What are we going to start debating whether god exists in this thread now? I'm flagging this.
Where do atheists come from?
11–16 of 16 posts
Re: Where do atheists come from?
#12They're born that way. Then they have to be taught to not be atheist.
Following that train thought how do you explain that all (most?) human civilizations have invented (discovered?) gods?
Same way kids discover monsters - they need an explanation for the shadow / noise / ... That's especially true for the civilisations before writing, education, ... Gods in those times were mostly equivalent to things in nature - gods of thunder, sun, nature, etc.
Re: Where do atheists come from?
#13They're born that way. Then they have to be taught to not be atheist.
Following that train thought how do you explain that all (most?) human civilizations have invented (discovered?) gods?
When I was young, food came to me because my parents brought it. I didn't understand where most things came from, but I could ask my dad, and he would bring them to me.
When I became a parent, I wondered who brought the other things I needed that I needed. When I was cold, who brought me warmth? When I was thirsty, who brought the rain?
Reapplying the model from my youth makes sense, right?
We do the same thing today. When we are young, we are taught that if we are good, Santa Claus will reward us in the short term. If we are good, Jesus will reward us in the long term.
At some point, people realize Santa Claus was a lie.
Re: Where do atheists come from?
#14What are we going to start debating whether god exists in this thread now? I'm flagging this.
Ditto. Relevant to my interests, but not what I want to see on HN.
Re: Where do atheists come from?
#15"48.9 per cent claimed not to believe in any god, with 49.6 per cent claiming no religious affiliation[....]an astonishing 57.3 per cent of the Oxford sample did [consider themselves as "athiest" or "agnostic"]." How does that make sense? Doesn't that mean there are quite a few who both consider themselves "athiest" or "agnostic" yet still do believe in (at least one) god? I'm confused.
Among atheists the terms "gnostic atheist" and "agnostic atheist" are thrown around a lot. It's the different between a positive assertion and a lack of assertion, i.e. - "I believe there is no god" vs. "I don't believe in god."
(A)gnosticism has more to do with certainty than belief - someone who is gnostic is sure, someone who is agnostic is not sure. There are plenty of agnostic theists, as many religious people don't claim to be sure about the existence of god, but choose to believe or think it probable.
Re: Where do atheists come from?
#16They're born that way. Then they have to be taught to not be atheist.
I disagree. Animals in general are naturally inclined towards superstitious thought. I recall experiments with rats and pigeons where they dispensed food at regular intervals. The animals ended up developing an elaborate ritual they repeated before each presentation of food, a sort of rain dance [1].
[1]: http://www.jstor.org/pss/4533467 (Hank Davis was my professor for intro psych)