I KNOW God does not exist

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Some people seem to have a problem with the fact that as an Atheist I KNOW God does not exist. How do I know? I won't bore you with the many threads of discussion and thought that lead to that conclusion, but perhaps the strongest is that if some sort of intelligent being/force created the Universe and was everywhere all the time and knew everything past and present etc etc then he/it would be so beyond my understanding that his presence would be meaningless to me. So every so called man made God I have ever been presented with is understandable to me and in that alone means he cannot be real, so I KNOW God does not exist in the same way that I KNOW the moon is not made of green cheese. No Doubts, only agnostics have doubts.

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illogical

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@bob600,

So if you don't understand something, it cannot exist, and yet the mere fact that something which you don't understand can be identified, means there is at least a chance that it exists.

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Not believing there is a god or not is only interesting to those of us that need to "believe " My wife and I have many friends most of whom are "Christians" but hardly ever go to church and I suppose they believe there is a God, seems it's quite in material to them as it is to me.... Have young couples dragging their children around wanting to talk to me about their bible but have always told them it's nice to meet them but I have more important things to do and they just move on... My attitude is the same to any sales person that comes to the door.

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@bob600,

As a fellow atheist I would suggest you consider the millions of words written on the subject of "knowing" (epistemology) and "existence" (ontology).
When you've finished with those, try thinking about the ontological status of that "self" who claims to "know". Wink

The problem is that theists also claim to "know" !

BTW Logic doesn't come into it. The position is visceral.

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@bob600,

bob600 wrote:

How do I know? [...] perhaps the strongest is that if some sort of intelligent being/force created the Universe and was everywhere all the time and knew everything past and present etc etc then he/it would be so beyond my understanding that his presence would be meaningless to me.

Not understanding something is not usually considered strong evidence of knowing something.

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@bob600,

bob600 wrote:

Some people seem to have a problem with the fact that as an Atheist I KNOW God does not exist. How do I know? I won't bore you with the many threads of discussion and thought that lead to that conclusion, but perhaps the strongest is that if some sort of intelligent being/force created the Universe and was everywhere all the time and knew everything past and present etc etc then he/it would be so beyond my understanding that his presence would be meaningless to me. So every so called man made God I have ever been presented with is understandable to me and in that alone means he cannot be real, so I KNOW God does not exist in the same way that I KNOW the moon is not made of green cheese. No Doubts, only agnostics have doubts.

If you were really honest about it you'd never say you know God does not exist. You can't prove he doesn't exist anymore than I can prove he does. I believe he does but I have never had a face to face with him to say I KNOW.

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@bob600,

bob600 wrote:

I KNOW God does not exist.

PROVE.

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@spidergal,

I repeat

Quote:

Logic doesn't come into it. The position is visceral.

Arguments about "proof" and "evidence" are futile. All that matters is whether the "God concept" is functional from psychological and sociological points of view.

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@fresco,

Maybe not for you or me, but the concept works for a lot of people.

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@spidergal,

That the problem ! It works for many at the psychological level, but it is often dysfunctional at the macro-social level. The import of my statement "I am an atheist" is an an expression of recognition of this social dysfuntion irrespective of any other "reasoning" I may care to cite.

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@fresco,

fresco wrote:

That the problem ! It works for many at the psychological level, but it is often dysfunctional at the macro-social level. The import of my statement "I am an atheist" is an an expression of recognition of this social dysfuntion irrespective of any other "reasoning" I may care to cite.

What makes you think it's not atheists that have a social dysfunction? Why does it have to be believers that have this social dysfunction?

I'm not saying atheists have a social dysfunction. What I am saying is who decides it's a social dysfunction anyway? I will never understand people that are atheists but always involve themselves in discussions about God.

It doesn't make any sense to me but I would never deny your rights to have those discussions.

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@Arella Mae,

...because
Irrespective of interminable "religious wars",
when I'm inconvenienced by security queues at airports,
or
when I watch army chaplains blessing the troops,
or
when I think of forced child circumcision,
or
when I realize that people are dying of aids because the church banned condoms
....etc,etc.....the word "believers" seems to spring to mind !

And BTW "believers" can be equally applied to demi-gods such as atheistic dictators as well as mythical celestial constructions.

In short, "atheists" are inconvenienced, worried , and upset by "believers",
hence their vocal participation.

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@fresco,

Why you poor widdle ting! How awful that anyone would dare inconvenience you because they believe something you don't. Sorry, but you put yourself in the position of clashing with believers with your post so I have zero sympathy for you. You put yourself in the position so acting like it's shoved down your throat seems pretty inane, doesn't it?

Same old thing, your ilk wants its way no matter how you get it but yet believers are called intolerant. There are some atheists on this thread that I have great respect for because we agree on one thing - we agree we both have the right to our beliefs and neither of us has the right to condemn the other for theirs.

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@fresco,

No, that's not true about some of the societies here in India. It works for them not only at the micro level, but also macro. Religion is a social affair in the country, and is credited with knitting families together. And honestly, it does.

I'm an atheist myself, and I agree with you on the repercussions and consequences of radical piousness, but I think it is essential for us to know that religion does work for many.

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@Arella Mae,

Wake up !
Nobody has respect for "irrational" beliefs! They have respect for individual persons who might have those beliefs provided such persons do not act in a socially dysfunctional group which believes that it has the "authority" to interfere the lives of non-believers. Unfortunately, a bi-product of theistic belief tends to be the formation and self perpetuation of. such groups.

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@fresco,

fresco wrote:

Wake up !
Nobody has respect for "irrational" beliefs! They have respect for individual persons who might have those beliefs provided such persons do not act in a socially dysfunctional group which believes that it has the "authority" to interfere the lives of non-believers. Unfortunately, a bi-product of theistic belief tends to be the formation and self perpetuation of. such groups.

Again, and just who is it that decides that believers are socially dysfunctional? Um, let me guess...........um, um, Oh I know! People that don't believe the same way! Imagine that!

Personally, I don't care what you believe in. It's your business. I'm sure you are informed enough on what is out there and you have made your choices. They are your choices and I'm not going to call you socially dysfunctional because they are not the choices I would make. I am not going to consider you "less than" because you believe differently than I do.

What about people of different ethnic backgrounds? What about people with different colored skin? What about kids with autism? What about those with downs syndrome? What about those missing limbs? What about.................where does it stop? Are they socially dysfunctional too? And just what is socially dysfunctional anyway? I have a great paying job with a beautiful office. I have a wonderful husband, friends, and family that I adore. I have animals that I love and care for. I love to ride horses and spend time with family and friends.

Could you kindly point out in all of that what is so "socially dysfunctional"? I am sorry Fresco, but to me, it just sounds like you are a bully that doesn't like anything different than you or your way of thinking.

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@Finn dAbuzz,

That's a strange take on what I am saying. I was talking about God in particular not "something" in general, and I said if I understand the concept of a given God then that God cannot exist as any God would be beyond human understanding. How does that equate to "if you don't understand something, it cannot exist,"

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@fresco,

Of course theists also know, to have doubts would make them agnostics, so to be a theist means you must KNOW. I don't have time for your suggested reading, busy, busy, busy. I just know what I know. Let me put it this way if I say I KNOW the moon is not made of green cheese would you tell me I was wrong, or even that there was a slight possibility that it was? If a friend comes in and says "its raining outside" when you thought the sun was shining you might say "I don't believe its raining" because your prepared to be wrong if you venture out. I don't believe in God is the same "just in case" statement.

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@Thomas,

Tell that to all the great thinkers scientists and inventors, its what they did not understand drove them to find out more. The greatest 2 words are "that's strange"

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I KNOW God does not exist

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