Why dont Atheists Believe in God?

BELIEF AND UNBELIEF
Where should we start our study? A good place to start a study in Christian Evidences is to look at the reasons that Christians have for their belief, and the reasons that people have for unbelief. Is there a difference between what people say they believe and what they really believe? Do people act consistently with their beliefs? If the Christian faith is such an intelligent, rational, historical and factual faith, then why do many people reject it? You can go to the Internet and type the words “Why do people believe in God?” into a search engine, and the results of the search will show lots of answers to the question by skeptics - articles with titles like “Why I can’t believe”, “Why I hate God”, and “Christ, a Fiction”. Why do Christians believe in God? There are many reasons – some good, some bad. Does there need to be a reason? I stated in the introduction to this series of lessons that the Christian faith is a reasonable faith, and can withstand the test of truth and reason. Upon what is this claim based? We will look at some reasons that both Christians and skeptics have for their beliefs, and we will see why both standpoints require faith	Proponents of doctrinal religions — ones in which a particular body of belief is prized and infidels scorned — will be threatened by the courageous pursuit of knowledge. We hear from such people that it may be dangerous to probe too deeply. Many people have inherited their religion like their eye color: they consider it a thing not to think too deeply about, and in any case beyond our control. Carl Sagan, “A Sunday Sermon”, Broca’s Brain, 1976
Goals Goal 1: Examine our own reasons for belief in God, and weigh our objectivity Goal 2: Find out why people do not believe in God Goal 3: Consider the implications of disbelief What do people believe about God? According to the Gallup Organization, two-thirds of Americans have no doubts about God’s Existence. (Princeton Religion Research Center (Gallup), Emerging Trends, August 1997) However: 62% of all Americans agree that Satan is not a living being but is a symbol of evil. A majority of born again Christians (52%) deny Satan’s existence Nearly three-quarters of Catholics say the devil is nonexistent (72%) Women are more likely than men to reject Satan’s existence (64% vs. 59%) So, then, this implies that we need to define people’s concept of God. Concepts of God This survey is from the book Virtual America, by George Barna:	BELIEF IN GOD Believe no doubts 64% Believe, but have doubts 20% Believe in Higher Power 10% Don’t believe/No way to find out 5% Which of the following descriptions comes closest to what you, personally, believe about God? God is Powerful All-knowing Creator 67% Everyone is God 3% God Is Total Realization of Human Potential 8% There are many gods, each with Power/ auth. 3% God is a Higher state of consciousness 10% There is no such thing as God 2% Don’t know 8%
The majority, again, believe in a God like the Christian God of the Bible. So, one might think, how does that influence behavior, if Americans really believe this?Another survey by the Barna Research Group found that: 87% claim their religious faith is very important in their life. 83% claim their religious beliefs change their behavior (4 out of 5). But the same study showed that: 58% agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all it teaches. 53% contend that if a person is good enough, or does enough good things for other people, they will earn their way into Heaven. (One-third of all born again Christians (34%) accept this notion.) 40% believe that when Jesus was on earth He committed sins. (28% of born again Christians believe this.) 39% say that Jesus Christ was crucified, but He never had a physical resurrection. 46% believe churches should accept gay people as leaders. 43% say they are trying to figure out their purpose, meaning in life. 36% contend that it is impossible to get ahead because of their financial debt. 33% maintain pornography is a matter of taste. 32% hold the perspective that lying is sometimes necessary. An earlier Barna Study in 1982 showed that 82% of adults think that “every person has the power to determine his or her own destiny in life,” a belief the report says is one of the “guiding principles” of the New Age movement. 65% of Americans say Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists all “pray to the same God,” although they are called by different names.	“In spite of some rather negative views embraced by tens of millions of Americans, religious faith is allegedly a major influence on people’s lives. Four out of five adults (83%) claimed their religious beliefs actually change the way they behave. Such influence was especially likely among women (86%) and born again Christians (92%).” — George Barna, Jan. 1997 George Barna, Author of Virtual America, conducts research on American religious attitudes
What can we suppose about the reasons that people have for their belief systems? Can the skeptics claims be true?Atheists have determined that faith is simply belief without evidence. Skeptics claim that what Christians believe has very little to do with reason - since beliefs can be wrong, belief is potentially dangerous– they “are generated by the belief engine without any automatic concern for truth.” How skeptics explain people’s beliefs in God Man invented God (and religion) to explain things that he didn’t understand. People are gullible and superstitious, and are easily deceived by lies or misinformation. They are ignorant of scientific facts and have never investigated the evidence. Their beliefs are based on irrational and illogical ideas. Religious people have a need for comfort in the face of fear of the unknown that overrides their ability to reason. They are “projecting” wishful thinking. They want to impose their values on others for selfish reasons; control, money, power, etc. Why skeptics say they don’t believe in God A good God would not send honest unbelievers to eternal punishment who based their beliefs on evidence. Modern man has evidence that contradicts what theists (and the Bible) claim about God. A good God could not allow evil to exist in the world. Free will is impossible if God is omniscient and omnipotent. Religious claims require scientific proof. If God existed He would not refuse to communicate directly with anyone who asked Him to as a basis for belief. The Bible contradicts itself and is not a historical document, so cannot be communication from a perfect being. Even though we can ask seemingly simple, fundamental questions about beliefs, we cannot fully understand the implications of the answers we get until we understand the context – the nature of the God that people believe in, their definition of truth, the importance of reason and consistency when making statements about belief.	“We may define ‘faith’ as the firm belief in something for which there is no evidence. Where there is evidence, no one speaks of ‘faith.’ We do not speak of faith that two and two are four or that the earth is round. We only speak of faith when we wish to substitute emotion for evidence. The substitution of emotion for evidence is apt to lead to strife, since different groups, substitute different emotions.” — Bertrand Russell