Causes of atheism

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R McGeddon:
Atheists do not deny god’s existence, for that would require him to exist in the first place. Atheists don’t deny they just don’t believe. There’s a big difference between the two.
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I think there are three forms of atheism, strong atheism which is denial of His existance.

Weak atheism which simply does not believe.

Defacto atheism, where there is no knowledge about God or gods and so related beliefs.

Of course I read a quote once from an atheist who said (to a christian), “you and I are both atheists, you just believe in one more god than I”
 
R McGeddon:
Atheists do not deny god’s existence, for that would require him to exist in the first place. Atheists don’t deny they just don’t believe. There’s a big difference between the two.
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I still say that atheists just don’t want him to exist. I don’t think that anyone can deny the need for a Creator as opposed to a “Big Bang.”
 
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AquinaSavio:
I still say that atheists just don’t want him to exist. I don’t think that anyone can deny the need for a Creator as opposed to a “Big Bang.”
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The default assumption is of nothingness and thus the need for a creator. What if the reverse is true? What if the default is for something?
 
I would like to ask a question to athiests, if you believe the big bang theory, i definately dont, but if you do then what created the first atom causing the big bang? Wouldnt common sense tell you that something would have had to create it, therefor there must be a creator? Science will never ever be able to explain that with an equation, because nothing 0 to the power of nothing 0 still equals nothing, there has to be a higher intelligence. I guess the next question that would arise would be what created the creator?
The catholic church says that god is infinite but i still cant fully grasp that idea.
 
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melbourne_guy:
I would like to ask a question to athiests, if you believe the big bang theory, i definately dont, but if you do then what created the first atom causing the big bang? Wouldnt common sense tell you that something would have had to create it, therefor there must be a creator?

No.
**Common sense simply leads me to think that that remains an unanswered question at the present time. **

Science will never ever be able to explain that with an equation, because nothing 0 to the power of nothing 0 still equals nothing, there has to be a higher intelligence.

I don’t think the math anaology is an adequate argument for your point. Science may very well explain the question, via math or otherwise.

I guess the next question that would arise would be what created the creator?
The catholic church says that god is infinite but i still cant fully grasp that idea.

Neither can I.
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First of all, I am not an atheist. I am, however, increasingly more agnostic. Why? I hope to sum it up by referring to the Bible passage that says, RE: False Prophets “You will know them by their fruits”.
I find the “fruits” of the faithful to be increasingly repugnant and alarming. Hypocrisy, intolerance, religous based hatred and violence, willful ignorance that denies even common sense, doctrinal arrogance and conceit, censorship, repression, harrassment…
 
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AquinaSavio:
I still say that atheists just don’t want him to exist. I don’t think that anyone can deny the need for a Creator as opposed to a “Big Bang.”
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Does anyone else hear the slamming of a door?
 
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tilis:
Notice above, “It doesn’t really interfere with the lifestyle I have right now.” Since any reasonable person can see that atheism is not rational, (in fact it is more reasonable to believe that their unicorns dancing on a rainbow outside my classroom, than to believe that God does not exist), then most choose atheism becasue it is convenient to their life style. No morals forced on us by God, no hell as punishment for sin, just do whatever you want. So really atheism is chosen because it feels nice. It is happy, fluffy, and easy. BTW, you are not a ninja.
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It isn’t happy, fluffy or easy at all. Just because someone does not have YOUR moral rudder does not mean they have NO moral rudder.
 
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Mike_D30:
I’m not an atheist, but I can see why people choose this idea. Essentially when you start looking at religions, there’s thousands of differing view points, and they all essentially condemn others while claiming truth for themselves. If during the course of trying to get your arms around a chosen doctrine, you can begin to think that it’s all man made superstition. So instead of commiting to doctrines of men, you rely on what you perceive, and can know for certain, like science.

I disagree tiis, I think believing in a ‘perfect’ religion is ‘cushy’ not atheism. Belieivng there’s a God who created you, and if you live by precepts of a Church, then you go off to Heaven when you die, is cushy. Believing in no God, and when you die you cease to exist is frightening and no where near cushy.

One thing is for certain, we shouldn’t judge atheists and condemn or look down on them.
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An excellent point. The very logical thought that there may be nothing after life, is frightening, and no matter what they may claim, I think everyone has this fear in some amount. Most people cannot wrap their minds around literally nothingness.
 
To the OP’s question, as others have alluded in this thread, the atheist position is, intellectually, more easily defensible than the theists perspective. At the end of all theist arguments, we must make a leap from observable phenomena to faith, from the tangible to the intangible. When attempting to discover the origins of this material world, posing non-material explanations are unsatisfying. There is no photograph of God, there is no vial of ‘soul’ to present to a lab for testing (Aretha Franklin CD’s notwithstanding :D) and as a result, makes all other theist arguments matters solely of supposition, at least from an intellectual standpoint.

However, what keeps me on the theist side is the mutual problem that atheists and theists have when contemplating the origin of the universe. The atheist will say, well, if all this was created by a creator, then what created the creator (infinite regression)? However, the theist also has a reasonable argument: where did all this ‘stuff’ come from? And how did it come to be ordered the way it has? Both of these viewpoints are ultimately imponderable mysteries, and since both leave the door open to something beyond their limits, I call what is beyond that limit God.
 
It seems like most Catholics posting in this thread think that all atheists

a) know that Catholicism is the only right way but are in denial

b) are angry and unhappy people because they wont accept God and are wrong

No wonder these discussions never get anywhere, it’s simply arrogance.
 
Urf

No wonder these discussions never get anywhere, it’s simply arrogance.

Another way to look at it is to ask which view is surely more arrogant:

The view that we cannot get along without God?

Or

The view that we can get along just fine without God?
 
One thing everyone should understand is that no one has ever been simply argued out of atheism or unbelief. I never was. Any conversion is impossible without faith, and is a gift only God can give. So how does one receive this gift? By the prayers of others to God that those who don’t believe open themselves up to receiving the gift of faith. If we spent as much time praying for atheists as we do arguing with them we would probably see a lot more hearts being converted.

Being someone who has wasted a lot of his time trying to somehow argue others into belief, I’ve learned the best thing to do is simply proclaim what my gift of faith has revealed to me and then pray for them. Christ commanded us to preach to all nations, not to convert all nations. Only He can do that.

Luke, chapter 9:5: And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.
 
IanS

Being someone who has wasted a lot of his time trying to somehow argue others into belief, I’ve learned the best thing to do is simply proclaim what my gift of faith has revealed to me and then pray for them.

O.K. I understand your frustration, having been there myself. But I think it is a mistake to say we don’t get anywhere debating with atheists. By debating them, we are able to show them that the objections they have to religion are ill founded. That doesn’t mean they are going to admit they are wrong. What is accomplished is that debate gives atheists reasons to rethink their opinion of religion. When the Lord offers them the gift of faith, they will be the better prepared to dispose of the objections they have raised in the past. I am reminded of C.S. Lewis saying that he had read Chesterton’s book “The Everlasting Man” shortly before his conversion from atheism to Christianity. Chesterton was the greatest Christian apologist who ever lived. So I do not think we should give up on using apologetics to reach atheists, understanding always, as you might say, that it is God who is reaching out to atheists through us … or why would they have been guided to the Catholic Answers forums?
 
Don’t get me wrong. I love good dialog and apologetics. However, you have to understand that some of the people I deal with have hearts harder than the nails driven through our Lord’s hands and feet. They immediately turn to insults just to shut you up. Therefore, nothing good could ever come out of debating. I guess you just have to know when to shake the dust off your feet and move on.
 
IanS

However, you have to understand that some of the people I deal with have hearts harder than the nails driven through our Lord’s hands and feet.

True. But perhaps they are at Catholic Answers because God has called them here. That being the case, and they want to spar a few rounds, it’s o.k. with me. They need someone to help them get the Catholic point of view down pat. If they become insulting, that all part of what they need to overcome … so if we do not insult them right back, but stick to the argument and make our case, we have proven the merits of our case and shown them the high road to the art of debating.

If they persist in insults, sooner or later they will be thrown out of the forum, or they will leave of their own accord when they realize they are not going to win any converts here.
 
Gilbert Keith:
If they persist in insults, sooner or later they will be thrown out of the forum, or they will leave of their own accord when they realize they are not going to win any converts here.
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Ahhh. If it were only that simple. Forum atmospheres don’t bother me one bit. I’m talking about people very close to me, perhaps even related to me, and will be sitting with me at Easter dinner this Sunday. Not exactly a day when I want to sit and listen to someone go on and on about how Jesus merely “survived” the crucifixion and then start insulting you when you say anything to the contrary.
 
Religion and politics should not be discussed at the dinner table … ever!

Make that a rule and you’ll most likely have a pleasant Easter dinner together.
 
Gilbert Keith:
Urf

No wonder these discussions never get anywhere, it’s simply arrogance.

Another way to look at it is to ask which view is surely more arrogant:

The view that we cannot get along without God?

Or

The view that we can get along just fine without God?
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Are you even looking at things from any side at all aside from your own?

I was referring to the idea that so many people seem to think it’s alright to say something along the lines of “I’m right and you’re wrong because that’s the way it is.”

How can the belief that we can get along fine without God be arrogant when someone doesnt believe in God in the first place?
 
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Grandtheftcow:
So in your opinion what are the causes or reasons for people to choose atheism? Also what keeps them on the path of atheism?
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I’ve met one atheist in my life and he was Catholic, at one time, but I don’t think his faith was that strong to begin with. He claimed to be an atheist after teaming up with some firefighters to do some volunteer work. He saw alot of destruction and alot of death (he was helping with the wildfires in California) and after he came back from that, he announced that he no longer believed in God because “if there was a god, he wouldn’t let all this happen”. It’s a classic argument that I’ve heard from non-atheists too. Anytime there’s tragedy, God’s existence is doubted.
 
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