Common Misconceptions About Atheists
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Misconception #1: Atheists are in a state of rebellion against God. Deep down inside, they really believe that God exists.
It may very well be that some people are atheists for this reason; however, there are mountains of literature making logical, well reasoned arguments for the atheistic worldview. I have written a few myself, namely, my The God Hypothesis Examined series parts 1, 2 and 3 (links below). If someone is a true atheist, they are one because they are convinced that there are no compelling reasons to believe that a god exists. If it were because of a rebellious attitude towards religion, they wouldn't be an atheist, they would be a rebellious theist.
The God Hypothesis Examined series:
Part 1 http://hubpages.com/hub/Percy-Bysshe-Shelleys-Refutation-Of-Deism-Examined
Part 2 http://hubpages.com/hub/The-God-Hypothesis-Examined-Part-2
Part 3 http://hubpages.com/hub/The-God-Hypothesis-Examined-Part-3
Misconception #2: Atheists hate God.
If someone is an atheist, it makes no sense to say that they hate God. An atheist, by definition, does not believe in a god. You can't hate something that you don't believe exists. No one these days believes in the Greek gods, does this mean that everyone hates them? Obviously not. It is simply the case that no one finds any compelling reasons to believe in their existence.
Misconception #3: Atheists desire to live lives of debauchery which is why they reject God. For them, believing in God means that they would have to be accountable for their actions. To them, that would be unacceptable.
If someone is an atheist out of a desire to live a life free of accountability to a god they wouldn't really be an atheist, they would be a rebellious theist. An atheist is someone who finds no compelling reason to believe that a god exists.
Misconception #4: Atheists worship Satan.
Atheists don't believe in the existence of a god or in the supernatural. Satan is described in the Bible as a supernatural being, so, a person who worships Satan wouldn't be an atheist, they would be a Satanist.
Misconception #5: If atheists had been brought up properly educated about God, they would believe.
Actually, a large number of atheists were pious, churchgoing individuals at one time. Even distinguished members of the ministry have become atheists (Charles Templeton, Dan Barker). Presumably, they were well educated in theology. I myself was a believer at one time. I was educated in the basic tenets of Christianity from a very young age by my father who holds a degree in theology from a Christian college. I published a personal story about my experience of becoming an atheist entitled How I became An Atheist (link below).
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-I-Became-An-Atheist
Misconception #6: Atheists can't prove that a god doesn't exist.
Yes, that is absolutely correct. However, there is the implication in that statement that one has to prove the non-existence of a god in order to lack a belief in one. Atheists don't claim that a god is disproven, they claim that a god is unproven. It all comes down to the burden of proof. Would it be reasonable to believe in the existence of the Loch Ness Monster in lieu of compelling proof of it's non-existence? As the famous astronomer, skeptic and science popularizer, Carl Sagan, once said "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
Like I said, atheist don't believe that they have disproven the existence of a god. In fact, arguments against the existence of a god are not meant to disprove the existence of a god; rather, they are meant to demonstrate the inadequacy of the arguments put forth by theists that attempt to prove the existence of a god. It is not up to the atheist to prove the non-existence of a god, it is up to the theist to prove the existence of a god. Theists have the burden of proof. A very simple analogy of this principle was made by the famous philosopher Bertrand Russell - an analogy often referred to as Russell's Teapot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell's_teapot
Misconception #7: Atheists are excellent at lovemaking.
This one isn't actually a misconception. It is absolutely true! ;)
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Comments
Thanks Lizzie TrueBlue. It is appalling the amount of misinformation being spouted about atheists. The problem lies in the fact that most people don't learn about atheism from people who are actually atheists. I figured, why not write a little article to clear up some of the misconceptions people have about atheists straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
(Misconception #4: Atheists worship Satan.)
I can't count how many times I've heard so-called Christians make this claim. Satan was invented by Christianity in order to keep their people in line, and for preists to make extra money doing exorcisms.
In fact, if you don't believe in Satan, then you are not considered a Christian! You MUST believe in Satan in order to even be considered a Christian by any church out there. Atheists never had anything to do with Satan; only Christians did.
Jesus and Satan go together like good and evil; the Yin and the Yang. You cannot possibly have one without the other - impossible!
(Misconception #6: Atheists can't prove that a god doesn't exist.)
A generic god can't be proven to exist or not. But...a specific god, especially one who is evidenced by way of bibles or scriptures, can most definitely be proven to not exist. How? Via a propositional contradiction of (P and not-P) at the same time. Any such statement about the god in question proves that god to be impossible.
Allah, Yahweh, and Jesus can easily be proven to not exit. This is why a theist will always refuse to "define" their god. Any attempted definition can easily be used in a (P and not-P) statement to prove their god as an impossibility.
i agree that all of those myths about atheists are myths...i don't judge atheists that way, but just like their are amillion different ways to be a christian there are a million different ways to be an atheist too, I don't preach my beliefs upon people i kindly express my stance on an issu like not celebrating halloween, and just like im not shoving the Bible down their throat I expect them to respect my position on other issues, but no.. they make a joke of my theism, they throw their halloween garbage all around me and push it on my children and this is more than just halloween its other issues as well, so when atheists act like that I stand up and I start expressng my belief, becuase rationally it is not possible for all people of different beliefs to live peacably with one another becuase you can say or jsut becuase we are living our lives doesnt mean we are throwing it on you and ill say DITTO! that is the issue though people dont realize how theists so to say are being tramped on becuase we have to be active theists just like people are active non theists there is no way to conduct yourself civily apart form what you believe tit for tat, you cant classify a whole group by just a few, it really is a personal battle, and no fat fist God can not be proven to not exist mr atheist man who wrote the blog even told you that one and i agree with him about that man its l ike me an you don't agree on anything. Just becuase of a few faulty denominations and practices that hae attached therselves to a belief system doesnt label the whole thing that way, I boldly seperate myself from today's modern society definition of the christian church, but if you cna get deep enough i think youll find there is more truth to spirit than there is to flesh. here is another one to think about though, are atheist deep thinkers? id really like to know.
(and no fat fist God can not be proven to not exist mr atheist man who wrote the blog even told you that one and i agree with him)
Courtney,
Sentences, paragraphs, and grammar would be helpful in understanding your responses.
The only way to prove that something does not exist is via a contradiction of the form (P and not-P) at the same time. We cannot prove a “generic god” (whom we have no information or descriptive qualities about) does not exist.
But we can certainly prove “specific gods” do not exist if we can form (P and not-P) propositions from the evidence provided in their scriptures. And there is TONS of it.
We can easily prove Yahweh (god of OT) does not exist as follows:
Malachi 3:6, “I the Lord do not change”
Exodus 32:14, “Then the Lord relented”
Contradiction: Yahweh does not change AND Yahweh does change. POOF goes the god of the OT
We can easily prove Jesus is not god as follows:
James 1:13, “For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone”
But Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights (Matthew 4:1, Hebrews 4:15)
Contradiction: God cannot be tempted AND God (Jesus) is tempted. Therefore impossible for Jesus to be God in any way. POOF goes Jesus.
There you have it Courtney, proof that Jesus is not god and that the god of the OT does not exist. I have tons of these examples from both the OT and NT. Maybe one of these days you should get off the couch and read the “evidence” provided by your god to his people.
Fatfist, Courtney Brewer - I agree with Fatfist that there are certain definitions or conceptions of God that can be shown to be contradictory likely indicating their undivine nature. I was careful in my article to say "a god" instead of just "God." I wanted the reader to know that I was talking about any god, generic or not. Some gods are less likely to be true than others, like the gods of the revealed religions, which are fraught with contradictions, absurdities and telltale signs of human contrivance. In my opinion, those gods are so unlikely to exist, it would be almost absurd not to recognize the fact.
There may be some kind of "creator" - I don't know. I think there are some philosophical and scientific problems with that hypothesis. If one is going to make the claim that a creator exists, it is up to them to make the case for it. It is not up to the skeptic to disprove it.
Courtney, I don't know how many atheists you've known, but for the most part, atheists are decent law abiding individuals who want nothing more than to live peaceably alongside their Christian neighbors. I wrote this article in the hopes of promoting a better understanding of atheists and to initiate a constructive dialogue that I thought everyone, believer and non-believer alike, could benefit from.
I thank you both for reading and commenting.
Thank you David.
May I add misconception #8: Atheists are offended when they are told to go to hell.
I, myself, and totally not insulted.
RE #5: I find that those who have not had religious education of any kind will call themselves agnostic, if anything. One cannot decide their path without education.
An atheist cannot be a non-believer if the concept of god has not been presented in the first place. Without a proper religious education, there would be no atheists at all. IMO.
Thanks again for the hub
Take good care
Jen
Hi David, long time no visit! Good hub. In my experience the atheists I've had discussions with are balanced and well meaning and virtuously intended human beings - everything that a vocal believer is meant to be, but often doesn't show it in their day to day actions.
I find a belief in God irrelevant - not sure where that puts me as far as categories is concerned?
And I also agree with point 7. Wonder why that is? Lack of fear of the serpents maybe?
Wyanjen - I agree with you that atheists wouldn't exist if not for theism. It's sort of analogous to UFO skeptics. They wouldn't exist either if people hadn't started claiming that sightings of unidentified objects in the sky were exraterrestrial spacecraft.
Jewels - Long time indeed! If you find a belief in God irrelevant, I think you might be what they call an apatheist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatheism
Thank you both for reading and leaving comments.
Ooooo, I don't quite like that category, thanks for the link though.
wyanjen wrote: (An atheist cannot be a non-believer if the concept of god has not been presented in the first place. Without a proper religious education, there would be no atheists at all.)
Yes, this is logically consistent, but many fail to understand this point. One would have to consider a newborn baby, or even a group of people raised on a remote location with no understanding of the god concept. They cannot be called atheists, because atheism is a "concludion" and a "response" to theism - it first requires the consideration of theism.
So what can we logically call these people? The proper term would require the logical operator "not", as in: non-theists.
It's analogous to something which cannot possess the property of "symmetry", like a concept - which we call "non-symmetrical". Asymmetrical applies only to objects, since they can possibly be reshaped/remorphed to be symmetrical. So atheism is non-symmetrical, whereas atheists can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical :-)
Thanks for confronting these myths. I personally do not believe there is a God mostly because I tend to have a scientific prove it to me mentality. I do not try and change the minds of those who do belive since I know this is important to them.
As a Theist and man of science I found this article to be very true and descriptive of most Atheists I know. Actually all of the Atheists I know are pretty decent people and I have no problem calling them friend as they admit that there are just as many false stereo-types going around about Theists as well. Point is how you live and act determines your character not who you do or don't believe in.
very well put Scott,and awsome hub david.The better we understand each other the closer we come to a world we can all be happy in
Well said Scott.Life!
Lovepocket - You're right. Understanding and respecting one another is the key to a better world.
Thanks for the comments.
was darwin atheist or agnostic?
(was darwin atheist or agnostic?)
Neither. He was a deist. Not religious at all. This, coupled with his pursue of evolution, caused lots of tension with his wife who was a devout Christian.
Hey David. Great article. I believe a great deal of these myths are entrenched in peoples own perceptions, by this I mean that regardless of your logic, it is hard to convince a Christian that you don't worship 'Satan', otherwise, if they were to concede your rationale, there would be a forced and immediate separation from their own beliefs, which ain't gonna happen. I see myself as an Athiest-Luciferian, I have to see or experience to believe and find faith a dangerous thing indeed.
tinyteddy - It is my understanding that Darwin was a self proclaimed agnostic. He stated this in his autobiography. The following is an excerpt from it where he refers to himself as an agnostic:
"I cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse problems. The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble to us; and I for one must be content to remain an Agnostic."
Darwin was a Christian as a young man and even studied theology in college in order to become a minister. Later in his life, he repudiated his Christian beliefs largely because of the contradictions, inaccuracies and cruelty in the Bible. In his autobiography, Darwin says "By further reflecting that the clearest evidence would be requisite to make any sane man believe in the miracles by which Christianity is suppoted, -- that the more we know of the fixed laws of nature the more incredible do miracles become, -- that the men at that time were ignorant and credulous to a degree almost incomprehensible by us, -- that the Gospels cannot be proved to have been written simultaneous with the events, -- that they differ in many important details, far too important as it seemed to me to be admitted as the usual inaccuracies of eyewitnesses; -- by such reflections as these, which I give not as having the least noveltry or value, but as they influenced me, I gradually came to disbelieve in Christianity as a divine revelation." He goes on to say "I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my Father, Brother and almost all of my friends, will be everlasting punished.
And this is a damnable doctrine."
Here is the source I extracted the Darwin quotes from if you would like to read it in it's entirety http://www.update.uu.se/~fbendz/library/cd_relig.h
Artemus Gordon - Sorry I didn't respond to your post sooner. I guess I approved your comment and then forgot to respond to it. I do stupid things like that sometimes.
I think it is a virtue to be skeptically minded. There is nothing wrong with only accepting what can be verified through logical or empirical means.
Thanks for reading and commenting. And agian I apologize for neglecting to respond to your comment sooner.
Samantha Hera - I think you are probably right. In the Christian mindset, if you are not with them, you are agaist them, and hence, a pawn of Satan. To them, not worshiping their God is to serve the Devil.
Thanks for the comment.
good article and thanks clearing up these misconceptions.
another misconception: atheists have no morals and are likely to be criminals.
I will let the criminal stats speak for this one.
ronjer1 - Yes, that is yet another misconception about atheists. You're right about the statistics speaking for themselves on that matter. I may write a hub about that in the future.
Thanks for the comment.
David: This is such an excellent hub. Concise, to the point, and with an elegance in the use of words.
I am a baptist by birth/faith but my view of GOD has changed to seeing that everything around us is GOD we all come from the primal ether of the earth and the earth comes from the universe I see GOD as everything we are living in the body of GOD the air we breathe the ground we walk on it is all GOD.GOD is another way of saying the being that created us and the Earth created life and the UNIVERSE created the EARTH so in my OWN oppinion the universe is GOD.I Respect all peoples beliefs no matter what they believe in because no one knows and no one will ever know until they take that final journey of no return.
LiamBean - Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you liked the article.
bill yon - I'm glad that you respect the beliefs of others. You seem like a tolerant person. The respect is definitely reciprocated.
Thank you both for reading and commenting.
Religion is a very hot topic and for most there is no belief other than your own. For this reason every religion or lack of has many misconceptions.
Mitch King - Misapprehending the beliefs and intentions of others is a common and unfortunate facet of humanity. The only remedy is to educate oneself about the beliefs of others before jumping to baseless conclusions.
Thanks for the comment.
LizzieTrueBlue says:
3 weeks ago
David,
Good article. It is important for people to see atheists as people, not monsters. Christians in particular turn atheists into monsters by spreading myths like these and more. That makes it easy to hate us, I'm sure.
Liz