http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/133660?page=2&

Why would there be a god? The presence of a god makes no more sense than the presence of a giant flying toaster that flies around the universe destroying stuff. It makes more sense to say that matter was somehow mysteriously created than to say that god was somehow mysteriously created and then it created matter.

The question is based on an incorrect assumption. It assumes we believed first, and then switched to disbelief based on evidence. I never believed in a God- I was not raised to. People who believe in God do so because they were raised to do so. There is absolutely no evidence one way or the other, just cultural traditions. That being said, the total lack of evidence for something so powerful that cares about us deeply is in and of itself a clue that there is no such thing. It's like saying the Earth has two moons, and we just have not seen the other one yet. For something as huge as a moon to exist without anyone having any evidence of it would be rather shocking, right? Same thing for a God. Here are some good websites to read: http://www.godisimaginary.com/ http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/

You have the question the wrong way round. Nor non-existence, you need non-evidence. I d not belief in the God of the Christians in the same way as I do not believe in Zeus, Thor, leprechauns, imps, and the spirit gods of heaven knows how many tribes. I simply see no evidence for their existence. I don't "believe" in God's non-existence - I simply find no evidence at all for God's existence and choose to live as if God did not exist.

Aside from the obvious problems with there not being a need for evidence of somethings 'non existence' at all. (Where is the evidence that fairies don't exist? Where is the evidence that the Flying Spaghetti Monster didn't actually create the Universe? Where is the evidence that the Raëlians are wrong? Where is the evidence that there isn't a china teapot orbiting the Sun between Earth and Mars? The list is LITERALLY INFINITE, and if anyone actually believes that things need to be disproven instead of proven, they are idiots. And I really hope they are offended, because they deserve it for being such absolute idiots.) But anyway, here is a small sample of my list of reasons why: 1) The existence of disease 2) The capability of animals for unnecessary evil 3) The existence of unnecessary evil 4) The inexplicable horrors of almost every Religious text (especially the Abrahamic ones, who are the most disgusting {and most prevalent} of them all.) 5) The historic fact that every step of recorded history is plagued with Religiously motivated wars, supporting the conclusion that Religion is an inherently evil aspect of humanity that should be discouraged That's just 5 off the top of my head, really my disgust of the very idea of God runs much deeper, leading to my complete thankfulness that there isn't any evidence for it's truth. It's offensive and disgusting to say that there's a God out there who loves me and is all-powerful. If God even batted an eye-lid for me or any other feeling creature that has ever lived, God would end the abhorrent, torturous life that some animals (humans included) are forced to endure, and SEND HIMSELF TO HELL, for that is the LEAST that he deserves for his crimes. *disgust*.

Twhupfold you make a good point. I'm not the type of Christian that pushes there religion on people. I see this as a waste of time, as I believe it's impossible to change anyone's convictions by conversation. I agree with you that we believe things that we want to believe and will add that we disbelieve others for the same reason. It would be a waste of time for me to try to explain why I believe what I do. I could talk about a near death experience that I had in the jungle of Vietnam, but it wouldn't make any difference to you. Such a conversation would be like talking with Rhade tribesman and telling him that a skyscraper really exhists, he's never heard of such things and can't even comprehend the concept. For him such things are dreams. He would say you have no proof and your 'dien cai dau' crazy. So he and others may call me mistaken, but I believe in skyscrapers and in Jesus Christ. That's what I know to be true, but like I said, we all have to make that decision for ourselves.

This is backward. No evidence ever proved that god exists. Which is why I don't believe god exists.

If god does exist, then he's a real joker. Creating people, who are the biggest parasite on this planet.

I didn't need convincing. I just don't see any reason why there would be a God, so I'm an atheist by default.

No but there are an infinite number of things that could be said about, it doesn't add any credence to claims of their truth.

Sure, they could provide logical backing to try and disprove Him.

As a Christian, may I ask why they need a reason? I believe but I have no proof. I think atheists get hounded alot & we should just leave them alone.

Yes of course they can. They have convictions that for many are very well worked out. It is good to debate with those who are of different ideals and to learn from them and hopefully they might learn something of why I believe what I do. What is wrong is the acrimony that comes from those on both sides of the debate that do not have well worked out ideas!

If there was undeniable proof that a God existed then atheists would not have to provide reasons why a God didnt exist. However there is no proof either way so we should respect each others beliefs wether we think they are right or wrong. :D

Atheists look for inconsistencies and fallacies presented in religion. Science itself provides much of this. Atheists can argue the same as believers, they believe what they see. The can argue just as effectively that there is no god, just as believers can argue that there is.

No, Hume shows that it is impossible to prove or disprove a matter of fact. The only absolute proof is that of rationality or idea. All other truth is based on assumption of some sort of premise.

Uh, good question, but you could post the same question asking someone who believes in God to prove that he DOES exist. If there was proof of either, then there wouldn't be both. To clarify that, if there was proof that God existed, then there would be no such thing as an atheist. If there was proof that God DIDN'T exist, there could be no Christianity, and there for no one who believe in god. I do believe in God, I DO have faith, and therefore don't care about proof.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to borrow the "believers" stance for this one. Nope, that's why it's called faith. I have faith that he is not real.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

Who cares? If a person believes or not is their own personal choice. I believe in god but am not a Christian, and that is my personal choice. So now do you believe or dis-believe in ghosts? Can you prove why?

That's too easy - the way things are. For example the universe is entirely self regulating. No deity is needed.

Why is it that people think atheist's sole purpose is to make believers look stupid? You believe, atheist's don't. It's that simple, it's not a contest.

There is no proof one way or another, you either have faith that he exists, or not..With faith no proof is necessary.

I'm not an atheist, nor am I a believer, but the answer has to be that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The existence of any deity cannot be proven or disproven. As a result, people get to choose where they place their faith. Freely, hopefully.

No. I cannot prove a negative. But if God exists, I see no sign of him/her/it/them actually doing anything. I cannot rove that there is nobody in the world called Ninj Nur Nitti Putti, but it would make no difference to me if there was. Similarly, if God exists but does nothing, it matters not at all to me. If God actually starts doing something, I will have proof of the existence of God, and something to worry about.

Sure, if you can first give me one fact that disproves the existence of unicorns.

Why do you have to exist before god exists? I mean think about it. Before you were born did you believe in god?

i like Auntie Ems faith logic. If he was real i wouldnt have gone through 10 years of BS with my parents. IF they were religious like they claimed to be, it wouldnt have been a long fight and were civil when the divorces finalized.

You cannot prove either side of this argument. This is solely based on faith. Atheists and agnostics do not have faith. Theists do. I believe in what I hold in my hand and what I have personally experienced. I have not experienced any proof of God's existence so I remain an agnostic. If I ever have proof of his existence that I consider valid, I shall change my opinion.

Whether you believe there is a God, or if you believe there is no God, they're both completely faith based. There is no proof for either side. I only believe in the things I know are real. The rest of it could exist, but I don't know. No one does. And no one ever will.

The short answer is: we don't have to -- the person making the positive claim (e.g.; there's an invisible, intangible Sky Daddy who exists outside of time and space who loves me and is going to give me eternal life if I accept him as my master) who bears the burden of proof. Now go log off; and don't come back until you've Googled both "Bertrand Russell" and "Celestial Teapot"...

No one can do that. No one can prove an unrestricted negative, because the limitation is that we simply cannot look everywhere. No one can disprove the existence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, either. Inability to prove nonexistence is not evidence of existence. Atheists say, "I don't believe that any deity exists." This isn't a statement of faith, it is a statement of lack of faith - the lack of any evidence of a deity fails to convince them that any deity exists.

You cannot prove a negative.

We don't have to disprove a damn thing. The burden of proof lies on the one who makes the claim, not the one who refutes it. . Anytime religious people have tried to prove God's existence, their assumptions have been eventually proven wrong by scientific research (at which the religious folk usually hide behind a blanket of ignorant accusations - "Evolution is the devil's work!"

There is no Ultimate proof for the existence of God, nor is the Ultimate proof denying the existence of God. By Ultimate I mean that there is nothing in existence that when confronted by anybody on the face of the earth will totally solidify and prove in their mind as to what what it was proving (either Gods existence or that there is no God). The reason for that is because we have the choice to believe or not based on the things we see and go through. If God was real and there was this Ultimate proof, then we would not be choosing God out of faith, which would undermine our ability to love him. God did not create humans to be robots because of that very fact, he wanted us to love him, which means that we must have the choice to love him or to not love him. So because there is no Ultimate proof, this means that there is nothing that totally disproves God, and that there is nothing that totally proves God, which means that the question of Gods existence is left up to us to decide.

Okay...you have heard of the boogeyman right? He is talked about and has many things attributed to him...like things going bump in the night. BUT, and this is the important part, he isn't really real. God is like that.

I think it really has to do with how no one can explain how any deity exists. Thus, the belief in a deity has no proof or even much evidence. Therefore, people do not believe in that a deity exists.

Explain how he isn't really real

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "explain ... exactly how God Does not exist". It's as simple as that. There are no deities. There's no superhuman sky-daddy looking after us. There's not a jackal-man waiting to weigh your heart after you die and Zeus does not strike the earth with his thunderbolts and Loki doesn't lie under the earth, wrapped in chains causing earthquakes. Since I'm assuming you're referring to the Christian god, think of it this way: The Christian God doesn't exist in the same way that every other god in every other religion doesn't exist for a Christian. Those gods are myths and fantasies for Christians. Atheists just add one more name to the list.

A bit of the 'ole common sense wouldnt go amiss here. I've told more believable bedtime stories to 3 year old children.

Yeah this is something that just comes down to what do you believe? Everyone has their reasons, or something they read, or experiences..etc etc. I think for some people it just clicks for them. I am not an atheist but I have friends that are, some that are agnostic and some that are devoted church goers. I am frankly glad that not everyone believes in one thing. It makes for great conversations. Good luck with this one I am going to check back in cause this will be intresting to see people get heated which you know someone always does.

religion is based around the teachings of the bible, if you read it without being religiously sided it is about as believable as starwars. then there are things like if god created everything and is almighty then why doesnt he stop bad things from happening to good people. if god is all forgiving then why worry about being good, you can just apologize for all the bad stuff you did when you get to the pearly gates. there are too many plausable theories and evidence about the creation of the universe without resorting to the idea of a divine creator. then there is all the bad that religion (a supposedly peacefull way of life) has caused in the world. i could go on all night but i wont. and dont feel a need to describe how god doesnt exist because i have yet to be given evidence that he does exist, i guess its like this, i dont believe in ghosts because there have been ghost stories for hundreds of years but never any real evidence, if ghosts were real dont you thin by know someone would have gotten some form of absolute proof of their existence. the idea of gods have been around for even longer than ghost stories (if you believe the good book hes been around since the creation of the universe, how many millions of years is that) and still no hard evidence or proof. i have no evidence that he doesnt exist but how can you look for for evidence to prove a lack of existence.

Personally, with something as important as religion and stuff like the soul and afterlife I better be damn sure I'm making the right decision. So with god, that's impossible for me, there are too many denominations and arguments and lack of proof and contradictions and debates and interpretations to lead me to believe that any of them is correct. Therefore, I choose to live my life as I think it is beneficial to myself and those around me and society and the world as a whole. If it turns out there IS a god, and he has a problem with that, I honestly don't think I would have worshiped him anyways. I choose to believe that there is no omnipotent deity of goodness that would turn a blind eye and not set the record straight what with war and hatred occurring in his name. Armand Salacrou more eloquently sums up my feelings on the issue... "The existence of a world without God seems to me less absurd than the presence of a God, existing in all his perfection, creating an imperfect man in order to make him run the risk of Hell."

They ask you to explain how he does. Its like having someone explain what salt taste like to someone who never had salt before. Good luck with an answer to this or the reverse question.

I cannot prove the non-existence of God any more than Zeus, Thor or Father Christmas. Neither can I prove any of these exist. It is all about personal choice. As an atheist I don't believe in god. I do not believe god does not exist as that would be another unprovable position. I am merely unconvinced by the arguments for god. I don't see god(s) as necessary for example but that is my opinion. Since it can't be proved either way it is entirely up to the individual whether they believe in god or not.

If one believes in God, so be it. What difference should it make what others believe? If we seek to believe and need affirmation, yes, seek the counsel of many. Many of us are self assured by hearing others who agree with our thoughts. God is an elusive concept. Many assign the idea to myth and fairy tale. So what? I catagorize much of modern physics as fantasy. What do I know? I have my opinions. If you believe its okay to jump off high buildings without a parachute, that's okay too. Your kind won't be much of a problem except for the clean up. Live your beliefs so I don't have to wonder what your up to. Yak, yak, yak. Thanks for the opportunity to use up some words. I have many.

I will admit right from the start that I am a Christian. We know there is a God because of our surroundings. When we look around at nature and you think about it, you have to realize that it couldn't have been by chance that it wasn't created with a bang or evolved from an ooze or something weird like that. Life is too complicated. So we can't help but look around and say there is no God.

The short answer is: we don't have to -- the person making the positive claim bears the burden of proof. Otherwise, a person could piss away his whole life disproving claim after ridiculous, spurious claim -- be it Joe Hovah, or alien abductions, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or Bertrand Russell's Celestial Teapot.

What follows is blatant plagiarism from Richard Dawkins: There may or may not be a teapot orbiting the Sun near Pluto. We can't prove there isn't one unless we scour every cubic meter of space in that vicinity looking for it. But there is no evidence that such a teapot exists. The same logic applies to God.

I'm not an atheists, but I was interested in wondering if you can explain how god does exist?

  No one can prove or disprove the existence of God! The belief or disbelief in God is based upon the individual's experiences and knowledge acquisition that either allows for or against a belief in God. The fact that other fables -- Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, etc. -- may be false does not prove that God is false. Neither does the "perception" that there had to be something before "The Big Bang" prove that there is a God. In reality, life can be lived believing in God or in disbelieving and still end up being fruitful, meaningful and positive.     From my chosen path i stray, Yet my God ne'er turns away; For i have learned -- and understand, That where God is -- is where i am!  

No, YOU explain to me why the pink invisible elephant that I believe in doesn't exist. Go ahead explain to me why the pink floating invisible elephant can't possibly exist!

The lack of evidence. The only source of evidence Christians have is the Bible which is flawed and highly controversial. I used to be a believer, being brought up in a religious family, however I realised that what I was told in church and by my parents and grandparents was just wrong for what I feel like. Even if you had some undoubtedly perfect evidence that proved of God's existence I still wouldn't worship him. I will not love someone who has made my family hate me.

Disease. War. Decent, beautiful people dying for no apparent reason. POVERTY! Need I say more?

it was the lack of any evedence for the existence of god that proved to me that he/she/it does'nt exist.

I'm not. Science has rather strict standards for what gets to called a theory (as opposed to a hypothesis or conjecture), a law, evidence or proof. I was merely poiniting out that you are factually incorrect in stating that your list cannot be tested.

y did you ask this question? nearly every answer there has been you have argued there reasons, why ask for reasons to get aggressive over them? theres no point trying to tell someone what they believe or dont believe is is right, noone knows and probably never will i do not believe in god, because not 1 single person in my huge family does, i once asked my mum who god was and the response was a simple, he does not exsist and i have not know any different, the only 'evidence' i have is the fact i have no evidence my whole family believe god satan, heaven, hell, jesus. adam and eve are not real, some might even say its people made up to scare children into behaving and doing well in school as the statement "if you do that you will not go to heaven" is used commonly in religious families. i know highlander you will not like my answer but its what i think, and nothing you say to me or anyone else who believes god is not real can change that fact!

It's not about evidence or lack of. It's a belief system. I don't believe in any theory that subscribes to the existence of a 'higher being' or supernatural entity.

If there was a god then wheres the peace

I was convinced because there is NO evidence whatsoever that points towards a God. It was a lack of evidence that convinced me.

Hello Highlander. It is good to see your avatar! I am an agnostic, but my beliefs, or lack of them, does not come from proof of non-existance. It comes from evidence lacking for existance, and my own observations of people, life and how "The Written Word" has been consistantly proven wrong. I have been unable to find any proof, or even a good arguement, for the existance of God. Having said all that, I do believe there is much more to all of this than what we can see or prove. So I find myself harboring a flickering belief in a power that is beyond our tiny ability to percieve. But I have absolutely no belief in religion. I find it to be a terrible excuse for judgements, greed, social climbing, war, and most ugliness committed by mankind.

My five senses?! ;-)

I am not an atheist. I am a skeptic. I think the questioner should have used supreme being instead of the word God...because the definition of an athiest is: a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings. [Origin: 1565–75; < Gk áthe(os) godless + -ist] Using the God word only indicates the questioner's reference point is not inline with what atheists really believe.

well the lack of any action on his part is quite evident. Reading the bible also was my evidence.

its the lack of evidence there is one. this question is like being asked to prove there is not a tiny tea cup swirling around in space.also god isnt an answer because it only opens more questions to how he came about and why is he so vein to create things and then make them have to love him or else he'll throw you in hell for eternity. if i die and there is a god and he says why did you not believe in me. i'll say because a book written by people thousands of years ago isnt prove of you. it is classed as mere heresay

No offence but I didn't even read that. No point for me to read it.

Everything summarized in the book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins.

You mean the blatant lack of it.

look, if god 'did' exist its far more likely that 'he' is a giant scientist