OK, so here's my Top 18 reasons why people turn to, or hold religious beliefs:

-  Promise of personal comfort or some promise of being special and different from others.

-  The promise of eternal life and eternal happiness.

-  Fear of death.

-  Desire for fellowship with others (a social outlet).

-  A sense of belonging.

-  A sense of community.

-  Emotional dissatisfaction.

-  Personal injustice or victim-hood.

-  Personal misfortune such as disability, injury, illness, or the misfortune of a loved one. (crutch syndrome).
(I know a guy who became a christian right after having a heart attack). The longing for being helped by some one or something when facing difficulty.

-  Personal failure or crisis related to substance abuse, gambling, guilty conscience, imprisonment, etc.

-  Personal dissatisfaction with one’s social, romantic, or vocational circumstances.

-  Desire to reform one's morality or behavior.

-  Desire for hope in divine reward.

-  Feelings of guilt or shame (the slick time-worn tools of Christianity and Islam).

-  Non thinking, or a laziness in thinking, including a love for pat-answers.

-  The complexity of the Universe.

-  A desire (and need) for a certain "governance" in their lives.

-  A certain child-like emotional trigger activated in the brain by a story in which they are loved by an authority figure or imaginary being.

-  And NUMBER ONE: It just happens to be the religion that you were raised, indoctrinated, conditioned and brainwashed with to accept and follow right from childhood.

toneyb:
OK, so here's my Top 18 reasons why people turn to, or hold religious beliefs:

If one has to read your '18 reasons' objectively without colourations of any particular religion, it becomes obvious that some of those 'reasons' apply to why some hold on to their atheism in the same religious manner that you see in others. Here are some:

toneyb:

-  Promise of personal comfort or some promise of being special and different from others.

Also true of many atheists whose atheism gives them some sort of 'personal comfort', an euphoria of 'being special' where they see themselves as 'different from others'. It only needs to be expounded to see the connection:

(a)  'personal comfort' - we know some atheists who have asserted that so-and-so
        (e.g. Darwinism) makes their atheism 'intellectually satisfying'; other atheists
        also feel this 'personal comfort' for one reason or another for their atheism.

(b)  'being special' - you only have to look around (on the net, for instance) to see
        how many atheists go about claiming they are the 'brights' - it gives them that
        air of being special - and they brag about it being so.

(c)   'different from others' - without much effort, it is easy to see how many atheists
        regard themselves as different from others ('others' most certainly meaning those
        who have any religious belief(s)). By extension, the very fact that there are even
        different types of atheism recognized by atheists themselves is a testimony to
        the fact that atheists are indeed 'different from others'.

I use just that as an example; but, of course, one could take each and every one of your '18 reaons' and expound upon them to show that just about the same thing appears in atheism. Which is interesting - because it would boil down to just one thing: someone else might then be able to see the same thing and understand that your reasons could be used in a sensible way to show "Why ATHEISTS Believe Or Hold Unto Their Religiously Atheistic Beliefs".

But let's run through a few other examples in your '18 reasons' -

-  Desire for fellowship with others (a social outlet).

Isn't it obvious that atheists desire some sort of "fellowship with others" in the same sense of the 'social outlet'? One doesn't have to look too hard to find quite a number of such 'atheist fellowship(s)' - like the example of the 'New Jersey Atheist Fellowship' (NJAF). Could we as well say that fits into one other 'reason' why atheists hold unto their beliefs in much the same way as you assume for just religious people?

-  A sense of belonging.

-  A sense of community.

Actually, those are no different from the previous 'reasons'. A sense of either "belonging" or "community" is why atheists seek "fellowship" in the first place - in which case you're only making a case for atheism being one of those "religions" you're trying to identify by your so-called "18 reasons". Not only so, but you will find that atheists themselves are constantly seeking this sense of belonging and/or community, such as the example in this Atheist Community of Austin.

-  Emotional dissatisfaction.

It depends on what you mean. However, taken at face value, I know of quite a lot of atheists who hold on to their atheist beliefs on account of their own emotional dissatisfaction (ED).

It is this point of ED in your '18 reasons' that sort of gives me the idea that some of your points were ferreted from a few other sources rather than your own ideas. An example of such a source would be "Atheist Deconversion" by Brian Holtz, where most of your points also have been listed, including:

        -  Personal misfortune such as disability, injury, illness,
           or the misfortune of a loved one. (crutch syndrome).

         -  Personal failure or crisis related to substance abuse,
            gambling, guilty conscience, imprisonment, etc.

        -  Personal dissatisfaction with one’s social, romantic, or
           vocational circumstances.

        -  Desire to reform one's morality or behavior.

        -  Desire for hope in divine reward.

        -  Personal injustice or victim-hood.

But, of course, it could possibly have been from another source - nonetheless, it does not appear to be your own original idea. Yet, both the ED (emotional dissatisfaction) and the above listed are just the same things that one could find among many atheists, rather than being something unique with religious people or their beliefs.

(ps: Brian Holtz expands the ED as 'emotional dissatisfaction with the logical implications of atheism' - and that is one of my favourite subjects to deal with when discussing with the bragado atheist).

-  Feelings of guilt or shame (the slick time-worn tools of Christianity and Islam).

I reckon that is one of the tools of some atheist who feel that their atheism has no leg to stand on unless they hang their own feelings of shame and guilt on any religious worldview they find uncomfortable. The propaganda here is very slick indeed, for many atheist take the default position on these things as if the only thing associated with any religious view is a sense of 'guilt/shame' and atheism and atheists do not have any such experiences. At best, the atheist who appeals to that piffle is, IMO, demonstrating his/her own sense of guilt and shame (for whatever reason) but looking to hang such on 'religion'.

-  Non thinking, or a laziness in thinking, including a love for pat-answers.

This is truly my favourite among the 'reasons' why atheists hold on to their atheistic beliefs. The sheer laziness in thinking and the ready-made pat-answers which atheists spew on very important questions are quite a comic, no offence. Even without the question of a belief in the existence of God and the supernatural, what has atheism actually contributed to the world? It is one thing to ridicule belief systems that you do not hold or subscribe to; but quite another thing when you actually have absolutely no answers or the slightest clue what an atheist wants to argue about, especially in the next point:

-  The complexity of the Universe.

And what is the atheist's answer? At least, many who are religious try to reason out issues on the complexity of the universe where thinkers are expected to be serious and astute. I would have to sit with a heavy dose of patience and sense of humour to see the pat-answers often proffered by atheists on questions about the universe and the origin of life.

-  And NUMBER ONE: It just happens to be the religion that you were raised, indoctrinated, conditioned and brainwashed with to accept and follow right from childhood.

This is the number one ATHEIST LIE.

Dude, many people who were never raised in some particular religion grow up to become adherents of some other religions. The same applies to atheists who were raised in Christian homes but grew up to become atheists rather than Christian. Same also in the case where some grew up in atheist homes to become Christians.

The idea that "it just happens to be the religion in which someone was raised" is simply a redundant lie. Please find a way to etiolate that lie from your list of 18 convenient piddling.

Commander viaro, where have u being since friday? I taught u ve gone d way of DS.

toneyb:

OK, so here's my Top 18 reasons why people turn to, or hold religious beliefs:





-  Fear of death.

Toney.I will like to debunk one of your 18 mythical reasons. i.e FEAR OF DEATH
Firstly from Islamic view,im sure u know about Jihad&how passionate Muslims are about dying for their God cos of various rewards afterward promised.
From d xtian sect,Jesus the first born of all the dead had swallowed death in victory 1corin15.A true xtian will never be scared of death cus we have hope in Christ.To die in Christ gives u more hope&than being hopeless like those who doesn't believe in d existence of their creator.

^^ haha ... colonel toba, viaro has been quite busy the last few days. I try to show online between times though. Hope you're doing good.

Commander viaro
Colonel toba,

This is Admiral MyJoe. I request permission to enter thread order you two to attention to salute me!

Why people disbelieve and hold on to atheistic non-beliefs.

toneyb:

OK, so here's my Top 18 reasons why people turn to, or hold religious beliefs:

- Promise of personal comfort or some promise of being special and different from others.

- The promise of eternal life and eternal happiness.

- Fear of death.

- Desire for fellowship with others (a social outlet).

- A sense of belonging.

- A sense of community.

- Emotional dissatisfaction.

- Personal injustice or victim-hood.

- Personal misfortune such as disability, injury, illness, or the misfortune of a loved one. (crutch syndrome).
(I know a guy who became a christian right after having a heart attack). The longing for being helped by some one or something when facing difficulty.

- Personal failure or crisis related to substance abuse, gambling, guilty conscience, imprisonment, etc.

- Personal dissatisfaction with one’s social, romantic, or vocational circumstances.

- Desire to reform one's morality or behavior.

- Desire for hope in divine reward.

- Feelings of guilt or shame (the slick time-worn tools of Christianity and Islam).

- Non thinking, or a laziness in thinking, including a love for pat-answers.

- The complexity of the Universe.

- A desire (and need) for a certain "governance" in their lives.

- A certain child-like emotional trigger activated in the brain by a story in which they are loved by an authority figure or imaginary being.

- And NUMBER ONE: It just happens to be the religion that you were raised, indoctrinated, conditioned and brainwashed with to accept and follow right from childhood.

Theism(religion) and atheism, two sides of the same coin.

MyJoe:

Commander viaro
Colonel toba,

This is Admiral MyJoe. I request permission to enter thread order you two to attention to salute me!

U are hereby saluted

jagunlabi:

Why people disbelieve and hold on to atheistic non-beliefs.

Theism(religion) and atheism, two sides of the same coin.

Atheism is a belief system of Gods nonexistence.
Atheists are believers

Atheism is a belief system of Gods nonexistence.
Atheists are believers

I'm a believer.  I believe that Zeus does not exist.

mantraa:

I'm a believer.  I believe that Zeus does not exist. 

Ive never doubted the atheistic belief system,i only re-affirmed to atheists that they are believers as well as xtians/muslims,but their beliefs is at variance with those of the former.

I also do not believe in the existence of all the following gods.

Or maybe i am a believer in their non existence. 


Agdistis

Ah Puch

Ahura Mazda

Alberich

Allah

Amaterasu

An

Anansi

Anat

Andvari

Anshar

Anu

Aphrodite

Apollo

Apsu

Ares

Artemis

Asclepius

Athena

Athirat

Athtart

Atlas



Baal

Ba Xian

Bacchus

Balder

Bast

Bellona

Bergelmir

Bes

Bixia Yuanjin

Bragi

Brahma

Brigit


Camaxtli

Ceres

Ceridwen

Cernunnos

Chac

Chalchiuhtlicue

Charun

Chemosh

Cheng-huang

Cybele


Dagon

Damkina (Dumkina)

Davlin

Dawn

Demeter

Diana

Di Cang

Dionysus



Ea

El

Enki

Enlil

Eos

Epona

Ereskigal



Farbauti

Fenrir

Forseti

Freya

Freyr

Frigg



Gaia

Ganesha

Ganga

Garuda

Gauri

Geb

Geong Si



Hades

Hanuman

Hathor

Hecate (Hekate)

Helios

Heng-o (Chang-o)

Hephaestus

Hera

Hermes

Hestia

Hod

Hoderi

Hoori

Horus

Hotei

Huitzilopochtli

Hsi-Wang-Mu

Hygeia



Inanna

Inti

Iris

Ishtar

Isis

Ixtab

Izanaki

Izanami



Jesus

Juno

Jupiter

Juturna



Kagutsuchi

Kartikeya

Khepri

Ki

Kingu

Kinich Ahau

Kishar

Krishna

Kukulcan



Lakshmi

Liza

Loki

Lugh

Luna



Magna Mater

Maia

Marduk

Mars

Medb

Mercury

Mimir

Minerva

Mithras

Morrigan

Mot

Mummu

Muses


Nammu

Nanna

Nanna (Norse)

Nanse

Neith

Nemesis

Nephthys

Neptune

Nergal

Ninazu

Ninhurzag

Nintu

Ninurta

Njord

Nut



Odin

Ohkuninushi

Ohyamatsumi

Orgelmir

Osiris

Ostara


Pan

Parvati

Phaethon

Phoebe

Phoebus Apollo

Pilumnus

Poseidon




Quetzalcoatl



Rama

Re

Rhea



Sabazius

Sarasvati

Selene

Shiva

Seshat

Seti (Set)

Shamash

Shapsu

Shen Yi

Shiva

Shu

Si-Wang-Mu

Sin

Sirona

Sol

Surya

Susanoh



Tawaret

Tefnut

Tezcatlipoca

Thanatos

Thor

Thoth

Tiamat

Tlaloc

Tonatiuh

Toyo-Uke-Bime

Tyche

Tyr



Utu

Uzume


Venus

Vesta

Vishnu

Volturnus

Vulcan



Xipe

Xi Wang-mu

Xochipilli

Xochiquetzal


Yam

Yarikh

Yhwh

Ymir

Yu-huang

Yum Kimil

Zeus


As a christian or a muslim or hindu etc. you probably share 99.9999% the same belief as me. 'All of those other gods are man made, fictional, and definitely not real. Except for the one that i was indoctrinated into believing in'. Can you not see the irony that out of all the gods that you dont believe in. i just believe in one less than you. Look at yourself in relation to the bigger picture of world religions. It is not possible for them all to be right.

According to christians, all muslims are going to hell. according to muslims, and jews, all christians are going to hell.

This is so silly that people are murdering people because of this. If would be funny if it wasnt so sad.

Respects

I will love to know the God u believe in.

[size=13pt]I believe in SATAN . . .my realself. [/size]

toba:

I will love to know the God u believe in.

@viaro: My guy, e don tey na! Good to read a post from you again. Kai! I have missed you and DeepSight's numerous cross-thread scuffles and banters! 

---

Oh boy, see list! This mantraa of a person is a joker! LOL!!

Is believing in a deity that necessary to be human and to experience? The belief in the existence of a god is way overrated.

toba:

I will love to know the God u believe in.

InesQor:

@viaro: My guy, e don tey na! Good to read a post from you again. Kai! I have missed you and DeepSight's numerous cross-thread scuffles and banters!

@InesQor, I've really missed Nairaland the last few days - been so busy during the day that it's practically (almost) impossible to sit and post anything (blame most of it on 'work'), hehe!

Oh boy, see list! This mantraa of a person is a joker! LOL!!

True - and it does not surprise me that it all adds up to the very same thing we have seen about why atheists hold on to their beliefs in the same way that religious people do.

jagunlabi:

Is believing in a deity that necessary to be human and to experience?

I don't think that's the issue here in this thread. Perhaps I might've failed to see the connection, but who in this thread seems to have predicated the question of human existence on the necessity of believing in a deity? But that does not take anything away from the basics here, nor should we confuse between human existence and worldviews.

The belief in the existence of a god is way overrated.

In the same sense that you don't seem to be a non-believer in whatever 'deity' of sorts you believe in - is that way overrated as well?

when you think about it the vast majority of the people on this planet are religious. I believe religion gives hope and the strengh to continue in this world of injustice and unfare tratment it is good for the believer to believe that there is someone looking down on them and that there is a better life after this one

mantraa:

I also do not believe in the existence of all the following gods.

No problem. Your non-belief is simply an excuse around the basic point here - that atheists hold on to their beliefs in the same way that religious people do. What you do not believe in does not negate the fact that you hold on to your beliefs in the same manner delineated in the OP's "18 convenient piddling" ... which prolly explains the conjecture in your next line:

Or maybe i am a believer in their non existence.

Another way of stating the obvious fact ... that your reasons for holding on to your own "beliefs" is no less religious as in the same manner that the OP identified earlier?

As a christian or a muslim or hindu etc. you probably share 99.9999% the same belief as me.

Tall dream. Since when have you become one who holds a belief identical to the point of 99.9999% as in Christianity, or Islam, or Hinduism ... or any other worldview for that matter? Perhaps you need to identify your own 'belief' as in the clause {"the same belief"} before you come to the conclusion that Christians or Muslims or Hindus "share" {"the same belief"} as yours. Otherwise, what you have tried to argue is mere affirming the 18 convenient excuses for atheists holding their own beliefs in much the same way as do religious people - it is either that, or your argument is plain false.

'All of those other gods are man made, fictional, and definitely not real. Except for the one that i was indoctrinated into believing in'. Can you not see the irony that out of all the gods that you dont believe in.

No - there's no "irony" in your statement, for the Christian worldview does not dismiss "[a]ll of those other gods" out of hand as you want to believe for yourself. The fact is, the Christian worldview leaves open the question of people believing in whatever 'gods' they want to - it does not see them as "fictional" or assumes that they are "definitely not real".

In very fact, ... (a) while it remains that people may worship any such 'gods' [1 Cor. 8:5 - "though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)"], (b) the Christian worldview recognizes and affirms a very distinct Deity [1 Cor. 8:6 - "but to us there is but one God"].

The atheist may make up all sorts of "ironies" that don't even make sense within the atheistic matrix, but they only end up demonstrating the very fact that many atheistic arguments are ironically fallacious.

i just believe in one less than you.

If you're an atheist, then that's either a lie, or another demonstrable atheist convenient piddling (no offense). It does not matter anyhow how many less you may believe in - at least it is up to you to show us if you believe in ANY at all. So making this fluff about "I just believe" is rather comical - the atheist who makes appeal to such piffling had better look for another excuse. No, seriously.

Look at yourself in relation to the bigger picture of world religions. It is not possible for them all to be right.

True - but no one here is asking that they all have to be 'right'. The question is simply this: some dude came up with some "Top 18 reasons why people turn to, or hold religious beliefs" - and so far all we have seen is a case made for the inclusion of atheists who hold their own "beliefs" (whatever they may be) in much the same religious manner as do religious people. More to the point is that there is not one single atheism - we know there are DIFFERENT TYPES OF ATHEISM - and that is a testimony to the fact that not all atheists within all types of atheism can be "right", else there would be no need to have different types of atheism in the first place.

According to christians, all muslims are going to hell. according to muslims, and jews, all christians are going to hell.

And how does that pat-answer demonstrate your own convenient excuse for holding your own beliefs as an atheist? What any other adherent believes does not negate the fact that atheists also hold their beliefs in much the same way as do religious people - that is the issue here, not the concern of the atheists to excuse his own religiousity on other people's beliefs.

This is so silly that people are murdering people because of this. If would be funny if it wasnt so sad.

Yea, please find another excuse. Atheistic governments persecute and murder their own citizens without any help of Christian, Muslim, or Hindu beliefs - that is the most silly and ironically sad thing in all your efforts about what you "believe".

The question is: it's a matter of the OP's reasons for why people believe or hold unto their religious beliefs. The "18 reasons" he gives are just about the same reasons why atheists hold unto their own beliefs in much the same religious manner. And yes, if you do ask anyday, there are many atheists are very deeply "religious" - they may deny this, but at least we can start from those 'Atheistic Religions'.

Respects

Same here.

manmustwac:

when you think about it the vast majority of the people on this planet are religious. I believe religion gives hope and the strengh to continue in this world of injustice and unfare tratment it is good for the believer to believe that there is someone looking down on them and that there is a better life after this one

Now that may make some sense. Although some atheists live without any sense of any Being looking down on their welfare, I've always wondered what the atheist thinks about life and death - such questions as the origin or life, the mystery of death, the realities that are beyond the ambit of naturalism and the materialistic worldviews, etc. But all those are discussions for another time.

viaro:

Now that may make some sense. Although some atheists live without any sense of any Being looking down on their welfare, I've always wondered what the atheist thinks about life and death - such questions as the origin or life, the mystery of death, the realities that are beyond the ambit of naturalism and the materialistic worldviews, etc. But all those are discussions for another time.

good i'll be waiting for you to start the topic

Tales of two fellows who first let go of religious beliefs but returned to pick up and hold on to those beliefs.

http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2009/04/conversion-experience-atheism


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1255983/How-I-God-peace-atheist-brother-PETER-HITCHENS-traces-journey-Christianity.html

Enigma:

Tales of two fellows who first let go of religious beliefs but returned to pick up and hold on to those beliefs.

http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2009/04/conversion-experience-atheism


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1255983/How-I-God-peace-atheist-brother-PETER-HITCHENS-traces-journey-Christianity.html

Reading through ur link confirms my belief that atheists are confused people.That applies to virtually NL atheists.

I do not believe in the existence of any of the gods being worshipped at present or in our history. There have literally been thousands that people spend their entire lives worshipping and praying to. If it brings you comfort and a purpose for your existence then that is all well and good for you. You believe you have found the answer to how you got here on this planet earth and why you are here in this vast universe. For me though, i truly think that there is much more to it than that and one day we will discover the truth. Religion has served its purpose and now it is time for us all to move out of our infancy and accept that there are no gods.
You dont need to 'spread the word' or defend him.
You dont need to worship or pray to him.
You dont need to love him or fear him.
You also dont need to fear the devil or the fictitious place called hell.
All you need to do is realise that so far as we understand all humans evolved from the same natural elements that are part of this universe that all life evolved from. There are no special chosen peoples. The sooner we all realise this, the better. Then we can use our intelligence constructively and move forward towards more unity and a fairer, more peaceful world. We are already moving in the right direction.

In my opinion, there is no god. We are here on our own. There are no supernatural deities observing, guiding or protecting us. We are responsible for our own actions and our own destiny. However, If any one of the hundreds of 'omnipotent' gods decided to come down to earth and reveal himself to everyone i will be very happy to change my opinion. He/she could so easily put all religious arguments to rest in an instant.

U should have asked the wind to reveal itself to u,that u might believe in its existence. Better still for u to say theres no brain/mind since they cant be seen physically.
Have u ever opened a human skull to find out if hair was planted therein in order for it to grow on the head gradually.

mantraa:

I do not believe in the existence of any of the gods being worshipped at present or in our history. There have literally been thousands that people spend their entire lives worshipping and praying to. If it brings you comfort and a purpose for your existence then that is all well and good for you.

This is all getting very interesting indeed. Perhaps again one may say the same about you as an atheist. Your choice to not believe in any gods is your choice - and you're expressing just about the same reasons from among the OP's "18 reasons" for your atheistic beliefs in much the same way that religious people hold their own beliefs. The connection here is the same: 'If it brings you comfort and a purpose for your existence then that is all well and good for you'.

You believe you have found the answer to how you got here on this planet earth and why you are here in this vast universe.

Have you as an atheist found any answers? Why does it really bother the typical atheist that other people find any answers for meaning of their existence at all, where in very fact the atheist often does not have any purpose or meaning to life and existence?

For me though, i truly think that there is much more to it than that and one day we will discover the truth.

Hehe ... pardon me, but I truly think that again is another classic atheist excuse. Please note that I'm not out against you in particular; but it strikes me that when the atheist is faced with ultimate questions about life and existence, it plays out in much the same pattern in their answers: forever thinking there's more than that and never able to point to anything concrete. 'One day we will discover the truth' - the 'truth' about what? Why is it that atheism has never ever tried to produce that 'truth' about ultimate questions of the origin and purpose of life and yet forever thinks [prophetically] that "one day" we will they will discover what they already are rejecting here and now? Anyways, I respect the fact that it was your opinion and remains yours.

Religion has served its purpose and now it is time for us all to move out of our infancy and accept that there are no gods.

If atheism denies any purpose to life and has no answers to the question of the origin of life and existence, what does it ever offer anybody? It rather seems that atheism is struggling with its own "infancy" about the classic denial of the existence of God, gods and the supernatural. In which case, it would behove the atheist to move out of his/her own infancy and accept that atheism has no answers to what it cannot explain. It is the simplest thing to deny anything, quite another world entirely to find answers to ultimate questions of reality.

You dont need to 'spread the word' or defend him.

No, the atheist does not need to "spread the word" to defend his/her own denials of the existence of God and the supernatural - and they do so (e.g., Atheist spread the word). Could you tell us why the atheist feels a "need" to engage in "spreading the word"? This all brings us back to the same observation made earlier: that the OP's 18 reasons for why people turn to or hold religious beliefs also apply to why atheists hold their own beliefs in much the same religious manner - so no biggy here.

You dont need to worship or pray to him.

You sound like the typical atheist preaching to the choir. The atheist does not need to worship or pray to God (or any god/gods) ^{i deeply wish Deep Sight was hanging around long enough to see this now} - but why do they (atheists) feel any need to campaign and preach about this in the first place? Perhaps the atheist needs first to turn inward and flag out against those "atheistic religions" that seem to escape the typical atheist's radar when it comes to real discussions, no?

As an asides, as a postscript to 'the typical atheist preaching to the choir', you may want to consider the new wave of atheists now being touted as 'atheist evangelists' (just search around: Dawkins, Hitchens, and a few others in the 'new atheism' bandwagon). However, not many atheists are impressed by the airy arguments of these 'atheists evangelists'. An example is Bruce Sheiman who makes a case for religion in his book, "An Atheist Defends Religion: Why Humanity is Better Off with Religion Than Without It" (Alpha Books) - see a review article at Zenit.

The typical atheist may feel the need to campaign that they dont need to worship or pray to God; but then, would that not be typically preaching to the choir?

^^^

mantraa:
You dont need to love him or fear him.

Just as above - the same display of atheistic preaching to the choir.

You also dont need to fear the devil or the fictitious place called hell.

No, you may not feel the "need" to do so; but I seriously wonder why atheists have no answers to certain phenomena about supernatural realities. Ever heard of such a thing as atheists believing in things that atheism cannot explain - such as the existence of ghosts and spirits? This is not an argument about the meaning of ghosts and spirits; rather, more than that is the fact that there are atheists who believe in these things either through having experienced them or otherwise related to their realities. How do you as an atheist explain that without resorting to the typical atheistic "pat-answers"?

All you need to do is realise that so far as we understand all humans evolved from the same natural elements that are part of this universe that all life evolved from. There are no special chosen peoples. The sooner we all realise this, the better.

Interesting, that ^^^.  Please can you as an atheist tell us in plain language what is the origin of life? Forget the mantra about life evolving from natural elements blah-blah ... what I really want to know is where life came from as the basic foundation before all talk about evolving this and that: how does atheism explain the ORIGIN of life in the first place?

Then we can use our intelligence constructively and move forward towards more unity and a fairer, more peaceful world. We are already moving in the right direction.

Please wake up. The current century is no better than that last one that has seen the world far more disquieted than any other time in human history. What peaceful world has resulted from all the "constructive intelligences" that stood limp in the face of global disasters, political upheavals, natural catastrophes, as well social unrests around the world? The hard fact is that humanity with its acclaimed "constructive intelligence" cannot help itself when we're faced with tough issues that rub us hard in reality.

In my opinion, there is no god. We are here on our own.

That is your opinion - well articulated in just the same manner of the 18 reasons why people hold their own beliefs.

There are no supernatural deities observing, guiding or protecting us.

Speak for yourself rather than make sweeping statements. It is such kinds of atheist bragado assumptions that make us feel very sorry on the atheist's behalf - not so much that religious people are super-heroes (no, they're not), but rather that the atheist who makes such generalisations is piffling over matters that he or she has never investigated to an absolute point.

We are responsible for our own actions and our own destiny.

Most religious believers also affirm human responsibility in human action; but the atheist has first to tell us what he means by 'destiny' and what sense that word makes in atheism. You are better off being silent on concepts that atheism has no grounds to appeal to - just an observation.

However, If any one of the hundreds of 'omnipotent' gods decided to come down to earth and reveal himself to everyone i will be very happy to change my opinion. He/she could so easily put all religious arguments to rest in an instant.

Please don't humour yourself. Christianity articulates that request so very well - for Christ is the revelation of God. Has that changed your opinion? No - because you would not remain an atheist before posting the above. Your cliché is typical of Christopher Hitchens' non-starter - a perfect escape hatch he employs when his own arguments collapse right in front of his eyes. Try something else.

manmustwac:

viaro link=topic=417451.msg5764489#msg5764489 date=1269518784:

Now that may make some sense. Although some atheists live without any sense of any Being looking down on their welfare, I've always wondered what the atheist thinks about life and death - such questions as the origin or life, the mystery of death, the realities that are beyond the ambit of naturalism and the materialistic worldviews, etc. But all those are discussions for another time.

good i'll be waiting for you to start the topic

Anytime anyone of you may so desire to start any such topics, viaro is game.

I believe this new research should help answer why people hold unto false stories

https://www.humanbioscience.org/2018/09/why-some-humans-strongly-stick-to-false-beliefs.html

I hope this answers your question