Everyone starts atheist

Like the title says. Everyone starts atheist. Nobody is born thinking, "Oh, I have to get to church to pray to God". They are born thinking, "Oh, I'm cold. It's bright. It's loud..."

Religion is something you teach your kids and you learn. So my question is as followed. If a god or gods exist why aren't you born with that knowledge? Discuss.

(Oh, I really hope I didn't start a flame thread.)

 

Atheism- •the doctrine or belief that there is no God

Babies don't believe that there is no god. They probably don't believe anything. They don't even yet know what god is, therefore they can't choose to not believe in it. They can't, in that case, be atheists

 

Atheism is more often than not, a component to a broad range of beliefs, the fact that god is not one of them is signified by the word atheism ONLY to distinguish itself from theists.

atheism is not a belief, it is the rejection of one.

 

Everyone starts, devotional in nature. From the instinct of self preservation to gratitude.

 

Being an agnostic-atheist; a person that is atheist in their deepest being, yet agnostic on a more philosophical level; I completely agree with these statements.

I still remember learning about Jesus in kindergarten, and thinking it was rather silly. (It was the story of him healing the leper)

 

Nicely worded.

 

Is to not believe in something not to believe in its inexistence?


I don't believe in Santa Claus. I truly believe that he does not exist

 

Everybody is born without knowing a lot of things. When we born, do we know how to tie our shoes, flush toilets, fry an egg, etc? Maybe the real question is what you want to single out belief in God or lack of it as one of those things we don't know when we come into the world.

I've done battle with atheists on a number of forums, and although I've met some very nice and often brilliant people, I can punch holes in every piece of atheist rhetoric that's out there. Mind you, that doesn't mean that I can prove that God undeniably exists, but, after considering everything, I can make a "beyond a reasonable doubt" case that works quite well for me. I get it that's not the same standard that the scientific method purports to use, but it's good enough for a court of law in virtually every civilized country.

What is true is that we were created and/or we evolved with these large brains that are capable of looking for purpose and meaning. Some of us, after considering everything, come to the conclusion that God exists, and others come to the conclusion that no God exists.

If you'd really like to get into specifics, I'm willng to do that.

 

You cannot believe in inexistance. Since there is no cognitive content held as true. Things either exist, or they don't.

 

please. but first save me a lot of time by being very specific with what you beleive god to be. if you can do that without creating some sort of contradiction then we can "do battle" if you like.

Edit: gimme attributes. omniscience etc

 

Stupid post. You don't know what you're talking about. You have no idea what babies think about.

No idea...

 

then animals are born as religious as humans

which is, i guess, okay with me, as i believe animals and humans are pretty much the same anyways

is that okay with you?

 

Sure. Their devotion can be seen if you try to kill or capture.

 

so, what exactly does that mean?

are you saying the resistance of pain and/or death is religious in nature?

 

I think that many that proclaim that they are into atheism really are true to their beliefs.

I also think that many --although they might think they are atheists- -when that ground starts to shake ... they,re gonna look up..and say, I was just saying >..maybe....

 

No, I am saying life is devotional in nature. Religion is an idea on how to properly
direct that devotion. I personally think self interest is sufficient.

 

why would you consider the will to live to be devotional?

i do not think instinct and devotion have much in common

one seems to be sub- or unconscious; the other very much conscious

 

It is not subconscious, it is just not articulated. I think all life displays some manner of sentience.

 

Okay by me. ...what is the saying?...something about the Zen of a dog...

Photo by Trollcross

ZW

 

Music seeks to express a subjective quality of sound, so by design its "uses" are subjective.

And as mammals with the ability to experience subjective quality, a "use" is still fundamentally tied to the physical. The fact that it is a function of something we cant explain is irrelevant.

Furthermore, we use life to experience this subjective quality.