Why I don't believe in god

Zaehet Strife said:

All thinking men are atheists. Earnest Hemingway

Everyone is born atheist. Religion is learned. As a learned behavior, peoples' religion
can be accurately predicted by the religion of their parents and the place where they
live. Therefore it is no surprise that 77% of Americans are Christian, 97% of Saudis are
Muslim, 95% of Thais are Buddhist, 80% of Indians are Hindu and 85% of Swedes
have no religion.

Religionists do not want to admit that everyone is born atheist. The statement infuriates
them. Religionists want to deny the facts. They call this faith--persisting in believing
something despite contrary facts. They act as if faith is a good thing. But it does not
change the fact that everyone is born atheist, religion is learned. Perhaps religionists
fear that if they admit religion is learned, people will realize that it can be unlearned.

Atheists have no belief in god. Some atheists never learned religion. Others have
unlearned religion. Literally, atheism means "without deities." In this book, I use it
slightly more broadly to mean "without religion."

Religion is generally characterized by 1.) believing in a supernatural god or gods, 2.)
believing in life after death; and, 3.) following a "holy" book or "scripture" that is
allegedly attributable to their god or gods.

Religion is man-made. Religion is not a divinely inspired truth, it is a product of family
and society. If you were born in Saudi Arabia, you would most likely be Muslim. If you
were born in Thailand, you would most likely be Buddhist. There is no one great
religious truth. Today, there are many religions and over the history of man, there have
been many more. If you follow a religion it is almost always the result of the time, place
and family into which you were born.

Each religion claims to know the one true path. But they cannot all be right. To accept
one religion means denying the others. For example, a Christian finds the religious
assertions of a Muslim silly or even dangerous. The Christian has no belief in the
Muslim god. The Christian has no belief in the Muslim scriptures. The Christian is an
atheist when it comes to Islam. Each religious person is effectively an atheist in the
remainder of the world's religions. This book asks the religious person, why not add
one more?

-Copy

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dashcues said:

Hi Padawanbater2
Wow! Hemingway said all that?Could never stay awake to War and Peace,but loved his autobiography.A Moveable Feast.Maybe that's where that quote came from.Been a while.Brain cells have been lost.lol

Anyhow,as for children being born atheist(without deities) would claim an absolute truth.Neither side should state that claim.It implies a knowledge that Hemingway(as bright as he was)would not of had access to, unless divinely inspired.lol.But I do get the jist of what he was implying.
Children are born without the knowledge of one or the other.Neither + nor -.Only =.Clean slates.But they are molded by tradition or culture,as Hemingway stated.Each child must endure the trials of life to gain the knowledge we all seek.None are born into that knowledge.
We don't know that if left alone to his/her own devices that a child could or could not fathom (a)God.
After all,in mankinds infancy,man has fathomed many gods.

As for Christianity.
I, as a Christian,hold the rights to define my own belief.Not someone who has formulated their own.
My belief?I believe in the wisdom of Jesus(man or myth).His moral teachings have spread the world over.Same could be said of Buddha,Mohammed,and countless others.I find wisdom in his words.Thus I take his name as the title to my belief.You could just as well call me a Buddhist.
So I hold no grudge against any other religion or belief.To each their own.

Hope that made sense

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dashcues said:

Maybe I should have typed -I,who am a christian,hold the rights to my belief?
Don't sound right,but i don't know.

What was meant was me stating 2 claims.

1.I am a Christian

2.I have the right to define my belief as i see fit

Not Hemingway,not the Christian community,and certainly not the internet

I am not a part of the orthodox christian community,but that does not mean I can't define my belief as Christianity.

I try to follow the teachings and morals of Jesus,Buddha,etc,etc.I choose the title to my own belief.

I believe in the wisdom of these great teachers among so many more.You could put a "ity" or "ism" to any of these teachers you like and would not be wrong.
I understand my definition may be unorthodox by everyone's standards,But I've never been much for conformity.

However,When someone quotes Hemingway's generalized view of Christianity,I must state that not everyone falls into that view.Myself included.

Sorry for any confusion.I'm from the deep south with a deep south accent.When I try to type smarter than I talk,confusion often follows.lol

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dashcues said:

Maybe I should have typed -I,who am a christian,hold the rights to my belief?
Don't sound right,but i don't know.

What was meant was me stating 2 claims.

1.I am a Christian

2.I have the right to define my belief as i see fit

Not Hemingway,not the Christian community,and certainly not the internet

I am not a part of the orthodox christian community,but that does not mean I can't define my belief as Christianity.

I try to follow the teachings and morals of Jesus,Buddha,etc,etc.I choose the title to my own belief.

I believe in the wisdom of these great teachers among so many more.You could put a "ity" or "ism" to any of these teachers you like and would not be wrong.
I understand my definition may be unorthodox by everyone's standards,But I've never been much for conformity.

However,When someone quotes Hemingway's generalized view of Christianity,I must state that not everyone falls into that view.Myself included.

Sorry for any confusion.I'm from the deep south with a deep south accent.When I try to type smarter than I talk,confusion often follows.lol

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Heisenberg said:

I certainly include defining a belief to be under the umbrella of expressing a belief, which is to say I think it is your right. It's too bad that many Christians do not share this view. Perhaps it would be more accurate for you to call yourself 'Christ-like' rather than Christian.

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Padawanbater2 said:

Because I care about people, animals and the environment.

Because I'm unable to suspend reality in favor of blind faith.

Because I respect civil rights.

Because I believe in freedom.

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