Are atheists afraid of God?

[Paul of Tarsus]

In response to Stephen Hawking's quip, "Religion is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark," apologist John Lennox said, "And atheism is a fairy story for those afraid of the light."

Do atheists fear that light aka God? I would answer no assuming I knew atheists to be completely sensible and rational in their rejection of theism, but they very often aren't sensible and rational in their unbelief. In this forum, for example, an atheist said he lost his belief in God when he realized that there are different religions. When I tried to explain to him that those conflicting faiths can be explained as some of them getting a real God wrong, well, it did me no good! It's simply illogical to conclude that God doesn't exist because some people disagree about him. His atheism is obviously based on faulty logic. What's odd about these cases involving atheists using poor reasoning to reject God is that those atheists seem quite reasonable otherwise. My guess is that they fear God and wish that he doesn't exist. Atheism is for them a sanctuary from theism and a hope that reality harbors no scary God.

[William]

Atheism as a position is not necessarily what an atheist may be in their own personality.

Who is suggesting otherwise?

I think Paul of Tarsus is suggesting it.

For many, myself included, atheism ends at not believing in gods. Beyond the occasional exchanges such as participation in this forum, atheism plays no significant part in my life at all. On the other hand, theism informs many other aspects of a believer's life beyond just having a belief in gods and their entire life and personality is shaped by their religion.

Preaching to the choir brunumb. I am really just offering reasons for why Paul of Tarsus see's "atheists" as "atheism..."

[Kylie]

I'm not saying that atheism necessarily results in suppressed religiosity although it can, of course. In some cases atheists apparently experience a kind of vestigial religiosity in which they still experience beliefs they held when they had been religious. These vestiges of belief may be uncomfortable or even embarrassing for an atheist to avow, and many atheists may be loathe to admit they have them. To combat these vestiges of religion, the atheist may immerse himself in atheistic philosophy and literature and may seek out other atheists to assure himself that if they don't believe in God, then neither does he. You might call this phenomenon the "mirror image" of the religious believer who struggles with doubt and who seeks out ways to bolster his faith.

And what about those atheists who never were religious, like me?

If I understand your question, you are asking if people who have been atheists all their lives may have at least some theism in them. My answer is yes, even some life-long atheists can experience some religious urges and beliefs. I see no reason why they cannot have such beliefs. It's important to understand that the human mind is complex and imperfect, so it can accommodate conflicting thoughts. That's why an atheist can have some belief in God.

As we have seen on this thread, many atheists strongly oppose the idea that atheism does not exclude all theism in the mind of the atheist. To combat the idea, they assert that it is false repeating slogans that atheists do not believe in God and cannot believe in God. This caricature of atheists is obviously simplistic not to mention at odds with common understandings of atheism. Ironically, the atheists who employ such rhetoric end up acting like a lot of theists do! And that could never be a result of suppressed theism, now can it?

*Looks at herself, having been raised an atheist with no religious education whatsoever.*

Yeah, I've never cried out to God in difficult times, and believe me I've been through some shocking points.

[Paul of Tarsus]

*Looks at herself, having been raised an atheist with no religious education whatsoever.*

Yeah, I've never cried out to God in difficult times, and believe me I've been through some shocking points.

Have you ever thought you were close to death? I've documented a case of an atheist who cried out to God when he thought he was close to dying. It's important to understand that he was an atheist "in thought" which is to say that he did not think that God exists. He based that conclusion on reason and realizing that there was no evidence he knew of that was convincing. However, his feelings turned out to be different. When he thought he was close to death he feared death, and that fear caused him to cry out to God.

I suppose that's where the old saying comes from: There are no atheists in foxholes.

[William]

*Looks at herself, having been raised an atheist with no religious education whatsoever.*

Yeah, I've never cried out to God in difficult times, and believe me I've been through some shocking points.

Have you ever thought you were close to death? I've documented a case of an atheist who cried out to God when he thought he was close to dying. It's important to understand that he was an atheist "in thought" which is to say that he did not think that God exists. He based that conclusion on reason and realizing that there was no evidence he knew of that was convincing. However, his feelings turned out to be different. When he thought he was close to death he feared death, and that fear caused him to cry out to God.

I suppose that's where the old saying comes from: There are no atheists in foxholes.

Are you conflating fear of death with fear of "God"? Are atheists afraid of death?

If such happened, then clearly the person was only claiming to be an atheist, and must have been a theist, for only a theist can 'cry out' to a god. Obviously he was someone who allowed himself to be caught up in fear-inducing superstitious belief systems which theists seed into this world about the nature of The Eternal Creator...

[Tcg]

I suppose that's where the old saying comes from: There are no atheists in foxholes.

There are plenty of them in spite of that warn out myth:

Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers
Providing community for atheists, humanists, and other nontheists in the military.


Atheists in Foxholes, in Cockpits, and on Ships

MAAF maintains a roster of Atheists in Foxholes, just in case there are any rumors that we don't exist. The next time you hear someone repeat that old myth, just send them here to see how atheists have served honorably in combat - always have, always will.

Besides the MAAF members below, keep in mind atheists in foxholes whose stories have been in feature stories and documentaries: Pat Tillman, Afghanistan war Army Ranger and football player, Hans Kasten, WWII POW leader, Phil Paulson, Vietnam Veteran and activist, Kurt Vonnegut, WWII POW and author, Ted Williams, WWII Veteran and baseball player, Ernest Hemingway, WWI Vet and author, Sherwin Wine, Founder of Humanistic Judaism, Major Sidney Excell, who arrested Heinrich Himmler, Bob Kerrey, former Governor and Senator, Navy Seal, and Medal of Honor recipient.

http://militaryatheists.org/atheists-in-foxholes/

[Paul of Tarsus]

Are you conflating fear of death with fear of "God"? Are atheists afraid of death?

If such happened, then clearly the person was only claiming to be an atheist, and must have been a theist, for only a theist can 'cry out' to a god. Obviously he was someone who allowed himself to be caught up in fear-inducing superstitious belief systems which theists seed into this world about the nature of The Eternal Creator...

Do you know what cognitive dissonance is?

[Paul of Tarsus]

I suppose that's where the old saying comes from: There are no atheists in foxholes.

There are plenty of them in spite of that warn out myth...

Why did the myth originate?

[William]

Are you conflating fear of death with fear of "God"? Are atheists afraid of death?

If such happened, then clearly the person was only claiming to be an atheist, and must have been a theist, for only a theist can 'cry out' to a god. Obviously he was someone who allowed himself to be caught up in fear-inducing superstitious belief systems which theists seed into this world about the nature of The Eternal Creator...

Do you know what cognitive dissonance is?

In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values, and is typically experienced as psychological stress when they participate in an action that goes against one or more of them. Wikipedia

This is why I wrote "clearly the person was only claiming to be an atheist, and must have been a theist, for only a theist can 'cry out' to a god. Obviously he was someone who allowed himself to be caught up in fear-inducing superstitious belief systems which theists seed into this world about the nature of The Eternal Creator..."

Clearly the theist thought he was an atheist ... = "cognitive dissonance"

[Tcg]

I suppose that's where the old saying comes from: There are no atheists in foxholes.

There are plenty of them in spite of that warn out myth...

Why did the myth originate?

Why do you perpetuate it when it is known to be false? The answer to that question may help you answer yours.


Tcg

[Paul of Tarsus]

Do you know what cognitive dissonance is?

In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values, and is typically experienced as psychological stress when they participate in an action that goes against one or more of them. Wikipedia

Very good! As should now be clear, it is possible for a person to hold the two following contradictory beliefs:

1. There is no (are no) God(s).
2. There is a God, and I'm afraid of him.

This is why I wrote "clearly the person was only claiming to be an atheist, and must have been a theist, for only a theist can 'cry out' to a god. Obviously he was someone who allowed himself to be caught up in fear-inducing superstitious belief systems which theists seed into this world about the nature of The Eternal Creator..."

I'm afraid that what you're concluding here contradicts what you just posted about cognitive dissonance. The person could very well have been an atheist calling out to God; the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance guarantees that possibility.

Clearly the theist thought he was an atheist ... = "cognitive dissonance"

That's close to being right. The suicidal man was an atheist whose vestigial theism, which was normally relegated to his subconsciousness, came to the fore as a result of emotional trauma. When his atheism and theism conflicted with each other in his consciousness, he experienced cognitive dissonance.

If you want to still insist he's a theist, then that's your call, of course. If you choose to do so, then you are calling a person who only once for a brief time believed in God in the last thirty-four years a theist! That "theist" sees no reason to believe in any Gods and has several reasons to conclude that God almost certainly does not exist.

Your reasoning results in that absurdity.

Are you conflating fear of death with fear of "God"?

Obviously, fear of death and of God are not exactly the same, but they are associated by religious beliefs regarding the afterlife. Many see death as "meeting their maker" to be judged by that maker. If a person is an atheist, that person may fear the possibility that God will judge them post death for their unbelief.

Are atheists afraid of death?

The wise atheists should fear death, and no doubt many of them do. Fear of death is very handy to keep one alive.