You have to believe in something!

[Peter]

If you're an atheist I'm sure you've gotten the question.

If I'm being snarky I'll say something like, "If I must believe in something irrational I choose Leprechauns". My non-snarky answer is "nature" but it doesn't feel as grand as believing in some all powerful being in charge of the universe. Maybe I have god envy.

What does a theist mean with that question?

What's a good answer for an atheist?

[Zzyzx]

.
Although I am not an Atheist (Non-Theist tending toward Ignosticism), I still get the tired old "You have to believe in something" cliche.

What does a theist mean with that question?

First, it means that the person probably thinks in false dichotomies / either or / believe in gods or you must believe in an alternative. All of which are fundamental flaws in logic -- but few know (or care) about logical fallacies.

Then I take it to mean that someone is trying to justify supernatural beliefs by claiming "everybody does it." Occasionally a Theist in debate has equated "belief" to confidence that the sun will appear tomorrow morning -- or even to a vehicle starting.

I particularly enjoy the latter because it allows me to point out the difference between confidence and belief using my faithful old truck as example of a 99% confidence level based on many years of experience.

Actually, it seems to cheapen religious belief or faith to the "everybody does it" level.

What's a good answer for an atheist?

"I believe I'll have another shot of bourbon" -- that may not be a good answer but most weren't looking for a good answer, only some justification for their own belief in supernaturalism (in my opinion, most of the time). Perhaps they will move on to an easier mark.

[Divine Insight]

My response is to simply ask what's wrong with honesty?

I believe that I do not have sufficient knowledge to know the true nature of reality, and that includes whether or not some God might exist.

Surely if there exists a God it would appreciate my honesty.

I also must honestly confess with absolute sincerity and honesty that the Abrahamic religions appear to me to be extremely stupid as well as immoral, and I can't even begin to imagine that they have anything at all to do with any supposedly all-wise God.

Again, is honesty worth anything?

And finally, when it comes to Christianity in particular, it is my honest sincere opinion that any God who would have become involved in having his own stupid priests butcher his only begotten demigod son on a pole would necessarily need to be the stupidest God I can possibly imagine.

And so why should I believe that we were created by a stupid God?

So it seems to me that to believe that the Bible is absolute nonsense actually makes sense. Believing that it's true would not only be absurd, but it would be an insult to any God that actually might exist.

So yes I believe the Bible is false mythology created by idiots.

And therefore I am a "believer".

I believe the Bible is utter nonsense.

[sayak83]

I, as an atheist, believe in the extremely high value life has among natural phenomenon due to its rarity, complexity and unique ability of generating purpose and meaning ex-nihilo and imparting it both to itself and other objects in its environment. Just as today we have a science of order and complexity, i think there will develop eventually a science of values and life would be at the highest end of that scale.

[bjs]

Technically, it would be you have to believe something, not, you have to believe in something. Christians believe in God. Non-theists dont have to believe in anything.

However, non-theists do have to believe something. This is commonly called a philosophy or worldview. It is the underlying understanding of reality which is the basis for your actions and which is revealed by your actions.

Everyone has a worldview. Not everyone thinks about or examines their worldview. Some people make actions without a clear understanding or explanation of the basis of those actions. But it is impossible not to have a worldview, even if that worldview is unstated.

[Ooberman]

If you're an atheist I'm sure you've gotten the question.

If I'm being snarky I'll say something like, "If I must believe in something irrational I choose Leprechauns". My non-snarky answer is "nature" but it doesn't feel as grand as believing in some all powerful being in charge of the universe. Maybe I have god envy.

What does a theist mean with that question?

What's a good answer for an atheist?

"motherhood", "Friendship", family, my kids, the basic goodness in people, that we best possibly live a decent life if we are decent people....

There are a lot of things to believe in.

I believe in Love.

[KCKID]

I've pretty well always felt that human beings have an innate curiosity with regard to why we're here in the first place as well as to what might exist beyond this life. It's as though this curiosity was placed there intentionally by some 'entity' that is way beyond our understanding but who is, nevertheless, a real being somewhere 'out there'. And, if we're to believe that, then it might be just as likely that this 'entity' would also leave us some form of evidence - other than the evidence of life on this beautiful blue globe orbiting the sun - in some written form. It seems 'natural' to have a belief in something. Perhaps the Bible, if we can ever fathom out its meaning instead of constantly arguing about it, might actually contain the answers ...or. at least, as much as we need to know for now. I, personally, cannot believe in 'nothing'. If everything simply occurred without a creator and a master plan, then life is, to me, a pretty meaningless 80+ years. Sure, we can, and in fact should, live life to the fullest, but then ...it's lights out. If, however, everything occurred through a Creator according to a master plan that extends beyond this life then our 80+ years means everything! Looking forward to some glorious event is also - I believe - an innate human condition.

[Peter]

I've pretty well always felt that human beings have an innate curiosity with regard to why we're here in the first place as well as to what might exist beyond this life. It's as though this curiosity was placed there intentionally by some 'entity' that is way beyond our understanding but who is, nevertheless, a real being somewhere 'out there'. And, if we're to believe that, then it might be just as likely that this 'entity' would also leave us some form of evidence - other than the evidence of life on this beautiful blue globe orbiting the sun - in some written form. It seems 'natural' to have a belief in something. Perhaps the Bible, if we can ever fathom out its meaning instead of constantly arguing about it, might actually contain the answers ...or. at least, as much as we need to know for now. I, personally, cannot believe in 'nothing'. If everything simply occurred without a creator and a master plan, then life is, to me, a pretty meaningless 80+ years. Sure, we can, and in fact should, live life to the fullest, but then ...it's lights out. If, however, everything occurred through a Creator according to a master plan that extends beyond this life then our 80+ years means everything! Looking forward to some glorious event is also - I believe - an innate human condition.

You make some interesting observations about human characteristics that you attribute to a creator. Is it possible these characteristics evolved naturally?

Innate curiosity - this has proved to be a huge evolutionary advantage so it's not surprising that natural selection has encouraged curiosity.

Natural to have a belief in something - this goes hand in hand with our natural curiosity. We seek answers and where none exist we manufacture answers.

I'm glad you can't believe in nothing. I don't believe in nothing either but by the same token I don't manufacture things to believe in to make me feel better about myself. In the grand scheme of things our individual lives are meaningless. This doesn't mean that my life is meaningless to me or the people I touch in my life.

Finally I agree that hoping for the best, a glorious event as you call it, is also a human characteristic. Hope is important, we should all have hope, but when people create a hope club (religion) and start to invent hope fantasies everything gets out of hand.

To me, reality is so wonderful that I have difficulty understanding how some people prefer to live hoping for a fantasy.

[connermt]

[Replying to post 1 by Peter]

What does a theist mean with that question?

I've found that very few christians actually mean one thing and ask something totally else. They tend to use their own definitions for things. That said, it's probably one of two things:
1) they are trying to get you to admit to something that they've learned will benefit them in their twisted logic or
2) trying to show you how their belief is logical

What's a good answer for an atheist?

Probably the best answer is
Then maybe: "No I don't" and leave it at that, if, indeed, you don't believe in anything.
If you do, tell them what you believe in. They don't have to like or accept it for it to be true.

[JoeyKnothead]

From the OP:

You have to believe in something!

I believe in the idea that until the more literal bunch of theists can show their core claims are truth, I'm not gonna believe just 'cause they do.

I notice that in our debates, I get more of a fuss from the mere challenging of claims, than I ever get of this literal bunch offering support for their claims.

I've even run into the, "You're stopping debate by challenging claims" argument, as if asking how we can know one speaks truth magically and irrevocably puts a stop to 'em continuing to make the exact same claims later on.

I believe in the idea that if you can actually show you speak truth, you shouldn't get too upset when folks ask ya to do it.