is there any truth in this statement by archbishop fulton sheen?

Yes. Clearly, atheists cannot know God doesn't exist, because they cannot know a falsehood. They can believe he does not exist, but it takes great faith: One must disregard the miracle of one's own individual existence and consciousness, and one must deny the facts of the universe appearing suddenly from nothing in the Big Bang and life, with all its complex information, appearing from inanimate matter. One must discount the marvels of our freedom and intelligence, and of our inexplicable presence in a designer world, blessed with temperate climate, breathable atmosphere, ideal gravity, an abundance of workable minerals, and situated for knowledge of the vast universe.

Since atheist faith is so groundless, it is certainly a wish, and the reasonable inference is the demand to sin without reproach and exalt one's ego without challenge.

Cheers,

Bruce

In depth theology knows God exists whether you believe it or not. We were created in His image, we are His children; such that we are linked [umbilical cord] to God even some people think they are not.

When we deny God's existence, we just deny it; but at the bottom of our heart we knew He is there.

Reason why people are charitable and do care in time of catastrophy e.g. earthquake in Haiti, Indonesia, Iran etc. It is that link/built in mechanism of God in us that triggers us to do good which is God's attribute. It can not come from satan. So, guys, love your God above all as time is short.

If I wanted to sin without reproach or exalt my ego without challenge I would become a Baptist Preacher.

That's some pretty limited thinking. He starts with the presupposition that god exists. He would have to prove that first, before the rest of his statement could stand. As well, he must also prove that nonbelievers somehow "sin" more. There is no evidence for that. In fact, there is some evidence that the religious or overrepresented in the prison population, while atheists are underrepresented. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that a lack of religious faith may actually make you less of a "sinner."

So, for logic... no points.

Nice try, though.

Not at all. I'm not an atheist because "I just like sinning so darn much." I do not believe in sin.

Atheism is the lack of belief in deities. I don't know that they do or don't exist. I just don't believe in them.

To claim you know the reasons behind my atheism is both arrogant and ignorant.

I don't know much about atheism, but I kinda think it's cuz they just simply cannot grasp the Higher Power aspect??? they just dont "feel" it??? I surely could be wrong, but as I am a Christian, I do not (desire) to grasp any other type of "belief" or lacke thereof....hmmmm perhpas there are peoples as described, but I'm not entirely sure...remember we have another force at work, his name is satan and he is good at deception/destruction etc, he will decieve even "Christians and the elect"....Peace/Love & God Bless

Atheism is simply a disbelief in any deity. As far as motivations for adopting such a worldview, well, it all depends on the person.

Atheism can be either actual ignorance of God, or denial of God in order to live as one wishes.

I think Bishop Sheen was correct, and I think the more common sub-conscious goal of atheists is the second point Bishop Sheen made. Many atheists are rotten people - murderers, rapists, savage criminals, but most are not. Most are law-abiding people who are not directly offensive to their neighbors.

Atheists, are, however, commonly arrogant and certain of their own personal greatness. Any threats to their image of greatness are likely to be met with hostility. That is evident not only here in the Yahoo Answers forum, but in the presentations of celebrity atheists like that angry author, Dawkins. They commonly mock, insult, and accuse religious people of typically engaging in all sorts of heinous crimes. They call us idiots, fools, murderers, rapists, thieves and liars, all the while claiming we have a delusional belief in a magic sky fairy or some other incredible supernatural fictional being.

Atheists seldom seem to me to look to religious people with pity and compassion. If I thought a person held a nonsensical belief around which he or she planned much of his or her life, I would take pity on that person. I think most atheists probably would regard with pity and compassion a mentally retarded person, or a person with schizophrenia or major depressive disorder. Atheists likely would look at such people with pity because they would truly regard such people as having a serious mental deficit or disorder. They wouldn't generally mock suck people, but would treat them with compassion or leave them entirely alone.

Atheists don't treat religious people as if we are what they say we are - delusional, or even just severely mistaken. One doesn't treat a huge group of delusional people with mockery, but with compassion. That atheists treat religious people with derision tells me that they don't really think we are mistaken or delusional. They strongly suspect we are right, and they are jealous of how we think and live. They are angry that we have peace-of-mind about what happens when we die - when we leave this Earthly world.

Atheists mock us because they can't attack us logically with any significant success. Great thinkers like Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Anselm usually get dismissed entirely, not responded to with thoughtful rebuttals. It's easier to tell us that our explanations for why we know God exists are just foolish, primitive, or delusional than it is to explain how and why such beliefs are wrong.

I think some people are thoughtfully atheist. They have thought about the question of whether God exists, and they have erroneously concluded that God does not exist. I think most atheists, however, have not asked the question sincerely, and they have not tried to answer it genuinely. I think that is mostly because it's easier to deny the truth when you don't know much about it.

Saying "God is imaginary" is very easy, and it relieves a person of all sorts of difficult mental and physical work. It also keeps a atheists from having to face the possibly painful truth that they are not the smartest or most capable being in the universe. When people admit that God exists, they admit their personal greatness is infinitely exceeded by someone else. Even more difficult is the realization that the superior being does not agree with mere humans about everything.

I think it is a combination of arrogance and laziness that many people profess atheism. They don't want to admit another is greater than themselves, and they don't want to risk having to change to conform to the Will of God.

I am Roman Catholic.

Peace be with you.

But if Sheen thought god existed, how could he diddle young boys without reproach?