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How convinced are you?

No, I am not a Christian in disguise, but I have come across atheists as vehemently anti-spiritual as I have Christians on the other side of the issue. So, I would like to know: how convinced are you that there are no gods/order to the universe, and, further, how deeply does that inform your views of life itself?

Thanks

Mikestr 4 July 25
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31 comments

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10

I don’t know if there is or isn’t a god. I know there is no evidence of a god so I am not going to follow some crazy thinking just in case there is.

7

99.99%. I'll leave room for doubt on anything. I can always be wrong. And it informs my views of life deeply. I could go on for several pages, but I won't.

Well (and succinctly) stated! Cheers!

@pnfullifidian Thanks.

6

100% certain there are not now, nor have there ever been, any gods.
No doubt whatsoever.
In addition to being an atheist, I am an anti-theist.
I think the universe is random AF, and I'm okay with that.
I think life is a total crapshoot. Okay with that, too.
I think long-term plans and goals are a waste of time, and most people would be better served by being much more flexible and willing to adapt.
We create most of our own problems through unrealistic expectations and not knowing how to deal with the disappointment that comes from that.
Most of us haven't accepted that we cannot control anything but our own actions.
We set ourselves up for unhappiness and refuse to accept responsibility for not thinking ahead to the most probable outcomes.

4

The lack of gods/order makes the universe all that much more marvelous for me. I find my comfort and my sanity in others and the whole aesthetics of existence.

cava Level 7 July 25, 2018

Yes, me too.

3

Whether or not there are gods have nothing to do with order in the universe. Christian philosophers bring up this magnificent order as proof of thier god all the time. The reality is, the universe is constantly changing with entire galaxies being eaten up by other ones.At closer look, it’s actually quite chaotic.
Humans have used religion to keep people in constant fear and to explain the unknown. There are no gods of any kind now or at any time in human history. I’m 100% sure of that. I will always believe in fact not fiction.

3

There is no god and it completely is non relevant to my life.

Marine Level 8 July 28, 2018

Shit! I was going to say that! 🙂

@ipdg77 Go ahead it is good for you.

@Marine There is no god and it completely is non relevant to my life.

@ipdg77 The great think alike.

3

I don't subscribe to fairy tales of any sort. I believe that there is one simple, elegant law that guides the universe and explains everything. Occham's razor says that when there are multiple explanations for a phenomenon the simplest is usually (I think nearly always). The supernatural is never the simplest explanation.

To quote Tim Minchin: "Throughout history, every mystery ever solved has turned out to be Not Magic! (the emphasis and exclamation point are mine.)

JimG Level 8 July 27, 2018

I want to add that I believe in the "god of the gaps" concept that every time a scientific advance is made the room left in the universe for the supernatural shrinks just a bit.

Love that quote... I'm stealing it!

@Tony_Walker go ahead; I did.

3

For me it s not a question of being convinced as if there were a argument going on somewhere - There is only this here and now and - I never had a god I have never ever felt a need for a a god and for the full 70 years of my life i have been without a god - It snt about being convinced its about getting a life= I don't care/mind if people want/ need a god in order to have a life .I just don't I really enjoy living my life the way it comes to me.

jacpod Level 8 July 27, 2018

Well stated.

3

It's not that I'm so convinced, rather I don't care about it and don't want my life negatively impacted by such beliefs.

dokala Level 7 July 26, 2018

That is the most sensible answer I have heard for some time?

3

I am agnostic in that everyone is; no one has absolute knowledge of everything outside our limited window in time. I am atheist in that I am also 200% sure the abrahamic god, nor the pantheons of greece/rome or india, nor any other specific god we’ve ever heard described could possibly exist as claimed. There’s all kinds of order to the universe but no evidence of a sentience to it. The aspects of order we do find are rather like throwing a dart and then drawing the target around it. It only has order and significance that we’ve manufactured for it.

2

I am 100 % convince that no gids exist. That frees me and leads me to an existential point of view.

2

100%

2

I’m pretty convinced there are no gods. Certainly not ones that keep watch on the Earth. The fact that Agnostic.com’s servers have decent uptime and don’t suffer from unexplained faults is enough proof for me.

Denker Level 7 July 26, 2018

Perhaps it's the agnostic gods looking out for it!

2

How convinced am I that one of the thousands of gods that millions and billions of people believed in, in the past, and do believe in now, might be true while all the other gods are wrong?

Not at all.

2

I'm sure the old bearded patriarchal god does not exist. I'm not sure about an Eastern-type god, cosmic consciousness and all that. I'm not happy about the loss of eternal life. I'm not happy that the only meaning in life is the meaning I put into it. But I must be realistic and find meaning however short-lived it must be. And I do.

2

If you ask me what is in the center of Neptune, and I make up a story about a guy I totally knew with fantastical powers but have no supporting evidence for that story, how sure are you that my answer is bullshit?

100 fucking percent.

2

Religion doesn't affect my life at all. The only time I can remember an effect was when a girl I was very much in love with broke up with me because of her Christianity.

2

98%. I'm more like 95% on the Loch Ness Monster and possibly around 92% on the continued existence of the Tasmanian Wolf.

2

I am just as convinced that there are no god(s) as I am that there are no fairies and pixie dust, winged, fire breathing dragons, flying horses, the earth sits on the back of a turtle, etc.

1

I don't bother thinking about it I'll be dead before anyone figures that one out- I m not anti anything except child abuse etc.

jacpod Level 8 July 31, 2018
1

Okay, I'll swing the other way. I am 1% convinced there are no gods or deities. The Romans had them, the Greeks had them, the Babylonians had them. A long pedigree of intelligent, Empire building cultures there. Did they do it without offering favour to the gods? Doubt it. Did they bring divine retribution to their enemies? Of course. Looks like plenty of evidence that the forces of nature or whatever they were looked after their own. Alexander, Trajan, Ashurbsnipal all forces to be reckoned with. Would you tell them that their gods didn't exist because the Big Bang says so?

And what would you tell them? That you believe in the existence, as well as active interactions, of Marduk, Zeus and Jupiter? Is it your contention that nations are swept into empire by their gods? The Hindu religion predates those you have mentioned by centuries, if not millennia. Do you believe the dozens, if not hundreds of deities of this polytheistic religion physically exist?

@pnfullifidian Hindu religion is actually a Western misnoma as a a Shavite or Visnavsn wouldn't consider themselves as Hindus. The deities in this context are a means to focus similar to breathe in some forms of Buddhism. Different people need differentv means to find their centre. The Brahmins of thousands of years ago knew this. As for the Western guys I'm not going to disagree with them for one minute! ? They certainly moved figurative mountains by means of their belief that their practice would make them endure

1

My life is proof enough there is no god. I'm 100 % certain that there are no deities and science proves that big bang created the universe and not god. Imaginary things can't create anything at all. I'm so glad I saw the world for what it is when I became an atheist 5 plus months ago. I'm a little embarased that I was brain wash for so many years and wish I would have broke free of it earlier in life. Now I can be myself more in public.

1

What and how I am... I keep it to myself. Whatever in my head is not meant to change your life.

1

"How convinced are you?" Based on this post, I remain unconvinced, if not, unimpressed.

Point 1: What you call ‘anti-spirituality’ is not congruent with unbelief, or atheism.

Point 2: The level of one’s conviction (i.e. ‘how convinced’ one may be) might appear important, but this metric can vary. One day a true believer may have deep doubts about the existence of God, while at the same time an avowed atheist may wonder if there is a grain of truth in those ancient belief systems.

Point 3: Order in the universe and the existence of gods or a deity do not mean the same thing. Order, which is inherently subjective, could arise naturally.

Point 4: Your question, ‘how deeply does that inform your views of life itself?’ is not answerable. Seriously? How deeply? Life itself? One may as well answer, “the number 42.” Your question is in line with what Daniel Dennett has labeled a ‘deepity,’ which is to say, a statement [or, in this case, a question] that appears profound, but actually asserts a triviality on one level and something meaningless on another.

I think the number 42 is a fine answer. Thanks for your feedback, I shall endeavor to remain equally vacuous whenever I deign to post in the future.

1

Can you explain a bit what you mean by "gods"? I'm not being intentionally difficult, but my answer very much hinges on what is specifically meant by "God" or "gods," e.g., what characteristics would be necessary or sufficient for such a being. Also, I think I need a bit of help with "order to the universe" because, from what I can tell, there is obvious order in the universe (as opposed to utter chaos) so I'm guessing I'm missing your meaning. Also, while we're at it, can you tell me what you mean by "spiritual" in the context of some atheists being "vehemently anti-spiritual"? Do you just mean denying a metaphysical reality, or is there more to it. (I know I'm being a pain, and I apologize; I just don't think these questions can be satisfactorily answered without some clarity on terms that are often used nebulously.)

Hello, I used the term “gods” to denote both the positives existence of thousands of deities (not holding the Abrahamic god above others), and to indicate that I have little respect for the conceptions themselves, as they are simply matters of convention.
I agree that there is remarkable order in the universe, but...let me be honest: my original question was bunk. I was about to leave work, and decided to throw something out there, since I’ve not participated in this thing yet. As was rightly pointed out above, my query was not as well thought out as it should have been.

What I was actually attempting to ask was more along the lines of: Does atheism, in your mind, preclude the existence of a transcendent realm of emotions, or consciousness, from which wonder, gratitude, and love spring forth?

Thanks for your question, and giving me the chance to work this out.

@Mikestr Ah, I see. So, when you refer to a transcendent realm of emotions or consciousness, you're talking about a metaphysical reality apart from our physical form? I would say that I think consciousness and emotions and appreciation or wonder for the world in which we live is likely rooted in our physical brains. We cannot show a non-physical reality, or that such influences consciousness or behavior, but we can see brain activity and we know how disruptions in synaptic function or damage to brain matter or imbalances in brain chemistry can have a significant impact on behavior, thought processes, or even personality. While it's not possible to rule out non-physical influences, there's no reason to think that such a reality exists or that it could have any influence on the physical world, so there's no reason to even accept such claims (though entertaining them as thought experiments seems fine). Does that come close to answering your question?

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