, and she sees things in a very similar light.

Of course, there are so many other reasons. But, those are the main ones that affected me and that currently affect her.

[Brandon777]

Originally Posted by Relena7

"How can they just believe some giant bearded man in the sky made us all from nothing?"
"Why do Christians ignore things that science obviously proves?"
"If this god loves us, why do people in poor countries suffer?" etc.

If these are serious questions, I'd like to attempt to tackle them for you. I had a lot of questions when I was in Bible College. And I too had a time of doubt. But there are reasons to believe around every corner!!!

[Relena7]

Originally Posted by Brandon777

If these are serious questions, I'd like to attempt to tackle them for you. I had a lot of questions when I was in Bible College. And I too had a time of doubt. But there are reasons to believe around every corner!!!

No, they were example questions. I'm not atheist. I'm sure they would have worded such questions a lot better than I did.

The reasons that help me believe resonate with my soul well enough that I don't need hard studying for answers. I also don't think I could explain them. But they work for me and that's enough. I'll leave the debating to the experts.

Atheists are Atheists because there is a God

[Helloimandrewyo]

For me, i was an athiest because there were christians. I would say for the most part, there is no group as flesh hungry as christians; at least the ones i was around. Sometimes i really think we give God a bad name.

After i understood not all christians are the same, and there are varying levels of sanity within every major religion. That is the major thing that i feel allowed me to come around.

[mori]

It's a good question. Too bad we didn't get beyond the title before someone started answering on behalf of the atheist.

[apocalypseArisen]

Originally Posted by mori

It's a good question. Too bad we didn't get beyond the title before someone started answering on behalf of the atheist.

Well, I mean, you could just ask one. By the technical definition of atheist I guess I am one, so feel free.

[misscathy]

i personaly think you should respect everones views, i it does not matter what people believe just as long as they are a good person that is all what matters, my brother is athiest and so is my dad and i myself am a witch , people become athiest because god is not lisening to them they life is mirable they need help and he does nothing thats why they become athiests

[Joshua175]

Originally Posted by misscathy

i personaly think you should respect everones views, i it does not matter what people believe just as long as they are a good person that is all what matters, my brother is athiest and so is my dad and i myself am a witch , people become athiest because god is not lisening to them they life is mirable they need help and he does nothing thats why they become athiests

This is a shame.

Romans 1:20-22 "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools"

Isaiah 30:18 "And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him."

John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

After reading some of the posts here, I thought to say something:

Some people are probably atheists because they look to God and ask Him to do everything and expect something unrealistic because they don't have an understanding of how He works. Because they don't see immediate results, they don't believe. Thus, they don't receive. They might also think that God will magically fix all their problems because they ask Him to without understanding how He works. Also, when I say they, I don't mean all atheists, or even the majority, by the way. This is a problem with a lot of Christians, too.

People also blame God for a lot of crap in the world which God didn't do.

The blind end up leading the blind into a ditch.

[NeilHamburger]

Zeus, Shiva, Horus, Allah. Everyone is an atheist. The people you talk about just believe in one less god than you do.

[Mike1313]

We are atheistic because to us it seems illogical, like a fantasy. It's like belief in faeries, leprechauns, unicorns, etc... We see it as a way to control unenlightened people.

Originally Posted by Mike1313

We are atheistic because to us it seems illogical, like a fantasy. It's like belief in faeries, leprechauns, unicorns, etc... We see it as a way to control unenlightened people.

I can't explain the Bible to you in it's entirety, nor will I try, but it's got logic to it. Although, I agree with you that it can seem illogical; a lot of people think that if there's something they can't explain that happens, they say that it was an act of God. A lot of people also think that God can do anything [which He can, I'm not saying that He can't] despite the laws that He created. Which is illogical, in my opinion. A lot of Christians even aren't enlightened to what the Bible actually says.

There are a lot of illogical things that people have come up with concerning God and the Bible that are pretty mainstream in the 'religion' category of life.

I guess I can't blame you for saying that it seems illogical.

[xXTroubleXx]

I can't speak for anyone else except myself. I am an atheist b/c I grew up in the church, went to youth group, did community service, prayed multiple times a day for people I cared for, went to bible studies, was crazy for Jesus and one day I realized that I had never actually read the full chapter of Genesis, so I went back to the beginning, read it, and decided it was completely unbelievable and that I would have to raise my standards in order to believe it. I did research, I talked to my christian friends about my questions, I listened more intently to sermons about controversial topics, and I realized that is why people need 'faith' to believe these fantastical things that religion entails, because these things can't be explained rationally. You need to take a leap of faith in order to believe them 100% with out any doubt.

Some christians try to put atheism and theism on the same level by saying that they don't 'have enough faith to be an atheist', but I argue that faith is the main ingredient for believing in a religion. I've always heard christians praising faith-based qualities in other christians. I have a lack of faith because I have too much doubt to be a theist. That is personally why I don't believe in a god or any gods.

However, that doesn't mean I'm not interested in religious topics