I asked this question earlier but I never saw it appear, so here goes again: Are there any atheists here who wish that God existed? And are there agnostics here who hope he/she/it does?
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.When it comes to the God of the Bible, I am delighted that said genocidal maniac with catastrophic anger management issues does not exist.
anglophone
Level 9
Jan 24, 2020
1
Would we want the universe to be governed by magic? This is how a God works. Therefore there are things that can't be known as they have no reason but simply are. We would basically be back in the stone age and have no control over anything. just do as we're told. I feel that would leave us so much poorer and definitely more ignorant. No thank you.
JackPedigo
Level 9
Jan 21, 2020
2
Nope... not for even one nanosecond have I ever wished that god existed.
Marionville
Level 10
Jan 21, 2020
2
Nope but then I suppose there are Turkeys who wish it was Christmas too.
LenHazell53
Level 9
Jan 21, 2020
1
In some highly abstract sense, who wouldn't want to be in the back pocket of a loving, all powerful father figure assuming he would actually be a caring father to you ... and not the awful kind? But I long since figured out that my lived experience could never be reconciled with such a notion, and that the whole god hypothesis is (1) non-falsifiable and therefore irrelevant and (2) contrary to everything we actually know about reality anyway.
So the answer to both questions is no. In particular, I never really did, and certainly don't now, need the faux comfort of theism to help me with my mortality. I am completely at peace with it. Happy to be here, happy to go whenever my time comes. Not a big deal.
mordant
Level 8
Jan 21, 2020
1
@mordant Well, yes, I guess any rational person wouldn't want the "faux comfort of theism," but I wonder how many would like it if theism were really true. I guess you address this in the first paragraph...where it would depend on what type of god it was, and think I would agree with that, too.
What a great question! I’ve never thought of it in that way so I’ll have to say no. Logically I shouldn’t say anything since I do not consider myself either an atheist or an agnostic.
Maybe the question illuminates a psychological basis for religion: the desire to reestablish the warm security of childhood when we were loved and comforted by our parents.
That warm security had its down side, like when we were spanked or put in isolation or verbally admonished. Maybe atheists are driven by a desire to escape their parents.
I don’t want a god hovering over me and constantly making corrections or threatening punishment. I wouldn’t mind one if I could just stop by on weekends and holidays for social interaction as an equal.
WilliamFleming
Level 8
Jan 21, 2020
2
It isn't impossible that there are atheists somewhere who due to the sort of biological father they had, would want nothing to do with a heavenly father-figure. But they could just as easily desire such a figure to right the wrongs of their own father, or like me, had a good father and only good associations with the concept. In my experience and observation, most atheists simply don't see god as adding any explanatory or predictive power to life, and therefore not relevant to it and, in the form often presented, can be harmful to individuals and to society.
No, not for me. The universe and all that is in it is more than fantastic enough for me.
AnonySchmoose
Level 8
Jan 21, 2020
4
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