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Dear Atheists, tell me what you DO believe

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
From @lewisnotmiller comment on another thread

That sounds like a more constructive thread.

Dear atheists...I get that you don't believe in Gods. But tell me what you DO believe in...

There is no logical reason to believe in a god or gods, no hard evidence . So an atheist does not believe in god or gods.

Mentioning no names @questfortruth and others but there are some people on RF who believe that atheists have no belief whatsoever.

So i am asking atheists what do they actually believe in.

For me

I hope and believe that i will live to see my kids fledge the nest. It's one of my dearest wishes to take them through children and launch them on a successful adulthood.

I believe my husband and children love me

I believe that my car will start when i need it.

I even believe Jesus existed but not as the person described in the bible

I believe that the bread dough i made this morning will have risen enough to bake a couple of loaves.

And much more

So all you atheists out there in RF land, please inform us all of a few of the things you believe in.

 

John53

I go leaps and bounds
Premium Member
I believe I took my wife to the hairdresser today and I sat in the car for 3 hours waiting for her.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
I believe I took my wife to the hairdresser today and I sat in the car for 3 hours waiting for her.

I believe that a week on Saturday i too will be visiting the hairdresser. Luckily hubby also has his mop seen to at the same time meaning that he only has to wait for me for 2 hours ;-)
 

TagliatelliMonster

Veteran Member
From @lewisnotmiller comment on another thread

That sounds like a more constructive thread.

Dear atheists...I get that you don't believe in Gods. But tell me what you DO believe in...

There is no logical reason to believe in a god or gods, no hard evidence . So an atheist does not believe in god or gods.

Mentioning no names @questfortruth and others but there are some people on RF who believe that atheists have no belief whatsoever.

So i am asking atheists what do they actually believe in.

For me

I hope and believe that i will live to see my kids fledge the nest. It's one of my dearest wishes to take them through children and launch them on a successful adulthood.

I believe my husband and children love me

I believe that my car will start when i need it.

I even believe Jesus existed but not as the person described in the bible

I believe that the bread dough i made this morning will have risen enough to bake a couple of loaves.

And much more

So all you atheists out there in RF land, please inform us all of a few of the things you believe in.


When a theist finds out that I don't believe in gods, often they'll say (or something akin to it):

You don't believe in God? Ok, so what DO you believe then?


And my response is always the same: about what?


Because I don't actually understand the question. It seems loaded. It assumes that if god isn't included in a world view, that it then leaves some "gap" that needs to be filled with something else.

I don't see it like that at all. To me, gods are completely obsolete factors. When you have a worldview that includes gods and then remove those gods, I see no reason or need at all to "replace" them with something else.


So when asked "then what DO you believe?", I can only respond with "about what?".
 

A Vestigial Mote

Well-Known Member
I believe that even if I am objectively no more or less than the sum of my parts, subjectively I can be much, much more.

I, too, believe that my children, and my wife love me.

I believe that there are no subsisting reasons to explain "why" the base functions of reality are the way they are.

I believe the best movies were made in the 1980's.
 
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Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
From @lewisnotmiller comment on another thread

That sounds like a more constructive thread.

Dear atheists...I get that you don't believe in Gods. But tell me what you DO believe in...

There is no logical reason to believe in a god or gods, no hard evidence . So an atheist does not believe in god or gods.

Mentioning no names @questfortruth and others but there are some people on RF who believe that atheists have no belief whatsoever.

So i am asking atheists what do they actually believe in.

For me

I hope and believe that i will live to see my kids fledge the nest. It's one of my dearest wishes to take them through children and launch them on a successful adulthood.

I believe my husband and children love me

I believe that my car will start when i need it.

I even believe Jesus existed but not as the person described in the bible

I believe that the bread dough i made this morning will have risen enough to bake a couple of loaves.

And much more

So all you atheists out there in RF land, please inform us all of a few of the things you believe in.

I usually believe the weather report, although it's sometimes slightly off. I figure that's par for the course.
 

Laika

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
So i am asking atheists what do they actually believe in.

Bluntly, there is no God. There never was a God and there will never be a God.

And off hand, there are at least three major differences between me and the rest of the atheists on RF:

a) Because I've been a Marxist and a Materialist, I tend to believe the existence of god is impossible. Hence I don't equivocate on the "lack of belief". There is no "agnostic atheism" in my case, it's just straight up "atheism". It is denial of belief and not the "absence" of belief". I deny God exists, believe God's existence is impossible and would assume any evidence to the contrary can (and should) be attributed to natural causes.

b) Because materialism denies consciousness cannot exist separately from matter, that means it has a domino effect on theological questions such as belief in existence of the soul, the afterlife, heaven and hell, etc. in my case, atheism is closer to a worldview rather than a limited to the question of "does god exist or not". The belief in the objective material character of natural laws, would also prevent the existence of miracles too.

c) This understanding Atheism has a direct bearing on morals because if there is no God (and no possibility of a "higher power" to govern human affairs other than human beings themselves), then you have to question the morals we have inherited from religion traditions and determine which parts might be true and which parts are as false as the belief in god.

So when religious people attack atheism, many of their criticisms do apply to me even if they do not apply to the "lack of belief" variety of atheism.
 

TagliatelliMonster

Veteran Member
I got to agree with you here.

I was just watching a youtube clip the other day from some hippie concert. Don't remember the band name, but it was epic music.
It's the top comment that stuck with me: "Haaaa, the 70s.... back when ugly people were allowed to play music on stage"


Said it all for me. :D
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
I was just watching a youtube clip the other day from some hippie concert. Don't remember the band name, but it was epic music.
It's the top comment that stuck with me: "Haaaa, the 70s.... back when ugly people were allowed to play music on stage"


Said it all for me. :D

My mom and dad were hippies, i was conceived in a tent after a Stones concert in hyde park. I was born and dragged up with the music of 60s and 70 playing more or less constantly.
 
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mikkel_the_dane

My own religion
From @lewisnotmiller comment on another thread

That sounds like a more constructive thread.

Dear atheists...I get that you don't believe in Gods. But tell me what you DO believe in...

There is no logical reason to believe in a god or gods, no hard evidence . So an atheist does not believe in god or gods.

Mentioning no names @questfortruth and others but there are some people on RF who believe that atheists have no belief whatsoever.

So i am asking atheists what do they actually believe in.

For me

I hope and believe that i will live to see my kids fledge the nest. It's one of my dearest wishes to take them through children and launch them on a successful adulthood.

I believe my husband and children love me

I believe that my car will start when i need it.

I even believe Jesus existed but not as the person described in the bible

I believe that the bread dough i made this morning will have risen enough to bake a couple of loaves.

And much more

So all you atheists out there in RF land, please inform us all of a few of the things you believe in.

Here is how I believe.

For the general question about what reality/the world/the universe/everything is, I believe I don't know and that I don't need to know.
So just as I am an a-theist, I am an a-X for all variants of what is really real and really exists as independent of the mind. I personally don't believe in any positive or negative version of the really real or not real.
In other words I don't believe in reality, evidence, knowledge, reason, logic, rationality and so on, as some people do. I am a strong skeptic and only need to make sense to it apparently works for me. I.e. I only have beliefs, that seems to work.

So I believe in human rights, the positive worth of all humans, but I am also a realist to the bone as a former professional soldier.
In the end I believe in the apparent everyday world in practice, but I know nothing about it. I am a strong skeptic.
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
From @lewisnotmiller comment on another thread

That sounds like a more constructive thread.

Dear atheists...I get that you don't believe in Gods. But tell me what you DO believe in...

There is no logical reason to believe in a god or gods, no hard evidence . So an atheist does not believe in god or gods.

Mentioning no names @questfortruth and others but there are some people on RF who believe that atheists have no belief whatsoever.

So i am asking atheists what do they actually believe in.

For me

I hope and believe that i will live to see my kids fledge the nest. It's one of my dearest wishes to take them through children and launch them on a successful adulthood.

I believe my husband and children love me

I believe that my car will start when i need it.

I even believe Jesus existed but not as the person described in the bible

I believe that the bread dough i made this morning will have risen enough to bake a couple of loaves.

And much more

So all you atheists out there in RF land, please inform us all of a few of the things you believe in.
:) since it is on a debate section... I thought I would add to the debate.

Have you ever seen a design with no designer? The design itself is hard evidence.

Love (as in loving your children) is the hard wire of who God is.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
:) since it is on a debate section... I thought I would add to the debate.

Have you ever seen a design with no designer? The design itself is hard evidence.

Love (as in loving your children) is the hard wire of who God is.

So what gives you the impression that we are designed?

Nope, love is an emotion.
 

A Vestigial Mote

Well-Known Member
Here is how I believe.

For the general question about what reality/the world/the universe/everything is, I believe I don't know and that I don't need to know.
So just as I am an a-theist, I am an a-X for all variants of what is really real and really exists as independent of the mind. I personally don't believe in any positive or negative version of the really real or not real.
In other words I don't believe in reality, evidence, knowledge, reason, logic, rationality and so on, as some people do. I am a strong skeptic and only need to make sense to it apparently works for me. I.e. I only have beliefs, that seems to work.

So I believe in human rights, the positive worth of all humans, but I am also a realist to the bone as a former professional soldier.
In the end I believe in the apparent everyday world in practice, but I know nothing about it. I am a strong skeptic.
Please see these two quote from you, both within the paragraph above:
I personally don't believe in any positive or negative version of the really real or not real.
I only have beliefs, that seems to work.
Can you tell me how these two statements are reconciled? "I don't believe..." and "I only have beliefs?" I mean... maybe I am wrong and the "positive or negative version of the really real or not real" isn't a catch-all statement, and so there are some items left that one can have "only belief" in that aren't included in "positive or negative version of the really real or not real" that you say you don't believe in. Enlighten me - I'm all ears.
 
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viole

Ontological Naturalist
Premium Member
From @lewisnotmiller comment on another thread

That sounds like a more constructive thread.

Dear atheists...I get that you don't believe in Gods. But tell me what you DO believe in...

There is no logical reason to believe in a god or gods, no hard evidence . So an atheist does not believe in god or gods.

Mentioning no names @questfortruth and others but there are some people on RF who believe that atheists have no belief whatsoever.

So i am asking atheists what do they actually believe in.

For me

I hope and believe that i will live to see my kids fledge the nest. It's one of my dearest wishes to take them through children and launch them on a successful adulthood.

I believe my husband and children love me

I believe that my car will start when i need it.

I even believe Jesus existed but not as the person described in the bible

I believe that the bread dough i made this morning will have risen enough to bake a couple of loaves.

And much more

So all you atheists out there in RF land, please inform us all of a few of the things you believe in.
I believe there is no God.
I believe in life on other planets.
I believe I will enter eternal oblivion when I die
I believe Jimmy Page plays better than Eric Clapton
etc.

Ciao

- viole
 

viole

Ontological Naturalist
Premium Member
Have you ever seen a design with no designer? The design itself is hard evidence.
No.
The question is not that. The question is whether there is any design at all. Ergo, you are begging the question, pretty blatantly.

It is like asking: can you have Kryptonite without Superman?

Ciao

- viole
 
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