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Is it wrong for atheists to believe in the existence of anything that has no hard evidence?

Examples: Multiverse theory; The exact amount of carbon present at the singularity; ball lightning

Update:

Most atheists say they don't believe in the existence of God because of the lack of any hard evidence to support that existence, yet many atheists believe in the existence of things that, in theory, currently have no more tangible evidence than does the existence of any God.

23 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    10 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Seems a tad hypocritical or selective.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    10 years ago

    Not only is there no evidence for any god, there is significant evidence and logic to show that gods don't and can't exist.

    BTW, there was no carbon present at or immediately after the Big Bang. The multiverse idea is an interesting idea, but we don't know if it's true.

    There are thousands of possible gods. Some can be explicitly disproved, if they have explicit characteristics that make them impossible. None can be proved.

    There's no reliable evidence for God/Yahweh, Jesus, Allah, Zeus, Thor, or any of the thousands of other gods that people have worshiped. If any of the major gods existed, there would be reliable evidence. There's also extensive evidence that they are all just myths, created to help soothe our fear of death, and perpetuated through religion to subjugate the underclass into obedience.

    Science has shown that there's no need for gods to explain the traditional reasons for a god -- origin of the universe, origin of life, origin of species, origin of humans, origin of morality. Science also shows us the psychological reasons that people believe in god(s).

  • ?
    Lv 7
    10 years ago

    I cannot speak for "all" atheists.

    For myself, I can contemplate the possibility of multiple universes, although it has no practical application. I can speculate about the amount of carbon present at the singularity, although it holds no interest for me. I was under the impression that someone had photographed ball lightning, but I will admit that I may have been mistaken, or that the photographs were of something else entirely.

    I would not demand that multiverse nor carbon singularity, nor ball lightning be taught as fact, alongside of, or in place of, things which had evidence.

    I would hope that the teachers would try any experiment which could prove the hypotheses of anything that was claimed as fact.

  • 10 years ago

    I'm an athiest and I don't believe some scientific theories because they're almost as far fetched as religious theories. ex. the big bang theory. I believe in gravity cause the evidence is all around me though. not every athiest believes everything in science, they just aren't going to accept the fact that there is a god because the amount of things wrong with this idea and with religion in general is too long to list.

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  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    You really don't understand science. One doesn't believe in a multiverse. The concept of a multiverse is a prospect for study. Maybe some evidence will be forthcomeing, maybe it won't. If evidence is forthcoming, there's more room for study. If there is no evidence, it's time to move on to other ideas that appear worth examining.

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    First off you've been answering alot of my questions and they are all hilarious. Well I'm no Richard Dawkins but I think Athiests just deny an intelligent designer. The multiverse is not a dedigner but a place. I do not think that it is wrong to belive any of those listed things

  • 10 years ago

    No. Thinking about it in the abstract, before you have data you could hypothesize that something exists, or you could hypothesize that it doesn't exist.

    If you went looking for supporting data and didn't find any, that should rationally lead you to at least lean toward the "doesn't exist" hypothesis.

    For instance, there is nothing hypocritical in my believing that there is a penny under my bed, until I go looking for it and get either confirming or falsifying evidence.

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    Multiverse theory is a THEORY. Some find it possible, but belief in it isn't anywhere near close to the right word.

    Ball lightning has been observed, so yes it exists, we merely don't know what causes it.

    You're overusing the word "belief".

  • 10 years ago

    You can say something is an interesting hypothesis that deserves further study without going so far as to say you believe in it. I think multiverse theory is likely, but without solid evidence, I can't actually say I believe it yet.

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    I know the exact amount of carbon present at the singularity: 0%. If you knew anything about science rather than just parroting ideas that you've read elsewhere then you'd know how ridiculous you sound.

  • 10 years ago

    No. Atheists disbelieve in a creator deity(or deities), everything else is fair game.

    Long before modern science began, many schools of Buddhism disbelieved in a creator deity, but still retained beliefs in reincarnation and karma.

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