The clergy believe that any power confided in me
will be exerted in opposition to their schemes.
And they believe rightly.
~ Thomas Jefferson

I have seldom met an intelligent person whose
views were not narrowed and distorted by religion.
~ James Buchanan

My earlier views on the unsoundness of the Christian
scheme of salvation have become clearer and stronger
with advancing years.
~ Abraham Lincoln

“Christianity is the most perverted system that ever
shone on man.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

“The Government of the United States of America is
not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”
“This would be the best of all possible worlds, if
there were no religion in it” ~ John Adams

“Lighthouses are more useful than churches.”
~ Benjamin Franklin

Just like true Catholics, Jews, etc. don’t NEED proof that God exists to believe. Faith is belief WITHOUT proof. Just because YOU refuse to believe anything until it is proven to you doesn’t mean everyone is that way.

“The ones spreading the lies are the ones who need to show proof.”

And who’s to say you’re not the liar? Until YOU can prove religious followers are lying, you have zero more proof than anyone else. Going by your logic, then, you are not truly an athiest, but an agnostic-you can’t possibly know and prove there is no life after death. Therefore, you cannot believe this claim until you can prove it.

And going on a real philosophical tangent, unicorns, Santa Claus, et al. DO exist. Regardless of the fact that they are not material beings, we nonetheless have concrete images of what they look like in all our minds, just as we do with horses, etc. Anyone who says the word “Unicorn” automatically has the image of what a unicorn looks like in their minds. Therefore, unicorns and Santa Claus do exist and always will insofar as the images of them exist in our minds.

It also depends of what you put behind these words, for example fairies as little flying girls wearing cute dresses and making boats fly are openly invented stories, for the purpose of entertainment. However the origin of fairies themselves, their looks and legend basically fall into the tradition to represent nature in a human form in art, poems etc. As spirits of forests or lakes or whatever, creating them, protecting them, loving them, they are an analogy of mother nature, the concept of nature personified as some kind of deity. So in the end it all goes back to the notion of a “bigger thing” with a purpose – nature or God(s).

So my answer is no I don’t hold the same stance on fairies and pixies as solid little things running in my garden, because their actual definition, what they are and come from, is a representation of deity. Believing in them flying around us is like being a creationist, it’s taking things too literally.

I agree with you Dahlia (except for Santa!), and I am not a believer, but I just don’t think we can logically be definitive. How long did we have to wait for the proof that the Earth was not flat? As long as your hypothesis hasn’t been challenged it can be considered true, but it doesn’t mean it actually is. That’s why I’m incomfortable with the “until you have proof of God, you are wrong”. Either it’s wrong or it’s right, if we say “until” it does mean there is the possibility that it’s right. This is enough for me to think that maybe they are right and the answer will come eventually even if it’s only when I die.
I wouldn’t have said this a few years ago, it’s actually studying science and learning scientific logical reasoning that led me to this.

And the fact that there are so many religions is more of an argument for God imo, because they all agree on the presence of a bigger something, whether its divided or just one. They gave them different names because as you said men invented religions but still, each in their own little part of the world, they came up with the same thing. Now why they fight about it and say theirs is the only one is beyond me, but still.

YOU happen to have been born into a monotheist christian family, but what if you weren’t?
Who are YOU to say that your God exists when there are plenty of religions with plenty of Gods out there?

If somebody told you that they believe in Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis and other greek gods, you would call them crazy. Nowadays those gods are considered mythological, but what proof do you have that your “God” isn’t just a myth too?

The fact is that each religion was invented by PEOPLE. With SO many religions out there, and so many different Gods, how can you say that you’re sure that your religion and your God are real?

The bottom line is that until you have proof of God, you are wrong. I’m not arrogant, I am logical and don’t believe in superstition and myths. I believe in Science and will not believe in something until I am showed concrete proof.

You say “but you don’t have proof that he doesn’t exist” – I don’t NEED proof. If your neighbor came to you and said he saw a unicorn but you don’t believe in unicorns, WHO is the one who needs to show proof? Him because he is the one making the claims, of course! There would never be any atheists saying God doesn’t exist if religion had never been invented and spread throughout the world. The ones spreading the lies are the ones who need to show proof.

to me the bible is a book of fairy tales. if other people want to believe it is true, fine that’s their choice. but to me, i respect it as much as i respect my book of brother’s grimm fairytales. my choice…