Atheists... What if God IS real?

I'm not an Atheist, but i would like to share something.....Although evolution is usually presented in scientific language, it is really a religious doctrine. It teaches a philosophy of life and an attitude toward God. Its beliefs are subtly attractive to mankind’s selfish, independent tendencies. The doctrine of evolution attracts many people who want to appear wise, this is why they call Christians "retards" and such..Many atheists insist that if you are educated and intelligent, you must accept the theory of evolution as fact. On the other side are some equally overbearing religionists who use emotionally charged rhetoric to say that if you have genuine faith, you must agree with" their" brand of creationism.

These extremist viewpoints alienate many reasonable people.The question of God's existence deserves better than smug, dogmatic assertions.

Have you ever heard of Pascal's Wager? How am I supposed to answer this when I have no idea what I would do if that happened because I can't even imagine it? Some people are just not capable of belief or faith without any evidence (note that I did not say "proof" - I said "evidence") for that belief. I actually remember the first time I questioned the idea of God - I was 7 years old and we had just left the synagogue after the services. I asked my Dad - "How is it possible for some big man to live in the sky and we can't see or hear him? Why doesn't this guy talk to people now like he was purported to do ages ago?" From then on, I was not a believer and 56 years later, I'm still not a believer. But even if I was, I wouldn't believe in the insecure, vengeful, and demanding entity that Western society has come up with.

I don't see all this as anything more than you wagging your finger at the poor, benighted atheists who don't see things like yu do.

Then the entire cosmos is one big freakin joke, with an incompetent barbarian at the wheel and I just don't give a sh!t then.

Edit: Have you ever considered an eternity is a long, long, long time? You would be able to do everything conceivable a bazzillion, quaudrillion, googleplex to the googalplex times over again until there was nothing new to see or even think. Everything would become as trivial as twiddling your thumbs forever. I know, you don't think that deep, but some people do. Have you ever considered that there were "wars in heaven" (so the story says) and angels have fallen from grace? Do you really think you can be on your best behavior for all eternity? What if heaven is imaginary and you are only wasting valuable time in the only life you will ever get?

Edit: So when are you going to start believing in Thor? There's no proof he doesn't exist and his wrath is at least that of your God. You are going to be busy, there's one "hell" of a lot of gods out there. Good luck.

You sound hysterically frightened, like a child consumed with fear because the closet monster might just be there when the lights go out. Why are you so eager to spread that fear? Why does it frustrate you so that you can huff and puff and rant and rave, but you'll never make me afraid of this god nonsense? Dig deeper? I was a theist for most of my life. I've been Christian. There is nothing deeper. Scratch the surface of Christianity and you've hit bottom.

I don't claim there is no evidence, I state it as a fact. There is no evidence of any god.

No negative can be proven. You might as well be arguing for the existence of leprechauns.

My advice to you is to get in the closet and under the bed and explore. Do some research into this faith of yours and find out what flimsy little lies it is based on. I'm not being rude. There is no gentle way to put this: you've been duped.

So you are proposing Pascal's Wager I take it? There are several problems with Pascal's Wager that make it an ineffective argument. First and foremost I think, It assumes a false dichotomy. It ignores the possibility of the hundreds of thousands of other gods people have or will ever believe in. What if a god exists and it is actually the one that Radical Muslims describe?

If your god is going to punish me for an eternity for using my mind, for evaluating the world I live in and coming to a conclusion, then I will accept it because your god isn't a just one. It is an egotistical entity that values blind obedience over free thought. Don't worry, it isn't the only god to do so.

If you have any actual reasons or any evidence that you think suggests that a god (any god) exists then I will listen but if your best argument is "well what if my god, out of the millions throughout history, exists..." then we don't have much else to talk about.

Theists: What if God isn't real? Can you answer such a question? This argument has been out there for some time, it is known as Pascal's Wager. It fails the test of logic, as the omniscient God of the Bible would not fall for a luke-warm believer, which the book of Revelation mentions as being the one Jesus will spit out of his mouth.

I used to believe what you believe. Here is a nice quote on the topic:

"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed."

- Einstein

Einstein makes a good point. If your faith is based on fear and hope of reward in the afterlife, then you are effectively assuming you have no goodness in you, which is strange for someone who claims to be created in God's image. I have never met someone who became a believer because they felt God was being very good to them. It is always after accepting the doctrine of salvation from the eternal lake of fire that I see people speak of how great and loving God is. These people then begin to attribute what used to be good luck, as we who cannot take the concept of God seriously call it when we experience good fortune, and call it an answer to prayer. I am an atheist, and I often get answers to wishful thinking, which is only natural; people tend to seek out what they desire, and are likely to find their way to it.

I have many years of experience in the Church as a Born-Again Christian, and I can say that my perspective has widened significantly and in such a way that I am seeing the massive flaws in my former reasoning. I learned about logical fallacy and the importance of learning to recognize them. This is a great tool for avoiding false beliefs. I think that I was so busy learning the Bible that I failed to look around at other knowledge to see how they compare. The truth is always an over-match if it is given an audience.

"You promise me the empire of the world if I think [God exists], then I wish with all my heart [that he does]; but until you've shown me [he does], I cannot believe you ... I have interest, without doubt, there is a God, but if your [promised rewards for believing in God] have [been rewarded to] so few people [who do believe], what interest I have to believe you? Am I not a visible interest to be persuaded otherwise? With what face dare you show me an infinite happiness, which a million men barely one has the right to aspire? If you want to convince me, take some other route, and sometimes do not tell me about wagers to frighten me by the thorns that you sow on the way I want and I must follow. Your reasoning would only be atheists, if the voice of all nature do we cry there is a God, so forcefully that these subtleties have weakness."

-Voltaire, Notes on Pascal's Wager

I would say that you are right in the fact that there is no Proof that God Doesn't Exist.

But then again, is there any proof that the Easter bunny doesnt exist?

Or the flying spaghetti monster?

Or Father christmas?

Or Lepricauns?

Or Unicorns?

Or Dragons?

Or trolls?

Or Superman?

Or The boogey man?

Or Witches?

Or Vampires?

Or Werewolves?

Or Chuck Norris's Fist Beard?

Or Poltergeists?

Or Zombie Hitler?

Maybe...

If God is real, then he is perfect & doesn't make mistakes. Therefore, I am exactly as I am supposed to be. Have you ever thought that lots of people have gone down that illogical path you're proposing? That's why the idea has a proper name: Pascal's Wager.

Your assumption that others couldn't possibly have tried with all their might & humility to "understand the possibility of faith" is an affront to the existence of thinking individuals everywhere.

As for myself, I followed the Christian way for 13 years, not once ever feeling the presence of any god. I decided to stop wasting my time. Hope you didn't find my heartfelt response too disrespectful.

It is always impossible to prove a negative assertion. That there is no proof that God doesn't exist is utterly meaningless.

What makes me sure there is no God is that billions of believers have had thousands of years and not one has ever been able to provide any verifiable evidence that God has an actual existence.

I certainly cannot accept your attempt to invoke Pascal's wager. However, unlike most atheists I happily accept that God does manifest Himself within the subjective mental experiences of most human beings. I accept that God is a mental concept, an abstraction, a meme that occupies the minds of those who care to think of Him. However, that does not even suggest that God also has an objective tangible existence, which is why I must remain an atheist.

The root of this problem is that religious doctrine is based on an archaic and obsolete Aristotelian worldview which erroneously presumes that a person's mental experiences actually are reality. The trouble is, humanity has known for four hundred years that the physical realm actually exists and is the basis of objective reality -- the only place where matter and energy can actually exist. Furthermore, we also know that neurological processes within our living brain is the true source of our subjective mental experiences. If and when organized religion updates its doctrine to reflect the nature of reality as been unquestionably proved, I will happily embrace a God who occupies the human mind.

Faith is a meaningless excuse used by the superstitious and the willfully ignorant to justify their deliberate refusal to understand reality as it actually is. As long as organized religion continues to refuse to acknowledge that objective physical reality is separate and distinct from subjective mental experience, I must refuse to be a hypocrite by pretending God has an objective tangible existence.

Hopefully, I've returned the favor and given you something to think about.

I don't believe in God because I read the bible, thought about what I have read and came to the conclusion

that it's just brainless drivel.

Old Testament is just mambo jumbo, with a bit of Jewish history thrown in for good measure.

New Testament is a little more interesting, based on Greek philosophy namely Plato, but not really understood hence a religious spin on Plato's philosophy, known as Platonism.

As for Jesus he was wrong on most of the stuff he said, delusion was his downfall.

I also think that religion is in fact anti God.

Yes I also don't believe in God for a number of reasons, one of which is the idea of God is poorly formed and not interesting enough to a rational mind, I for one could make up a better story of God than the present one. The other reason is NO evidence, physical or philosophical.

My answer to your "what if God is real" is this, "if" is the biggest word in the English language, such as what if my Granny was my Grandad? OR what if white was black? What if a square was round.