“Why are atheists so interested in God?”

[Brickjectivity]

I think this needs to be better explained when we mention "new species", because all we are really talking about is variety within one species or taxonomy of creatures. Darwin's finches were all still finches as were the tortoises and the iguanas...they had not evolved into different taxonomies even though they may have been reproductively isolated from their mainland cousins.

There is great difficulty in separating many species because they are for the most part similar to other slightly different species, but small changes between similar species accumulate to the point that you cannot say that two things are in one species. A good example are the big cats. Is a lion the same as a Ghost Cat? They have many similarities but also extreme differences. What about a house cat? It has completely different abilities and behaviors. Some big cats have the ability to climb down backwards, and some do not. Some have features that other lack, such as extra hearing organs or changes in coat or claws. Lions are the only cats which live in prides and share jobs. All other cats are very solitary, somewhat like bears. Is a lion a cat or not? Its is similar but not similar enough. It can mate with a tiger but is not one. The variations between the cats form a spectrum in which some of the species are very obviously different while being obviously related to intermediate species. What about rats? Rats are the same way. What about fish? Insects? Yes they are all like that. Its more than variety within species but species becoming more species.

Atheists want to rid the world of all notions of an Intelligent Creator but we can only speculate as to why? Why do they constantly need to reinforce their beliefs?

Some atheists do not all want to rid the world of notions of an intelligent creator.

They seem hell bent on destroying faith before it has a chance to grow....getting these notions into the minds of vulnerable school children so that by the time they leave High School and venture into college or university, there are no questions being asked. Its all taken as done and dusted.....there can't possibly be a Creator!

Evolution is a challenging idea which students naturally question. Its not a tool for destroying faith but the result of faithful discipline and study of the natural world. It is also not an atheist theory.

Add the likes of Dawkins and Coyne and you are then presented with a finished product.....people who don't question the validity of something that requires no proof...and yet this is the very thing they rail over with those who have belief in an Intelligent Designer. Its a clever bit of sleight of hand, I reckon. Accuse the other fellow of what you are doing yourself?

Richard Dawkins is one person. Coyne is another. That makes two. They are angry about whatever, but they are not the foundation of evolutionary theory nor are they able to make a dent in religion, nor have they done so despite their flailing.

 

[Deeje]

What am I supposed to do what this, Deejee?

If you can't see what I see, then what is the point in explaining? Do you think the scientific jargon is going to make the Emperor's new clothes any more visible than they already are? I see him strutting around thinking that he is wearing a grand garment that is professionally designed and crafted.....and it is, but not in the way he thinks. What if his elaborate garment is woven from invisible thread?

We are all free to believe whatever we choose.....but if there is a Creator who is being disparaged discounted and insulted by his own creation, then that should give people pause to investigate what they believe, to see what 'actual evidence' there is to support macro-evolution. If it's all based on suggestion, inference and supposition, then we have to ask if this is one of the greatest cons in history? If so who orchestrated it?

 

[Samantha Rinne]

Because real atheists simply don't believe in God. End of story.

"Atheists" are actually anti-theists, at least the ones we're discussing. That is to say they actually do believe in God but they hate God to such an extent they won't even admit to themselves how much they do care. They are in classical denial, rather than simply being agnostic or atheist.

I once read that Hell is not actually fire but a sort of passion that can't be consumed. Folks, this is exactly what being an anti-theist is like. They can't bring themselves to love a God who as they see allows evil (usually they talk about big evil, but privately think of small personal evil, like allowing their mom to die of cancer), but they also can't stop talking about this God.

I'll probably get warned for hate speech (why I don't do forums much anymore), but this is not my intention at all. For you see, I don't hate this sort of person. I understand them completely. I've known frustration with a God that won't always give us what we want. I've been there. And I've seen this same behavior in relationships. You tell yourself you're over this person, you go on a date with a new one, then start talking the whole date about the person. That's someone still in love. And that's the point.

I'm a pantheist (or, more precisely, a panentheist, since most of the former don't believe in a distinct God but rather the universe). To me, God is my therapist, my mother, my best friend, my lover. To say God doesn't exist, and then to talk on and on about God, when you could have just said "I don't feel like God exists for me" feels too much like complaining about your dentist, while at the same time thinking about the next appointment .

 

[Ron Gaul]

Because real atheists simply don't believe in God. End of story.

"Atheists" are actually anti-theists, at least the ones we're discussing. That is to say they actually do believe in God but they hate God to such an extent they won't even admit to themselves how much they do care. They are in classical denial, rather than simply being agnostic or atheist.

I once read that Hell is not actually fire but a sort of passion that can't be consumed. Folks, this is exactly what being an anti-theist is like. They can't bring themselves to love a God who as they see allows evil (usually they talk about big evil, but privately think of small personal evil, like allowing their mom to die of cancer), but they also can't stop talking about this God.

I'll probably get warned for hate speech (why I don't do forums much anymore), but this is not my intention at all. For you see, I don't hate this sort of person. I understand them completely. I've known frustration with a God that won't always give us what we want. I've been there. And I've seen this same behavior in relationships. You tell yourself you're over this person, you go on a date with a new one, then start talking the whole date about the person. That's someone still in love. And that's the point.

I'm a pantheist (or, more precisely, a panentheist, since most of the former don't believe in a distinct God but rather the universe). To me, God is my therapist, my mother, my best friend, my lover. To say God doesn't exist, and then to talk on and on about God, when you could have just said "I don't feel like God exists for me" feels too much like complaining about your dentist, while at the same time thinking about the next appointment .

You’re wrong. Studying theology, and why people believe what they believe provides fascinating insight into hunanity.

 

[Samantha Rinne]

Afraid not.

Lemme provide a parallel. My dad genuinely does not care abour chicken. He eats pot pie, and occasionally fried chicken, yet doesn't seek either out, given an alternative. He doesn't hate chicken, it's just not his thing. He would be indifferent, like a real atheist, who simply doesn't care about God.

Would it be reasonable to expect him to research chicken recipes? No. He would have no interest. Now, suppose I had reason to avoid something. Again let's use food. Say I have wheat allergy/celiac disease. I would read everything I could to stay away from that thing, including ingredients lists. I have a real reason to avoid, so I do everything to keep it away.

This is exactly how an anti-theist thinks. God ruined some aspect of my life, so I will research what I can to shoo away the door knockers trying to give copies of a book. Tgey wouldn't do this if it were just a lack of belief. They do it because something went wrong in their faith.

 

[Trailblazer]

Hello. Yes, that is why someone trying to use science to 'prove' that there is no creative intelligence behind our universe is silly (not that all atheists do that, though that was the mentality I had when I was an atheist). So it is not science that is the problem (I have a PhD in astronomy!) but those that try to use it beyond what is reasonable. Many people - myself included - were led to God through science by the way. Of course I can't prove God exists, just that it makes that hypothesis the most robust one, IMHO.

I am wondering... how were you led to God through science?

Unfortunately I am not scientifically inclined but I find astronomy the most fascinating of all science subjects...
When I was a teenager I used to love to go to the planetarium and now as a Baha'i I imagine traveling throgh the spiritual world and experiencing the worlds of God after I cross over to the spiritual realm.

“O My servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes. You are destined by Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of their benefits, to share in their joys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining grace. To each and every one of them you will, no doubt, attain.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 329
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Of course I have no idea what Baha'u'llah means by "worlds." Only God knows that but someday maybe I will know more about them.

“As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.’” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 151-152​