What is Atheism?
© Paulo Bittencourt
For obvious reasons, believers in God have misconceptions about Atheism, more or less like biblical fundamentalists about Evolution, when they ask: “If humans came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?”. Unfortunately, also some people who consider themselves atheists never stop to reflect and are mistaken about what exactly Atheism is.
The two misconceptions about Atheism:
- “Atheism is a religion too.” [Say religious people]
- “Atheism is the denial of the existence of God.” [Say religious people and some atheists]
Religion is belief in the supernatural: gods, angels, demons, spirits, Heaven, Hell, reincarnation, miracles, etc. About these things religions have doctrines, compiled in “holy” books, which even must not be doubted. The Bible and the Koran, for example, teach that those who doubt what is written in these books must be killed. In the majority of countries, ridiculing religions ends in jail. Furthermore, religions dictate what is right and what is wrong and what must and what must not be done and demand the practice of rituals.
Atheism is disbelief in gods. Disbelief — and nothing else. (Indeed, atheists disbelieve in only one god more than religious people.) Believing, for example, in Santa Claus has a content: how he is, where he lives, what he does and what he wants. The opposite, that is, not believing in Santa Claus, has no content. If it has no content, it doesn’t teach anything. In the same way, disbelieving in God doesn’t demand and doesn’t command to do anything, neither good nor bad. Therefore, there is no way for Atheism to be a religion.
- Religions: Have a content, that is, admonitions, code of conduct, commandments, doctrines, dogmas, guidelines, instructions, laws, norms, obligations, pieces of advice, precepts, principles, promises, punishments, regulations, rules, “sacred” books, teachings, threats, warnings and dictate how their followers must think and act and what they must fight against.
- Atheism: Has no content. It’s just disbelief (in gods). Therefore, it does not command anything to be done, neither good nor bad.
Atheism is not to say “God doesn’t exist”, but rather “There is no evidence that God exists”. Philosophically, it’s wrong to deny the existence of supernatural beings. Although highly improbable, it’s not impossible that fairies and elves exist. In the same way, the existence of God is not impossible. However — due to lack of evidence —, there are no good reasons to believe in God.
- “I’m an Atheist because God doesn’t exist.” [Wrong]
- “I’m an Atheist because there are no good reasons to believe that God exists.” [Right]
Since believing in things of which one has no evidence is nonsense, so is in God.
So, yes, Atheism is Agnosticism. It’s just a greater and more courageous doubt than that of the agnostics.
Moreover, to say “I don’t believe in any gods” is not a claim. Hence, there is nothing to prove. Those who say “I believe in God” are the ones who are making a claim: they are claiming that God exists. Therefore, they are the ones who have to prove something: the existence of God. Not only that! After proving that God exists, they have to prove also that God is the god of their religion.
Apropos of that, if, as Jews, Christians and Muslims say, it’s necessary to have faith not to believe in God — reason why disbelieving in God supposedly is a religion —, then it’s necessary to have faith also not to believe in, for example, Zeus. Jehovah, the god of the Bible, and Allah, the god of the Koran, are only two gods among the thousands of gods of the most varied religions. Just as Jews, Christians and Muslims don’t see any reasons to believe in the gods of other religions (something over which they, by the way, don’t lose even a second of sleep), atheists don’t see any reasons to believe in the gods of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions.
The Bible, for example, says that “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists” (Hebrews 11:6). Well, if to believe in God it’s necessary to have faith, faith itself is evidence that God doesn’t exist. If God existed, there would be no need to have faith, because no one would doubt his existence.
“Atheism is a natural result of intellectual honesty.”(Wasting Time on God)
Just One More Little Thing
If God exists, why, under penalty of being tortured by him in a lake of fire and brimstone, is it mandatory to flatter him? If free will, that is, freedom of choice, exists, it too is a divine creation. If the Creator exists, it was he who created in us the liking and the disliking for things and people. Punishment is only fair if it’s the consequence of evil acts. Well, disliking certain people, because of the way they act, is not an evil act. In consequence, the freedom to dislike God must, for him, be perfectly natural. If he exists, God is self-sufficient enough not only not to demand flattery (since it’s narcissism and childishness) but also magnanimous enough not to even think about punishing those who, because of God’s way of being and acting, don’t want to have anything to do with him, or even despise him. Assuming that God exists and is the god of the Bible or of the Koran, I don’t want to have anything to do with him. If God is and acts the way these books say, I despise him. His torturing me in a lake of fire and brimstone because I don’t like him would be proof that God deserves to be despised.
Summary
- Common Misconceptions About Atheism: That it’s a religion and that it’s the active denial that God exists.
- Atheism Has No Content: Just as not believing in Santa Claus carries no doctrine, beliefs or rules, Atheism is purely the absence of belief in gods. It commands nothing, teaches nothing and dictates no behavior.
- Atheism ≠ “God doesn’t exist”: The correct atheist position is not a hard denial, but rather “There is no sufficient evidence to believe that God exists”. It’s an evidence-based stance, not a metaphysical claim.
- Religious People Are Atheists Too: Jews, Christians and Muslims see no reason to believe in thousands of other gods. Atheists apply the same skepticism consistently and simply go one god further.
- Burden of Proof: Believers in God claim that God exists, but never prove his existence.
- Faith is Self-Defeating: The Bible itself admits that believing in God requires faith, which proves the absence of evidence for the existence of God. If God existed, his existence would be self-evident and faith would not be necessary.
- Atheism is Intellectual Honesty: Believing in things without evidence is irrational. Atheism is the natural outcome of applying consistent critical thinking.
- The God of the Bible and of the Koran is Morally Unworthy of Worship: A self-sufficient, magnanimous god would not demand flattery or punish disbelief. A god who tortured people for not adoring him would deserve to be detested.
What do you think?
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