Is Atheism Easy?

[Nakosis]

I would say no, because most theists seem to think the only way to become an atheist is to reject every belief that exists about God.

Whereas either you start off as an atheist and simply never develop any belief or you simply let go of all the beliefs you once held.

Neither path is easy with the majority of folks in the world trying to convince you of their belief in God. How we atheists get to be here is nothing short of a miracle.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

I would say no, because most theists seem to think the only way to become an atheist is to reject every belief that exists about God.

Whereas either you start off as an atheist and simply never develop any belief or you simply let go of all the beliefs you once held.

Neither path is easy with the majority of folks in the world trying to convince you of their belief in God. How we atheists get to be here is nothing short of a miracle.

I disagree.
I think being an atheist is the easiest thing in the world since it doesn't require you to do ANYTHING.

It takes effort to be a theist. You need to learn about gods, the scriptures, the lore, the myths and you need to convince yourself that it's all true.
Contrast that with atheism where you simply don't do anything of that. That's it. You are not require to do "something else".

Every theist out there was born an atheist and became a theist afterwards.


Ask the question in a different manner....
What is harder? To be a soccer player or to not be a soccer player?

To be a soccer player you actually need to go out and go play soccer.
To not be such you need to do.... well.... nothing.

So what is easier?
Doing nothing?
Or doing something?

 

[PureX]

Any 'ism' is easy if we don't ever bother to scrutinize it.

There are plenty of theists that have almost no idea what the term theism really refers to or how it is rationalized. So it shouldn't be a surprise that there are plenty of atheists in the same situation. Digging into any philosophical proposition takes some skill and diligence. And lots of people just can't be bothered. Knee-jerk opinions are so much easier and faster.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Neither path is easy with the majority of folks in the world trying to convince you of their belief in God.

Then you should be relieved to learn that the majority of folks in the world are not particularly concerned about your theology or lack thereof. RF is many wonderful things; what it is not is an accurate reflection of humanity.

Thoughtful and informed ontological naturalism is difficult, as is thoughtful theology, because being thoughtful and informed takes effort.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Any path is as easy or as difficult as one makes it.

 

[Revoltingest]

Atheism is effortless for me.

 

[ChristineM]

I would say no, because most theists seem to think the only way to become an atheist is to reject every belief that exists about God.

Whereas either you start off as an atheist and simply never develop any belief or you simply let go of all the beliefs you once held.

Neither path is easy with the majority of folks in the world trying to convince you of their belief in God. How we atheists get to be here is nothing short of a miracle.

Atheism is nothing more than lack of belief in gods. Considering no evidence exists to show gods exist the being an atheist is as easy as lacking belief in leprechauns. Easy as that

 

[Twilight Hue]

I would say no, because most theists seem to think the only way to become an atheist is to reject every belief that exists about God.

Whereas either you start off as an atheist and simply never develop any belief or you simply let go of all the beliefs you once held.

Neither path is easy with the majority of folks in the world trying to convince you of their belief in God. How we atheists get to be here is nothing short of a miracle.

There were no gods from the start.

Can't get any easier than that.

 

[bobhikes]

I would say no, because most theists seem to think the only way to become an atheist is to reject every belief that exists about God.

Whereas either you start off as an atheist and simply never develop any belief or you simply let go of all the beliefs you once held.

Neither path is easy with the majority of folks in the world trying to convince you of their belief in God. How we atheists get to be here is nothing short of a miracle.

I would need you to define easy and give an example of a belief system you believe to be easy. There's not much in life I find easy

 

[viole]

I would say no, because most theists seem to think the only way to become an atheist is to reject every belief that exists about God.

Whereas either you start off as an atheist and simply never develop any belief or you simply let go of all the beliefs you once held.

Neither path is easy with the majority of folks in the world trying to convince you of their belief in God. How we atheists get to be here is nothing short of a miracle.

I think atheism is dead easy. It is like a-fairism. How difficult could that be? How difficult is it to not believe in fairies?
Now, considering that gods and fairies have the exact same evidence, why should be more difficult to disbelieve one than the other?

Ciao

- viole

 

[Nakosis]

I disagree.
I think being an atheist is the easiest thing in the world since it doesn't require you to do ANYTHING.

It takes effort to be a theist. You need to learn about gods, the scriptures, the lore, the myths and you need to convince yourself that it's all true.
Contrast that with atheism where you simply don't do anything of that. That's it. You are not require to do "something else".

Every theist out there was born an atheist and became a theist afterwards.


Ask the question in a different manner....
What is harder? To be a soccer player or to not be a soccer player?

To be a soccer player you actually need to go out and go play soccer.
To not be such you need to do.... well.... nothing.

So what is easier?
Doing nothing?
Or doing something?

So no one has ever encouraged you to accept some supernatural belief or another?
For example, when I went to school we were still required to pledge allegiance to one nation under God.

I see it more like everyone in your family is a soccer player, most folks in your town either play soccer or support the playing of soccer. Everyone you know expects you will be playing soccer too. If you do nothing to oppose the idea of becoming a soccer player, you're going to end up playing soccer.

To not play soccer you have to turn your back on a world of expectations and pressure.

 

[Nakosis]

I think atheism is dead easy. It is like a-fairism. How difficult could that be? How difficult is it to not believe in fairies?
Now, considering that gods and fairies have the exact same evidence, why should be more difficult to disbelieve one than the other?

Ciao

- viole

If everyone around you believed in faeries since you were born, I expect it'd be a lot harder to go against what the rest of the "world" believed in.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Now, considering that gods and fairies have the exact same evidence, ...

This is also true of the multiverse theory, but I doubt that this consideration warrants suggesting that the multiverse, gods, and fairies have the same ontological standing.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Some people seem to make heavy weather of it. But some people make everything difficult.

 

[Secret Chief]

Atheism is nothing more than lack of belief in gods.

I agree. As per a discussion elsewhere, what's you take on:

Is a rock an atheist?

Is a newborn baby an atheist?

 

[Nakosis]

I would need you to define easy and give an example of a belief system you believe to be easy. There's not much in life I find easy

Falling down the stairs is pretty easy, if you miss a step. So it's situational.
You just find yourself going along with the physics of gravity, or in this case peer pressure. Don't have to think, don't have to make decisions. All the thinking has been done for you.

 

[ChristineM]

I agree. As per a discussion elsewhere, what's you take on:

Is a rock an atheist?

Is a newborn baby an atheist?

A rock, as far as i am aware has no believe in anything (except perhaps gravity)

It's true that newborn babies have no belief in gods, they need to be indoctrinated to gain that belief.

 

[Secret Chief]

It's true that newborn babies have no belief in gods

I agree. By the same token, they have no belief in Alice in Chains being the world's best rock band either. They've not been exposed to the music, nor have they thought about them in order to form an opinion on them. So it is equally ridiculous to claim newborns reject the idea of AiC being the bestest band.

 

[ChristineM]

I agree. By the same token, they have no belief in Alice in Chains being the world's best rock band either. They've not been exposed to the music, nor have they thought about them in order to form an opinion on them. So it is equally ridiculous to claim newborns reject the idea of AiC being the bestest band.

Alice in chains was not the question

Actually it appears that a pre born can hear music in the womb.

The point is that they do not believe in gods, to me that makes them atheist

 

[Secret Chief]

Alice in chains was not the question

Actually it appears that a pre born can hear music in the womb.

The point is that they do not believe in gods, to me that makes them atheist

But newborns don't believe in anything, that's why I picked a random alternative idea with AiC. The principle is the same. I'm not attacking atheism, I'm doubting it's meaningfulness in regard to something that's just popped out of the uterus. Atheism is a position, derived from cognition. The newborn can't even say "mummy" yet.