Atheists, do you know there is no God, or do you believe there is no God?

Question

then are you really an atheist or an agnostic?

Answer 1

One can be atheist and agnostic simultaneous because the words mean different things and are not exclusive of one another:-

Atheist:     Do not believe in God

Agnostic:  Do not know God

In fact, an atheist is by definition an agnostic as one cannot know something that one does not believe in and an agnostic is also an atheist for one cannot rationally believe in something that one does not know.

Nonetheless, it depends on which God you are talking about: Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, Odin, Ra, Zeus, Shang-Ti etc etc. You are technically an atheist with respect to at least some of these, aren't you?

In any event, assuming you are a christian I can show that your beliefs are internally contradictory and inconsistent with the external universe. Thus I can say that your particular God does not, as described, exist.  

Answer 2

I know exactly who I am thankyou very much.

There are no gods whatsoever.

You can label me with any appellation that suits you, I am and always will be, only me.

The words you choose to use mean naught in the real world, because they change nothing.

EDIT 1: "They know something is out there (God) just want to do what they want to with answering to a higher power."

Facetious to the very core, how can you presume to know what I believe ? Bad manners at the very least, inflammatory at the worst. A Christian perspective no doubt and not just because of the poor grammar.

Just so bloody rude !

EDIT 2:  "don't see why it would hurt to believe... I mean... What do you lose ?"

Well, for me it would be my credibility.

I would become a laughing stock if I were to do that on that premise.

Answer 3

I don't believe in gods.  That makes me a weak/implicit atheist, aka an agnostic atheist.   I actually know what I am, unlike some people who are obviously confused and want to go around redefining others because they think they know better when they don't.

http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutagnosti...

http://atheism.about.com/od/definitionof...

Answer 4

OMG enough of people misusing the word "agnostic"

I am an atheist with respect to all gods

However, the god that Christians believe in is impossible, I will claim that it cannot exist.

Please look up the definition of "atheist" mmmkkkkayyy

Answer 5

I believe there is no God.

Just like you believe there is a God.

There is no possible way anybody KNOWS the answer.

Answer 6

Does it really matter if there is no observable evidence of one?

I use to claim agnostic, but I am now a weak atheist, the difference to me is that many agnostics become taken with new age spirituality and superstition, they tend to still be seeking something to fill the void left by religion.  They purport that belief relies on evidence, which is good, but they are too eager for evidence sometimes (see project alpha).  Weak atheism is an acknowledgment of no evidence of anything supernatural, which is my position.  Strong atheism is dogmatic, even though it is based on all observable evidence, it stipulates conditions that are unchangeable, which is what religion does.

Answer 7

Nobody knows anything for sure.

I have a belief that a god does not exist, call it faith if you like, blind faith that a god does not exist.

Answer 8

I'm an agnostic atheist. I don't know anything for sure and neither does anyone else.

But I'm pretty sure that I'm right.

No. There is no god.

Answer 9

i dont think he exsists .im not saying he does or doesnt i just THINK he isnt real..i went t church and stuff since i was 5 or whatever but i just seemed to get the thought that he isnt real. .so  i quit church and io dont believe in God..not enough proof for me.

Answer 10

agnostic atheist: doesn't KNOW if there's a god, but disbelieves God.

mild agnostic: doesn't KNOW if there's a God and decides its best to with-hold decision.

Atheism is a belief, not a proof. For example, im sure ur an atheist of the tooth fairy. Can you prove there is no toothfairy? no, its impossible to prove the nonexistence of something, but it would be kinda dumb to say "im agnostic about the toothfairy."

thats the general rationale behind atheism with God, although i understand that... God is a lot more important to humans than the toothfairy. I personally really WANT there to be a God, but i feel i also should be consistent with my beliefs.. God is no different than the toothfiary (and if someone can prove the toothfairy, then ill believe. if you can prove God, then ill believe)

Answer 11

The definition of atheist is not "one who knows there is no God".  It's "One who does not believe in the existence of God(s)".

We don't claim to KNOW there is no God.  And theists can't claim that they know there IS a God, either.

If the definition was based on whether or not you KNOW there is or isn't a God, everyone would be agnostic, because nobody can say (with honesty) that they KNOW.

However, I can say that there is no God with every bit as much conviction as I can say that any other mythological being doesn't exist, because there is no more evidence for God than there is for any other mythological being.

Answer 12

Neither.  I do not believe in any gods.

Atheism = A + theism

A = without

theism = belief in god/s.

Atheism= without belief in god/s.

Answer 13

I am deist, not atheist, but I KNOW there is absolutely NO WAY the god of the bible can exist and not produce one single bit of evidence supporting his existence!

Edit:  Ariel, that is a GREAT answer!  I wish I could take credit for it!

Answer 14

I do not believe that there is sufficient evidence to suppose that anything supernatural exists, gods or otherwise.

Answer 15

'Belief' implies willing delusion. After considering the facts, I hypothesize that there is no God.

Answer 16

atheists believe that there is nothing. you die and that's it. Agnostics on the other hand don't know if theres a god and therefore don't choose to practice a religion.

Agnostic means without knowledge

I don't believe in god or any of that nonsene

Answer 17

Agnostic does not necessarily mean you don't think theres a god.  Agnostic means your not sure..

And I believe there is no god, just like others believe there is

nobody KNOWS

Answer 18

I want you to know, when it comes to believing in god- I really tried. I really really tried. I tried to believe that there is a god who created each one of us in his own image and likeness, loves us very much and keeps a close eye on things. I really tried to believe that, but I gotta tell you, the longer you live, the more you look around, the more you realize...something is MESSED-UP. Something is WRONG here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is NOT good work. If this is the best god can do, I am NOT impressed. Results like these do not belong on the resume of a supreme being. This is the kind of stuff you'd expect from an office temp with a bad attitude. And just between you and me, in any decently run universe, this guy would have been out on his all-powerful-tuchus a long time ago.  

Answer 19

Technically, to be intellectually honest, I am agnostic. Richard Dawkins actually addresses this, though. He dislikes using "agnostic" because we don't KNOW for sure, but based on evidence, we can say one side of the scale is more probable than the other. (His argument is that being an atheist has more evidence than being a Christian, though neither stance can be proven.)

Answer 20

i believe IF there is a God, I KNOW he cannot intervene in our daily lives (call it free will if you want) therefore what is our purpose in acknowledging him significantly?

Answer 21

Know? No.

I belive if there was/is a creator he/it/she did not have a mortal son.

There is no heaven or h**l. No eternal reward or damnation.

God has no consious awareness of our existance or influence on our personel destiny.

Answer 22

Say there is one.

If there is a god, how do we know that it's an omnipotent/omnipresent god?

Or one who cares at all about humanity?

Or one who, considering the vastness of the universe, has noticed earth?

Or one who would narrow his focus to individuals?

Or one who feels emotions that we replicate with physical brain chemistry, like love?

Or would care which country would be in power? Or who suffered? Or who won or lost a war?

Or would concern himself with "justice" when he works on a time frame that humans cannot comprehend? Or who works by arbitrary sets of morals that on later perspective look extremely cultural?*

See, your "there is a god" idea supposes all of these factors. On the bigger picture, though, it's already unlikely there is a god; the rest just keeps on stacking and the odds keep shrinking until we get to the Christian god, who strikes me as extraordinarily unlikely and who can only be taken on faith. Agnostics still say "I don't know," which is fair, and theists have faith, which is also fair. But this is why I shrug and say I don't believe there is one.

*...shrimp are bad? Really?

Answer 23

A typical atheist is a person who relies on facts.  Not belief systems.  The more facts you have to support a hypothesis, the more you can "know" it to be mostly likely true.  A complete lack of facts leads to the hypothesis that you can "know" it does not exist.

For instance.

FACT:  At this time, there is not one single fact to support the existence of a god.  Because there are no facts to support it, it leads to there not being a God.

FACT:  At this time, there are plenty of facts proving the existence of other planets.  There are plenty of facts proving that we are not the center of creation.  The facts prove we aren't even the center of our own solar system.  More recently, facts are starting to show how the Big Bang happened because we can physically see it continuing in other parts of space.

FACT:  Finally, we can come to the realistic conclusion that more FACTS have disproved how things couldn't be the way that any religious document have proposed.

Summary:  The facts will always support the atheist.  And because of it, there are no Gods according to the facts.

Answer 24

I am on the cusp of becoming atheist. I was a Roman Catholic. Then, I thought maybe I was Buddhist. Now I am an agnostic, just barely. I don't know there is no god, I don't know there is a god. I do know the likely hood of there being a god is much less then there being none at all.

Answer 25

Neither. We know that ideas have to have a solid base to be worth believing in. Therefore, God is not worth believing in - no solid base.

Answer 26

I believe there is no God.  The reason I would categorize myself more as an atheist (/pantheist) rather than an agnostic is that an agnostic believes that the question is impossible to "prove" either way.  I believe that science will one day be able to establish beyond a reasonable doubt how matter and energy have always existed, thereby eliminating the "need" for a Creator God.

So no, I do (yet) not "know" that there is no God.  Christians, could you please return the favor and stop saying that you know that there is?

Answer 27

I don't believe in Atheists.

Answer 28

You're getting into philosophical terrain here, so it could be said that no one really knows anything. We don't even know that we're here and alive, we just proceed under the assumption we are because that's the most reliable theory given the information our senses provide us.

So I don't know that there's no God, and what I believe is irrelevant, I could believe that I'll win the next lottery and it won't make a difference to whether or not I do. But given the information at hand, the most reliable theory is that God does not exist.

Answer 29

There's insufficient evidence of god(s), and therefore non-belief is the appropriate position.

(Agnosticism and either atheism or theism are not mutually exclusive.)

Answer 30

Well I am agnostic with atheistic leanings. I believe the bible is FALSE. 100% false. But I cannot say that a deity doesn't exist. But I believe there is no creator. I cannot claim to know anything about the beginning of the universe or what happens when I die, life is far greater than me.

Answer 31

Do you know there is no Flying Spaghetti Monster, or do you believe there is no Flying Spaghetti Monster?

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