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Atheists: do you reject all higher authority?
Is the reason you don't believe in GOD, because you reject any higher authority than yourself?
23 Answers
- IncognitoLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
I just reject invisible ones that religious fundies try to brow beat me with.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
Yes. I don't need strict laws to keep the peace or detailed codes of conduct from the divine. If I did it would imply that I'm so weak and inadequate that I need a strong master to tell me what to do or else I can't be trusted to be skillful or good. We don't need rules from the divine to tell right from wrong. An action is wrong if it causes unhappiness for yourself and others either now or in the long term. An action is right if it makes yourself and others happy, pleased and content now and in the long term. If atheists were more immoral on average than theists then the United States should have the lowest prison population on Earth since 75% of the population is Christian. This is not the case.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
That is a very strong word.
I simply refrain from following those individuals and institutions of authority which I perceive as unworthy, unreliable or unnecessary, following my conscience and empathy instead.
But alas, such has nothing to do with me not believing in a god or gods.
I simply cannot force myself to shut out everything else and pretend that I know with absolute metaphysical certainty that there is, put very simply, a spellcasting creator who made everything.
It is intellectually dishonest - I acknowledge the possibility, as I acknowledge all other possibilities, but to assume that I am correct and move on to convert others, as many religious and non-religious do...
...I shall not.
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- oldandtiredLv 71 decade ago
I admit this is no answer to your question, and I am not an atheist, but, man is the only life form stupid and cowardly enough to allow anything to have life or death power over him. Authority is a predator that denies you the right of self defense before it attacks you. This makes it not only mans most dangerous enemy, but also defines the words cunning and coward. Should any man respect the enemy of God, mankind, and freedom?
- EntropyLv 51 decade ago
No, I just reject ones that there is no evidence for.
I place the existence of God in the same category as the existence of leprechauns, invisible pink unicorns and Russel's teapot.
- Jabber wockLv 71 decade ago
No, I accept accountable authority that actually exists, e.g. the law of the land and those who implement it.
Maybe if I lived in an unaccountable dictatorship I wouldn't, e.g. a theocracy or other totalitarian state.
- SpartanCanuckLv 71 decade ago
Nope. There are plenty of authorities higher than myself. Thing is, none of them rely upon a whole bunch of 'so you say' as the sole evidence for their existence.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
I would have had a hard time in the military if I rejected authority.
I happily accept competent, sane, authority.
Source(s): Atheist in foxhole - Yes/No/MaybeLv 41 decade ago
Nope...only God. But I have a bumper sticker on my car that says "Question Authority".