Atheists...? (blah blah 20 characters)?

Question

Why do you think the natural and universal belief in gods is evidence against the existence of all of them?

It's a natural desire, just like food and water. Name a natural desire that can't be fulfilled.

These are natural desires:

Food

Water

Shelter

etc.

These are not:

Being Superman

Having a PS2 with all the games

Answer 1

Strange, since both those desires come pretty naturally to me.

EDIT - And the desire to avoid s*x (a natural desire you left off the list) is implanted by religion. What's the difference?

Answer 2

We, as well as every other animal on the planet, are aware of the forces of nature and how they influence our lives. The beliefs in a God is something mankind created. They assigned a personality to the powers at be in effort to have some sort of control of their effect on us and our well-being.

Hasn't done a whole lot of good.

Answer 3

You're right, I'd much rather be Batman that Superman. Superman sucks anyway.

And it is not natural, I see no other living things worship anything, and it is not universal since there's atheists about. The belief in gods is just a way of figuring stuff out, which IS a universal and natural desire.  

Answer 4

Because if there was a god, would not he be truly universal?  Would not the people of ancient Africa be just as important as those in the middle east?  Would not the Indian Tribes of North and South America be just as important?  Would not the Oriental people be equally blessed? Each of these peoples were left on their own to come up with a god myth, and did, and though there are similarities, they are differently not compatible.  A god would have been truly universal.  And your god is not even the same from religion to religion, denomination to denomination.  Each worships differently and separately.  Each calling the others untrue.  This would not happen if there was ONE TRUE GOD.  

Answer 5

>>>Why do you think the natural and universal belief in gods is evidence against the existence of all of them?

First off, belief in gods, is not universal, or at least, it was not universal, until christian missionaries got their fingers in the pie.

>>>It's a natural desire, just like food and water.

No, it isn't.

The natural desire is for understanding.

Gods are man's explanation, lacking proper scientific understanding.

>>>Name a natural desire that can't be fulfilled.

The desire to live, if not for ever, then for a lot longer than we do.

>>>These are natural desires:

>>>Food

>>>Water

>>>Shelter

>>>etc.

No, they are not, they are requirements.

>>>These are not:

>>>Being Superman

Well, actually, to be more than human, is a very natural desire.

Answer 6

say what?

Answer 7

There's...  ...no...  ...Superman???

WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

There is strong circumstantial evidence both supporting and refuting the possibility of a Supreme Being; ultimately, one has to weigh the evidence and make a decision either for or against the existence of a Supreme Being based on one's faith in the evidence given.

Meaning: it actually requires as much faith NOT to believe in a Supreme Being as it does TO believe in a Supreme Being.  Why?  To make the case for the inductive reasoning necessary to develop a case, based on the given evidence, either for or against the existence of a Supreme Being requires faith in the process of inductive reasoning as well as faith that one will reach the desired result (belief or disbelief in a Supreme Being).  

Answer 8

I don't agree with your statment that 'belief in gods' is a natural desire like food and water.

First of all food and water are needs, not desires.  Without them, we will die.

Without belief in deities we do not die.  In fact, we can lead wonderful fulfilling lives.  

Humans are born with an innate desire to understand who they are.  Perhaps that's what makes us human, but don't confuse that with 'natural desire to have a god'.

Nice try though!

Answer 9

HEY NOW

dont go dissing superman.

Answer 10

You are wrong about it being "universal" if you mean that everyone has it.

My natural desire to have s*x tonight without paying for it cannot be fulfilled.

Edit: If, as you now imply, that you mean it's in all cultures, I agree that the DNA that conveys that tendency is widespread.  But many people don't have it.  Your logic fails.

Answer 11

It isn't every day that a question is disproven by the very act of its own asking. But here you asked atheists about the natural desire to believe in god. Obviously the very existence of atheists shows that the desire to believe in god is not natural. The other desires you list are common to all people. But since there are people who don't care to believe in god, it cannot rightfully be said to be natural to humanity.

Answer 12

For the bajillionth time - we do not waste our time proving the non-existence of X.  We wait for someone to present proof of X before we deconstruct the proof as a pile of nonsense.

This is no different.

Answer 13

"It's a natural desire, just like food and water"

when you force food on people they get fat

;-)

hmm.. jainism..i should look that up

Answer 14

Hey, don't start on Superman, now...

Yes, you are correct. It is a natural desire to want answers and security. Of course I understand that. That's why there are so many theists in the world...tradition, culture, and the desire to know what is otherwise impossible to know (i.e., What happens after death, how did the universe begin, etc.)

Answer 15

I believe in a Goat who created all. The first human was a goat.

Answer 16

God showed Himself to me.  He showed me who He is.  All men have a inbuilt knowledge of God.  But some refuse to acknowledge Him.  

Answer 17

Immortality (to avoid death) is a natural desire.  It's also the one religion largely fills be it through an afterlife, reincarnation, etc.

There are *many* cultures who have had no belief in deity especially in the paleolithic or neolithic times.  Even many modern day animists have no belief in divinity, just a belief in spirit.

Answer 18

No, but it is evidence in a hierarchy system.  Something that we humans associate with strongly.

Answer 19

wha wha what?

Answer 20

People don't have a natural desire to believe in deities.  They have a natural desire to explain the unknown, which desire is satisfied by a belief in deities.  As science progresses and our knowledge base expands, the need for deities to explain the unknown for us correspondingly decreases.  

Moreover, even assuming you are correct, the desire for a belief in gods does not mean that gods must exist.  In fact, if it is a natural desire, then the fact that cultures across the planet came up with different ideas about who those gods were provides evidence that gods don't actually exist, but rather are man-made constructs designed to meet a particular need.

Answer 21

"Name a culture that hasn't believe in deities."

There are several forms of Buddhism without gods.

The Sanskrit word nirisvaravada translates at atheism and means disbelief in a creator god. Both the Samkhya and the Mimamsa reject the existence of a creator god, making them atheistic, by their definition.

Jainism states that every being is worthy of exactly the same praise. I'd say that's atheistic.

That enough?

Answer 22

I don't have a natural desire for it, never have. So, um, no.