Valid Reasons for Atheism?

[goodlife]

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Whether they have observed the hypocrisy of religion or not, many atheists simply cannot reconcile belief in God with the suffering in the world. some one said: “It was easier for me to think of a world without a creator than of a creator loaded with all the contradictions of the world.”

Do the world’s injustices—including those instigated by hypocritical religionists—prove that there is no God? Consider: If a knife is used to threaten, injure, or even murder an innocent person, does this prove that the knife had no designer? Does it not rather show that the object was put to a wrong use? Likewise, much of human grief gives evidence that humans are misusing their God-given abilities as well as the earth itself.

Some, however, feel that it is illogical to believe in God, since we cannot see him. But what about air, sound waves, and odors? We cannot see any of these things, yet we know they exist. Our lungs, ears, and noses tell us so. Surely, we believe in what cannot be seen if we have evidence.

[naomi24]

Tell you what, Goodlife, you carry on trying to save your sycophantic soul, and leave the rest of us to live - and die - in peace! That has to be preferable to spending eternity with you and your buddies!

[mariner2]

There's not all that much difference between those that believe in god and the atheists anyway - there are supposed to be hundreds of gods - the believers believe in only one of them and reject all the rest, while the atheists reject them all. Only one god difference, and if the believers put forward the reasons why they reject all the other gods apart from their own, the atheists would say 'I reject yours for the same reason as you've just stated'

[naomi24]

^^ Echoes of Sam Harris. :o)

[vew573]

What took place that spoiled the fine start God gave our first parents in the Paradise of Eden? Why, instead of the peace and harmony of Paradise, have wickedness and suffering prevailed for thousands of years?

The reason is that Adam and Eve misused their free will. They lost sight of the fact that they were not created to prosper apart from God and his laws. They decided to become independent of God, thinking that this would improve their lives. So they stepped outside the God-ordained limits of free will.—Genesis, chapter 3.

Why did God not just destroy Adam and Eve and start over with another human pair? Because his universal sovereignty, that is, his inalienable right to rule, had been challenged.

The question was: Who has the right to rule, and whose rule is right? His being almighty and the Creator of all creatures gives God the right to rule over them. Since he is all-wise, his rule is best for all creatures. But God’s rule had now been challenged. Also, was there something wrong with his creation—man? We will later examine how the question of human integrity is involved.

By man’s becoming independent of God, another question was implied: Could humans do better if not ruled by God? The Creator certainly knew the answer, but a sure way for humans to find out was to allow them the total freedom they wanted. They chose that course of their own free will, so God permitted it.

By allowing humans enough time to experiment with total freedom, God would establish for all time whether humans are better off under God’s rule or on their own. And the time permitted would have to be long enough to allow humans to come to what they considered the peak of their political, industrial, scientific, and medical achievements.

Therefore, God has allowed man a free rein clear down to our day to show beyond any doubt whether human rule independent of him can succeed. Thus man has been able to choose between kindness and cruelty, between love and hate, between righteousness and unrighteousness. But he has also been confronted with the consequences of his choice: goodness and peace or wickedness and suffering.

[humbersloop]

My goodness, it was a busy night round at your keyboard Vew.