Atheism certainly isn't "hopeless". If anything, I feel that Atheism is about being more positive about the future than mast religions.

Well, that's 2 different questions. Yes, I love the idea of God. The idea that a higher being created every person idividually and beautifully and loves each unconditionally. But that's all I think it is, a great idea. But NO, I do not think atheism is being hopeless about the future. I don't think you need a god or religion to lead a happy, fulfilled life, BUT I do like the idea of God. So yes, and no.

I think atheism is is some way less hopeless about the future: atheist believe this is the only life they've been given and a lot of them make the most of it for that reason. We've only one future.

I am quite happy not believing in God.

Yes, katiecain, I agree with you, I could have expressed myself better :S But thanks for answering, everyone :)

I agree with katiecain.

The only way I would want "God" to exist is if s/he was not like the one in the bible.

I believe that something like God does exist, but uaually I just don't really give a damn!

Yes, definitely. I would love to believe that the good are rewarded and the bad go to Hell, that everything happens for a reason and that what we do matters.

i would like it if gods existed but didn't have rules or sin. you would only go to hell if you were a bad person and heaven if you were good. that would be awesome.

I want heaven to exist, without a doubt, or some form of afterlife, as well as karma. Being an atheist is not being hopeless about the future. Being an atheist is not being hopeless about the future. I'm a very optimistic person, and I don't think my life is necessarily better OR worse for not having religion in it.
But God? I don't know. Maybe. The idea of their being something greater out there is kind of amazing.

I am a bit of an Agnostic, just because I am being hopeful but really I don't think that there is a god. I do wish there was but, it would make the reason for living a whole lot easier.

hopeless about the future ? it's religious people that are always saying the world's coming to an end

1st of all God does exist and for the above comment there is no end for Christians because we believe in eteral life with our heavenly father! there is proof of God but people choose not to looke at the facts!

^ God exists for you. Eternal life exists for you. Not everyone shares your beliefs.

just because you don't believe it doesn't mean it's not true

And just because you believe God does exist doesn't mean that its true. Its true for you, but not for me.

My point is there are facts to back it up that there is a God/intelligant creator.

^You are wrong. There are no facts.

I think it would provide great security to know that there is a greater power with a plan for all of us. Sadly, not so.

Why live in constant fear for a being that may or may not throw you in hell at a whims notice or for a single false thought? Why is it almost always so that people assume that one must have some kind of deity to enjoy life? Why can't they look at their own dinner and say: "I made this myself, now I'm going to enjoy it."?
Dear jennabug, the evidence may seem real to you but right now, let me enjoy my orange in peace.
People: I think the point of life is to live it, freely, happily and without trepidation, because unlike almost everything else, one only got one chance at life.

@ jennabug121: Yeah, there are also "facts" that prove that there is no intelligent creator. As caramelmilk has suggested, "facts" do not indicate "truth" or certainty. "Facts" are highly interpretable.

actually there has never been any proof saying that there is no God-just sayin

Just as there is no "proof" of God.

yes there is. 1st of all every one of the Bible's prophecies have come true, and everything in the Bible is accurate. Also evolution has been proven wrong in an experiment that used the same chemicals that was believed to have caused "the big bang" and has shown that it was not able to produce life. And Darwin on his death bed admitted that his theory was wrong.-not saying that everyone here believes in Evolution, but if there was no Evolution then that only leaves the thought of an intelligent creator. :)

The Bible is a collection of stories written by people who simpley claim that God was working through them. If you are one who believes that the "prophecies" have "come true", then that is up to you. But others of us, from Atheists to Christians to Wiccans, do not believe that those "prophecies" have come true. The Bible has been interrpreted in many, many different ways and has been revised by a number of different religions, so the "prophecies" that have "come true" under the umbrella of one religion, may not have "come true" under other subsections of the same religion or under other religions. The Bible is highly interrpretable, as evidenced by the plethora of religions that use and abuse it.

Just because one chemical study that you have heard of didn't work out doesn't mean that the entire foundation of evolutionary theory has crumbled. The thing about evolutionary theory is that it, itself evolves. Perhaps the big bang is not able to be recreated. Perhaps the big bang had one crucial element that we haven't discovered yet. Perhaps the universe didn't start with a big bang. The key thing here is that science is being forced to provide scientific evidence of the big bang, while religious communities say that because they can't find scientific proof, then the only answer left is God. That is a ridiculous statement to make. First of all, if scientists have to prove that the big bang/evolution etc is correct using scientific methods, then why don't religious people have to also provide definitive scientific proof of God? Thats a double-standard. You can't say that the absence of definitive scientific evidence is proof that there is an intelligent creator. If science must prove to you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God doesn't exist, surely religion must prove to science, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God does exist.
But the problem with that argument is that religion is a matter of faith and belief, whereas science is a matter or faith, belief and investigation. Scientific thought requires its followers to rigorously examiine the world and come to conclusions based upon those observations. Religion seems to have the upper-hand, because its followers simpley need to state that they believe and that everything is proof of God. What people need to realise is that while that kind of thinking may suit some people, it does not suit others. So you, jennabug121, can believe what you like about your God, but it is unfair and unreasonable to call other people's beliefs wrong. Your religious system is just as valid as mine, no matter how many holes you believe you can poke in it. I can poke holes too, and poke I will. But know that at the end of the day, what you believe is "proof", is not someone else's "proof".

But the thing that no one has ever answered or been able to explain is where the elements/chemicals that "made or world" came from. Something can't come from nothing. I can't have a fish and turn it into a person or a bird or a lion or anything but a fish. But the thing is there are no holes in the proof of God. Scientologists (hope I spelled that right) have spent years and years on this subject and have found nothing wrong with the dates, times, and events of the Bible. Every writter in the Bible wrote their own story and most lived at different times. But all of the stories meet up and are accurate and that has been proven. Also why haven't monkeys over the last 10,000 years turned into humans? The answer is because they can't. People forget that Darwin himself admitted that his theory was wrong! Like I said in my past statement. Oh, and I hope you know that I don't disrespect you or your beliefs. I am fascinated with this subject and mean no disrespect.I am stead fast to what I believe in.

Ok well...

1) Just because we do know currently fully understand how time began, due to the limitations of our knowledge gathering or scientific methods, doesn't mean that the only other answer is God. That is a massive and ridiculous leap to say that because a scientist hasn't had a eureka moment yet that that proves the existance of God, is an outrageous thing to claim. For you, that may be all the proof that YOU need for YOUR God. But you cannot claim that "proof" as a universal truth.

2) There is no reason why something cannot come from nothing, if we do not fully understand our universe. We may simpley be missing a single factor that is key to evolution or the big bang or whatever.

3) If indeed something cannot come from nothing, where did God come from? And please, dear lord Jesus, do not say that s/he has always existed, because that punches a gigantic hole in your own argument.

4) Not sure what theory of evolution you are reading from, but I don't think a fish or a monkey is just gonna morph into a human, and that is certainly not what any evolutionary theory I have ever read said. The argument that we just change into different animals randomly is a propaganda argument created by anti-evolutionists to belittle evolutionary theory. In reaction to religious people who make this argument, I always say that even if evolutionary theory did say that stuff, it is still no more far-fetched a story/explanation for human life than the stories from the Bible, or Xenu and alien souls or reincanation or whatever.

5) As for the Darwin-denying-evolutionary-theory thing, there are several issues with that. First, it is just a rumour. As many sources confirm it, just as many deny it. Secondly, it wouldn't be that surprising govin that Darwin was a Christian. Faced with death, y'all have to repent or accept Jesus right? So, if he did denounce his own work, I would be surprised and it doesn't change the quality of his work or the framework that it provides scientists today. Thirdly, there is a mistaken belief that evolutionary theory definitively denies the existance of an intelligent creator. While I, personally, choose to believe that it does imply that there is no God, many people believe that evolution is God's way of staying out of our way. So s/he created the buliding blocks of life or whatever, and let thoses blocks loose to see what would happen. There are many, many variations and each individual has there own take on it all. So, the rumour that Darwin denied his own theoru could have stemmed from his own confusion between faith and science. Or he might have just died without saying anything. None of us, except the people in the room with him when he died, know exactly what he said, and we have no idea which of those people is telling the "truth" or if there is even any "truth" to be told, hence the conflicting stories.

6) How does one confirm that God created Adam, in his image? How have the Scientologists, or anyone for that matter, confirmed that Adam and Eve and the Garden Of Eden and apples and snakes etc all existed and have been verified? If the Scientologists know what God looks like, shouldn't they tell someone? It would certainly clear some things up.
There is absolutely no way that the stories from the Bible can be confirmed. If scientists must replicate the big bang, why are people of faith not out there right now replicating the parting to the Red Sea? Why are people of faith not creating women from the ribs of men?
The lining up of dates is not remarkable. Many, many dates across many, many different cultures and religions all line up perfectly. Again, you can choose to see meaning that, and for you there is "truth" behind that meaning. But your "truth" is not someone else's truth.

7) While you may not be trying to disrespect other beliefs, the reality is that claiming that your religion and your "truth" is the correct "truth" is highly disrespectful. You can believe what you like, and please do, but do not tell other people that they are wrong. You will note that I have not told you that your religion is wrong. I have argued against your religion, but I would never tell you that it is wrong. Its obviously right for you. But coming into this spot, the Atheism spot, and telling us that the Bible is true and you can't argue with that "fact" is very disrespectful. It is exactly the same as if i went into the Christianity spot and said "This is all crap!" Firstly, that is disrespectful. Secondly, it may be crap for me, but it isn't crap for other people. So while my "truth" about christianity is that I think it is crap, other people love christianity and that is their "truth".

Ok whatever all arguments asside I never said you were wrong I was just saying what I believe in just as you are. But you have to understand that people don't just go around changing history because you can't and it will always be that way.And in every evolutionist theory I've heard it sais that a fish crawled out of the water one day and over millions of years became a human. I guess that we can both conclude that we know little about eachothers beliefs. So yes for me the only proof I need is everything around me. And for you its whatever you have found trueth in. So it was nice talkin to you and debating :)

*facepalm*

Well, whatever then.

Just want to say the the source of the entire Darwin-denying-evolution-thing - A certain Lady Hope, may have never even met Darwin according to Wikipedia.

jennabug121 evolution it's still the best accepted theory of our existence and many experiences tend to prove that the big bang it's a very logical explanation of the beginning of the universe

sorry.....i tried to believe when i was held up at gunpoint by my parents, lol, but i couldn't. I'm proud of being a athiest, but i am kind of afraid of death....please don't judge me.

No, because if God exist that means he don't care about people..just look what happened in Haiti, Japan...if there is God he could stop it..so I better stay with my beliefe that there is no God..

@pandawinx it's normal to be afraid os something what you don't know, it's nor,mal to be afraid of death. I am not, but I totally get that feeling because I used to be afraid.

Why live in constent fear of doing somthing bad? I am quite happy thinking for myself and doing bad things without worry!

So what if god exists? It's not like I'm automatically gonna awitch over to some other religion. I'm atheist because I don't have to slave over the rules of a religion. I wanted freedom from that.

I find the Christian explanation of heaven eerily similar to a communist dictatorship. I'm not exactly okay with the idea of my personality being stripped from me and molded into God's idea of a perfect and sinless being. And since heaven is the only thing that could ever bring me to the theist side, well, guess I'm stuck being a dirty little infidel.

It actually encourage me to think that I can control my own fate, because I know I am an able person. But if there's a God out there, it would be pretty cool to know that too. I'm fine either way.

If by "God" you mean Yahweh, or Allah, Then no, if either existed, I still wouldn't worship them, in fact, I would lead a rebellion or something against them, Because I think they suck and are not worthy of worship.


And while I do like the notion of eternal life in heaven, if it means kissing someone's ass on a daily basis forever for deciding not to torture me infinitly, then forget it.

^That's a good point.

I don't need an omnipotent person telling me what I can and cannot do, I should be smart enough to figure it out by myself.

If there was, I'd be worried-he/she could either be the nice god/goddess and bring luck to everyone OR he/she could choose to kill and pillage.

i'm happy with the way things are now.

Depends on what sort of god they were.