A question for atheists...how do you know that God does not exist?

because God hasn't revealed Himself the way they want Him to when the Bible clearly tells us how God has in fact revealed Himself to us. this is a very convenient method atheists use if they don't want to believe.

Lack of evidence either way (if that were the case) doesn't mean there is an equal chance of existence and non-existence. If there is no good evidence for a thing, and no logical reason to deduce its existence, then the conclusion should be that it most probably does not exist. It's just imaginary. I can't prove that there aren't invisible fairies circling my head, but I don't entertain it as a real possibility. Why should I?

And there are actually a lot of good logical reasons to believe that god doesn't exist, at least not the sentient, caring, tinkerer/designer, theistic type of god. The universe, for example is 99.9...% lifeless. We can see that pain and suffering exist in abundance and is experienced arbitrarily without relevance to deservedness, unless inflicted by us. Where do hemmorhoids fit into the divine plan?

Not knowing the answers to fundamental questions also does not allow us to to simply posit a deistic answer and declare the problem solved. That is primitive, magical thinking, and ultimately meaningless.

Of course if you define god as some sort of non-specific force which is the reason there is something in existence at all, well there is certainly a possibility that such a thing exists, but why are you calling this thing god, and what does that mean?

The bottom line is that there is no reason to think that any entity exists that created us, monitors us, or wants anything from us. To worship such an imaginary thing or to allow such beliefs to influence important decisions is folly.

No one is claiming to have all the knowledge of the universe. But it is logical to conclude that the God of the Bible is not real, given all the evidence (or lack there of). For 2000 years man has been trying to prove God exists, searching for him...and nothing. Not one scrap of proof. While we have mounds of evidence to support evolution and the Big Bang.

Certainly there is the *possibility* that in some far flung corner of the universe that God *could* exist. It is possible...but it is not probable. There is no evidence, no proof, for God...and a great deal of evidence against God. Of course it will be impossible to say with absolute certainly that God does not and could not exist at some place or time in the universe. It is totally possible and logical to say that there is no creditable proof, and therefore no reason to believe.

I don't say that gods do not exist. I do say that there is absolutely no credible, non-contradictory evidence for any of them.

Are you arguing that it's logical to believe something to be true until someone can prove it false? I highly doubt that you apply that same rule to other unproven things, like leprechauns or Big Foot; why is it any different for the god of your choosing?

If I told you that I knew that leprechauns existed because I had a book that told me it was true, and that I had a personal relationship with the leprechaun king through wishes, would you tell me that I was wrong? After all, I've just presented you with the same amount of evidence you have for your god.

First, atheists do not say that god does not exist. They simply say that they have found no evidence that god does exist. Fundies keep saying that we say that god does not exist, but then they say a lot of things. Some day there MIGHT be evidence that god does exist and then we will accept god. We will not believe since there will be proof. But the same question you asked goes to fundies. They say that god absolutely does exist yet they have absolutely no proof. Some say they believe god exists but you seem to be put out when we say we believe that pink tap dancing elephants exist also.

A god might exist, but I am absolutely sure that the god of the bible is a fairy tale.

Let me help you out here:

atheist = "lack of belief"

Now could a higher being exist? Well certainly!! But has that being (if it is there) been so kind as to make itself known to us lesser beings in such a way that we are able to understand its existence and its will? No, a loud and resounding no. Every religion in the world, no matter how much they contradict each other all claim they have the unique insight into the One True Creator Being. Every religion has been subject to change and outside influences like every other element of ordinary human civilization. Devotees of every religion experience the same level of faith, suffering, and happiness as every other.

Apparently divine revelation fails hard. Given that, there is no reason to think that a higher being is concerned with us or interfering with us, therefore I have no need to concern myself with it.

Because God, (the god in the Bible since you capitalized it and thats the only god commonly believed in that people call God) is impossible. It contradicts itself (all loving all knowing and all powerful yet giving people free will). The Bible contradicts itself. And evidence (history, natural history, biology, physics) contradicts both God and the Bible.

And no, there is sufficient evidence against God existing to not need all the knowledge of the entire universe. It is quite possible that God exists, but just not in this universe and this reality.

Now a god might exist (though monotheistic god is unlikely because of the contradictions in reality) or gods might exist, but there is no evidence for them, so like leprechauns and unicorns (other mythical creatures with no evidence) I put them in the category of do not believe in.

I'm an atheist,I don't believe in any god(s).And while I seriously doubt they exist,I don't know.Guess what!Neither do you.That makes us both agnostic-we have no real knowledge,pro or con,of the existence of god(s).You're an agnostic theist and I'm an agnostic atheist.

What I do know is that there's no evidence for any god(s).None.Provide me some and I may reconsider.

Same argument exists for believers - but burden of proof always lies on the pro side. Anyone who makes a claim FOR something has to be able to support it somehow. Claiming something is so because you believe it is wishful thinking at best, delusion at worst.

You sure do make a lot of false assumptions.

I don't "know" god (you didn't say which one) doesn't exist. I DO know that there is no evidence to show that one does, so there's no reason for me to believe claims about gods.

I also know that every god that humans claim is real fails every test ever put to it. In the real world, when a claim is made (such as "this god is real"), and there's no evidence to back up that claim and a lot of evidence showing the claim incorrect, such a claim is considered worthless.

I'm just sayin'.

Peace.

A god that requires you to have 100% of all possible knowledge out there in order to verify he's real is a sad, pathetic creature indeed.

It seems that a true god would be self-evident in all things, not playing a multi-thousand year game of hide-and-seek with creatures he demands homage from.