Do atheists believe in God?

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Nelka

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It sounds stupid but when atheists say they don’t believe in God and yet they say they believe in ghosts and some even believe in evil spirits then surely they must believe in God because they believe in something in the afterlife soul-like so…?
 
We’re all born atheists in a sense I think. But some avowed atheists believe in an afterlife- or the possibility of one-unwilling to discount the fact that we certainly don’t know everything about existence. Most base their lack of faith in a God-especially in a good God-on the evil that prevails in our world. Either way I often think that people shake their fist at the God they claim not to believe in-sort of tacitly implying that they really do believe.
 
According to the latest studies, to start off by calling folks “stupid” is one of the least effective means of evangelism.

“Atheists” are not some monolithic thing. Each Atheist has his or her own set of beliefs/disbeliefs. Some believe that there is a life force or soul that can materialize as a ghost. There are Atheists who most definitely believe in an afterlife, believing that one is joined with the infinite and can then move at will throughout the cosmos. Some believe that the living become a sort of angel when they die.

While Catholicism does not teach these things about the afterlife, when entering into dialogue I would suggest you listen to what your friendly neighborhood Atheist tells you about their personal beliefs.
 
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Atheists don’t believe in the existence of God.

Agnostics question the existence of God.
 
Nelka said:
It sounds stupid but when atheists say they don’t believe in God and yet they say they believe in ghosts and some even believe in evil spirits then surely they must believe in God because they believe in something in the afterlife soul-like so…?
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What you are describing to me sounds like an “agnostic atheist.”

As FYI -

A “gnostic atheist” is 100% certain God doesn’t exist and would be against evil spirits, etc.

An “agnostic atheist” is not certain that God doesn’t exist, but is leaning towards no. However, these people MIGHT be open to New Age stuff and things like ghosts, the occult, etc.

An “agnostic theist” believes God exists, but is not certain of their beliefs. For example: someone who simply believes in a “higher power” but doesn’t subscribe to any particular religion.

A “gnostic thiest” knows God exists and is pretty set in their beliefs (for example a devout Catholic)
 
I’ve always wondered if the majority of people who identify as atheist, don’t so much, not believe in God as not believe in the God organized religion presents to them.
Just wondering.
 
lilypadrees said:
Atheists don’t believe in the existence of God.

Agnostics question the existence of God.
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Actually, atheists believe there is no evidence of the existence of a God. Agnostics believe there is no way to know if there is a god.

Both atheists and agnostics can believe in a higher power of some sort. Often times they are on a path of constant searching, so their positions may change back and forth as they learn things and process them.
 
Nelka said:
It sounds stupid but when atheists say they don’t believe in God and yet they say they believe in ghosts and some even believe in evil spirits then surely they must believe in God because they believe in something in the afterlife soul-like so…?
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I think one of the more credible trackers of religious trends like Pew commeneted somewhere about the existence of vague spiritualism among those that check the box “Identify as Atheist”.

The more staunch materialists like Dawkins and Hitchens would surely balk at spiritualism as well, showing every “religion” has its hard-liners.😂

Like everyone else, there’s a range of belief squeezed into that one little word.
 
Nelka said:
It sounds stupid but when atheists say they don’t believe in God and yet they say they believe in ghosts and some even believe in evil spirits then surely they must believe in God because they believe in something in the afterlife soul-like so…?
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The label “atheist” only tells you they are not convinced that there is a God (or gods). Whike it is probably correlated to lack of belief of the supernatural the label doesn’t tell you whether or not they believe that there are things that are super natural.
TheLittleLady said:
According to the latest studies, to start off by calling folks “stupid” is one of the least effective means of evangelism.
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Yeah, it can activate defensive responses and result in someone becoming more firm in their current position.
 
joeybaggz said:
I’ve always wondered if the majority of people who identify as atheist, don’t so much, not believe in God as not believe in the God organized religion presents to them.
Just wondering.
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As someone who was raised Christian, I knew I didn’t believe in the Christian God. I had to work quite hard, and still do, to envision a higher power that I can believe in. You raise a good point. I am agnostic now. Sometimes I feel one bad day away from being atheist. I work hard to be OK with that, too. 😮
 
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QwertyGirl said:
As someone who was raised Christian, I knew I didn’t believe in the Christian God. I had to work quite hard, and still do, to envision a higher power that I can believe in. You raise a good point. I am agnostic now. Sometimes I feel one bad day away from being atheist. I work hard to be OK with that, too. 😮
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I have often wondered if those who turn away from the God of monotheism have done so due to an intellectual difficulty, or and environmental one.
 
May I ask what you mean by environmental?

I identify as agnostic and left God behind kicking and screaming. I so wanted to continue to believe but as I was losing my faith and begging God to come back to me…nothing. I still have times that I wish I could believe again but I just don’t. I see no evidence for anything supernatural or a disembodied mind of any kind. I’d love evidence otherwise and still love all my believing friends and family. I’m just not with them on faith.

As to atheists believing in other things besides gods, well I see no evidence there either so they aren’t basing their lack of belief in God on evidence so I’m not sure what they are basing their beliefs on?
 
I wonder the same thing about those who turn to a god of monotheism. I think we are each unique beings. For me, if something doesn’t make sense it usually isn’t true. I don’t worry so much about proof. But what I am buying in to has to make sense. I am a critical thinker by nature, so you can imagine I don’t accept much just because someone told me about something or because tradition says so.

The Christian God doesn’t make sense to me, so I don’t believe it. I stated in another recent thread that saying “I don’t know” is the purest form of truth for me. I don’t know of any religion that provides that answer to so many questions we as humans have. I am completely fine with “I don’t know”. It is comfortable to me.
 
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I think you’re right. I have known people to be quite willing to visit clairvoyants for example but say they don’t believe in God. I think that many people reject the God proferred In organised religion because to accept is to introduce ambiguity or incongruence which is uncomfortable. Also being part of organised religion takes an effort which some people just don’t want to make. Also I think a lot of people are scared to commit because they don’t want lose their indivuality and are actually very comfortable with and reluctant to give up their favourite sins.

Of course I can only speak from my own personal past life!
 
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Perhaps there are people that don’t want to give up sins but I sure haven’t met those. The atheists I know are pretty honest, hardworking and moral people. I wonder if those that never or no longer believe in gods just still feel a spirituality and are looking for something to fill that need. I feel a great awe when looking at nature or the universe but I still don’t feel or sense anything supernatural about it. Perhaps others are different.
 
Pattylt said:
May I ask what you mean by environmental?
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By environmental, I do not mean the physical world. I mean the environment of “religious” people. I think there are a lot of people who reject (if that is the proper word) the idea of a monotheistic God, because of the what appears to be, massive confusion laid upon us by “religious people” of all faiths and beliefs.
Speaking personally, I believe that everyone who delves into the questions of life, must start by answering the question, “Is there a God, a Creator, a first cause?” I think most people would answer yes to some degree. Then the second question is, “what form does this God take?”. And then so on as one deepens one’s study of those great questions. I use the term “environment” because I believe it is when we get past the first two questions, that’s when the confusion and in many cases, downright “disgust” with varying POV’s by “religious people” drive people away. That “environment” of discord and confusion.

Hope it makes some sense.
 
I agree, I didn’t say that atheists are bad people at all. My children are atheists!

I’m probably lucky in that I have believed in an unseen dimension in the world since I was about four years old. It never left me and I struggled to define what I believed exactly until I started to look at Catholicism. Then a lot of things clicked. Providential. And I thank God for that gift of faith He saw fit to grace me with.
 
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Nelka said:
It sounds stupid but when atheists say they don’t believe in God and yet they say they believe in ghosts and some even believe in evil spirits then surely they must believe in God because they believe in something in the afterlife soul-like so…?
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While I don’t agree with them, and I don’t agree with their conclusions, they are still atheists. The only thing required to be an atheist is non-belief in a deity, anything else still goes.
 
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