Lack of logical necessity for such a being (or group of them) to exist. Lack of evidence. Better explanations for things that fit observations do exist.
really i was all about it till i was told Jesus or evolution then i was like well with evolution you got fossils and genetics and we've seen the evolution of plant life and animal life over the last several thousand years, so the evidence for god was like, some book that authorizes slavery and requires me to throw rocks at my child for misbehavior
Don't believe in what? Deities in general or a specific type of god? Since you didn't specify I'll just respond assuming you meant god or gods in general.
Simple, lack of reliable, objective evidence.
If you further specify which type of god you are talking about, I can give a more thorough response.
edit: Well, I figured out that you are talking about the Christian idea of God when I looked at your Sn.
The problem of evil is a main reason: "Is He willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then He is impotent. Is He able, but not willing? Then He is malevolent. Is He both able and willing? Whence then is evil?"
The omnipotence paradox (see link)
God in the OT is very vengeful yet still described as loving: a contradiction? I think so; and that's just one example.
The concept of hell does not coincide with the idea of a God who loves all of his creation.
Overall, the bible, in my view, is obviously the work of man. God didn't make man in his image, man made god in man's image.
1. I have considered the points from all sides;
2. There are so many religions that they cannot all be right anyway ... each shows 'flaws' in the others;
3. Logically I cannot accept the concept
4. Organised religion has shown itself to be ludicrously unable to accept change throughout time and has taken extreme steps to slap-down dissenters rather than accepting discussion/challenge as good;
My beliefs are that religion, or lack of it, is an absolutely personal choice ... mine is to treat formal religion as irrelevant as I prefer a more general "what goes around comes around" philosophy.
I consider myself to be a more spiritual individual than a religious one. I revel in the joys of nature, of each turn of life, of every choice I make. Life isn't about following the path of another, it is about learning from your experiences and allowing yourself to grow, to change your mind, to see more clearly each and every day. I do not believe in God specifically but I do believe in the power with in ourselves. We make our life what it is, no one else. I can not rely on another to protect me or those I love, it is my job. Despite my cynicism in the face of organized religion, I believe in respect and acceptance.I am open-eyed, open hearted, and I believe in myself.
In all honesty, I think it just causes ruin. Take 9/11 for example, that horrific event was caused by religion, and religious beliefs. The Catholic church, how many times do you read about the priests raping young children, the majority being young boys? I just think it is nonsense, and I do not think anybody should ever push religion on a person. I am not saying not to believe, you do what you choose, to each their own, I just find it disturbing how many people follow something that has no actual proof.
The only best answer I can give is that it doesn't seem real to me. Even as a child, when I would go to church with my friends (my parents, whom are agnostics, wished to have no influence on my beliefs whatsoever, and would support any decision I made), I would always doubt the existence of God.
There was always the question of "What if he isn't real?" in my head. Soon enough, I began to doubt his existence all together. Then, I simply couldn't fathom a greater being than humanity itself.
I can't exactly say when, or how, I stopped believing. I can't say "Science made me not believe", as commonly thought, because I used to hate science. Nor do I worship the devil--I don't believe in him either (why some people believe atheists are devil-worshipers, I have no clue). And I have read the bible, gone to church, among other things, so I'm not ignorant.
People's minds work in different ways. Some can accept God and some can't. But as long as you fully believe in what you have chosen, then it doesn't matter; who cares what others say and think? God isn't always your judge; sometimes, YOU have to be your own judge.
Well, for starters, I'm not an atheist and I am most definitely not christian, but i do believe in some higher being. What it is I do not know, but it is out there. I do not believe in the christian concept of god because there are too many versions, too many oxymoron's, and too much crap going on in his name. While one could state that it is not "his" fault, it is the fact that religion has corrupted a pretty decent idea. To quote Chris rock in dogma....they took a good idea and built a belief around it. (I may have messed that up a bit but you get the gist.) Anyway....the basic principles have merit, however, the errors in the ideology that mankind has introduced into it while forming it into a full blown religion has damaged it beyond repair for me.
Well, in each and any case, as one looks at the unproven assertions, and the actions that are expected from adherence to these assertions .. it is so easy to find the few common denominators that provide a nexus of each religious "system:"
In each and every case, you are commanded to ignore your own senses, and subordinate your decisions and world-views to that of others, or a book, scroll, etc... NONE of which stand on logic or provable evidence, but instead on blind "faith," or misrepresentation of facts, as all believable con jobs do.
In each and every case of christian mythology's demands, you are to give something material (including your life) for a hopeless "belief" in an afterlife .. (Something for Nothing, read) those "others" demand that you give MOST of these "sacrifices" not directly to their god or gods, but through THEM.
I have learned to recognize con jobs .. despite the multitude of claims to the contrary by others who may be less critical, in my society.
It is not that people are divided into two camps, "those who believe, and those who don't". In fact this is a belief structure on its own. Many atheist have strong beliefs, they are just different from your own. So maybe the better question to ask would be, "why do you believe something other than what I believe?"
Most people who question Christianity do so because it is very easy not to believe in it. Remember that the foundation of Christian beliefs is FAITH.
Faith is not easy for people who believe in science and reason. Many of the beliefs of the Christian faith are total unreasonable. For example, "The world was made in seven days". This is not reasonable at all, but one needs faith to believe it.
For myself, I don't believe that Jesus was any more the son of god than you are. Why? Because it is totally unreasonable. But I do believe in God. Although the God I believe in is likely nothing like the one you imagine. My God is universal, and impossible to understand, we are too small and simple to understand a truth that grand. My God is totally unreasonable also, but I don't attribute Human characteristics to him like many Christians do. My God is everything, and everywhere. And my God is inseparable from us. We are, and it is us, and everything else.
The sad thing is that most Christians hope that Jesus will figure it all out for them. All you have to do is believe in him, and that's it. So is it really faith, or is it desperate hope for lost people? I find Christians simplifying life so often it makes me wonder if they really KNOW Christ like they say they do.
Well it's difficult to give just 1 answer because there are so many reasons.
But I would have to say overall, over thousands of years, not a single shred of proof exists. And don't tell me the bible is proof like most Christan's say in response, because the bible could Soooooooooo easily have been written by a plain flesh-and-blood human being, as I am quite certain it was. There is just absolutely no proof whatsoever, we just have to "have faith". meanwhile, volumes and volumes of REAL, Hard scientific evidence documenting evolution, physics, chemistry, etc etc are just mounting to explain all the unexplained things that religions used to try to explain (e.g. No one actually believes anymore that Zeus creates the lightning bolts during storms). More evidence is presented in journals in newspapers every single day to support these scientific theories such as evolution, but still not a single shred for the existence of god. Sorry, but that is just preposterous to me.
For atheist and those who don't believe. Give me your Best answer of why you don't be
