Do Atheist Still Believe in God?

I believe this would fall more under Science than Religion based on how the information came to light.

A study has found that Atheist might not be unbelievers after all...

A study in Finland explored how religious and non-religious people responded to the idea of God.

The researchers used electrodes to measure how much sweat people produced while reading statements like "I dare God to make my parents drown" or "I dare God to make me die of cancer".

Unexpectedly, when nonbelievers read the statements, they produced as much sweat as believers - suggesting they were equally anxious about the consequences of their dares.

When I first read the information, I thought that perhaps it was simply because people in general, believers or not, would have the same reaction based on the words they were saying. Superstition perhaps? Not quite so...

And that's not simply because nonbelievers didn't want to wish harm on others. A companion study showed that similar dares that did not involve God (such as, "I wish my parents would drown") did not produce comparable increases in sweat levels.

Together, then, these findings suggest that despite denying that God exists, nonbelievers behaved as though God did exist.

So does that mean that Atheist really do believe in God? Well, not really...

Does this mean that nonbelievers are lying when they say they reject God? Not exactly. Rather, these contradictory behaviours probably arise in part due to living in a theistic culture that hammers home the idea that God exists.

Perhaps this leads nonbelievers to form "implicit" attitudes that are at odds with their "explicit" ones.

So what does that mean exactly? Read more here to find out!

Just goes to show how influencing the things we are told at a young age can be and the lasting effects that can manifest.

this atheist doesn't. i give santa more credibility.

Yea like don't go out of the cave and play with lions and tigers and bears.
a reply to: BelowLowAnnouncement

a reply to: StallionDuck

An atheist.... by its very definition....doesn’t believe in God.

a reply to: StallionDuck

Well played!

Could this just be down to the fact that even a small percentage chance that a fantasy monster can destroy you for eternity is something that could play on the mind?

There are no atheist in foxholes....

I'd say I am agnostic. I certainly reject man made religions, but I still believe their may be some creator. I don't have any opinion as to if that creator is benevolent or otherwise. We could be a science experiment in a petri dish for all we know.

originally posted by: Krahzeef_Ukhar
a reply to: StallionDuck

Well played!

Could this just be down to the fact that even a small percentage chance that a fantasy monster can destroy you for eternity is something that could play on the mind?

That 'what-if' gets me every time!

lol

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: StallionDuck

An atheist.... by its very definition....doesn’t believe in God.

No $#!^ captain obvious. Now how about give some substance to your response in reference to the article. Oh, you really didn't have anything to say or add of worth?

It takes more faith for an atheist to believe there is no God than to believe in God. Atheism isn't really about believing or not believing though, it's about arrogance, vanity, pompous self importance, a purposeful lack of humility and rebellion against anything except the atheist's own desires. Once a person grows beyond the need for all those childish things and casts them away, (if they can ever get over themselves), can they discover that God exists and is waiting for them to begin seeing truth.

originally posted by: Edumakated
There are no atheist in foxholes....

Could it be that this study, like most discussions on the subject, fail to take into account that just like there are many different thisists in the world, their isn't one type of atheist?

To look at it simply it's easy to see there are at least two types of atheists. The passive atheist and the militant one. And while the later gets all the attention, id argue the former is much more prevalent in our society.

While the militant atheist rejects "God" with every fiber of their being... even to an irrational degree; the passive atheist simple rejects "God" with the shrug of the shoulders.

I'd exect the passive atheist to take it more seriously to dare "God" to smite them for the same reason why they would pray to "God" while taking in coming fire from an attacking army.... because they aren't all that arrogant. They have an open mind on the subject and in the circumstance that they are wrong in their beliefs (or lack there of) they are going to hedge because it doesn't cost much to do so.

I'd like to see the results of this study expanded to include the percentage of adherence people have to their theistic and atheistic beliefs.

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
Atheism isn't really about believing or not believing though, it's about arrogance, vanity, pompous self importance, a purposeful lack of humility and rebellion against anything except the atheist's own desires.

Damn those atheists. I'll break it down for you...

Arrogance: How dare they claim not to know the point of life.
Vanity: How dare they claim they cannot converse with the greatest being.
Pompous: How dare they claim they can't offer you eternal life.
Self Importance: I'll give you this one, damn atheists!
Lack of humility: No atheists claim to speak to the creator of existence.
Rebellion against anything except an atheists desires... That's too vague to be useful, which brings us back to religion.

You could be wrong, so could the atheists.

My guess is that neither is right.

originally posted by: Krahzeef_Ukhar

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
Atheism isn't really about believing or not believing though, it's about arrogance, vanity, pompous self importance, a purposeful lack of humility and rebellion against anything except the atheist's own desires.

Damn those atheists. I'll break it down for you...

Arrogance: How dare they claim not to know the point of life.
Vanity: How dare they claim they cannot converse with the greatest being.
Pompous: How dare they claim they can't offer you eternal life.
Self Importance: I'll give you this one, damn atheists!
Lack of humility: No atheists claim to speak to the creator of existence.
Rebellion against anything except an atheists desires... That's too vague to be useful, which brings us back to religion.

You could be wrong, so could the atheists.

My guess is that neither is right.

Thank you for illustrating my point so neatly.

I know I'm not wrong. It only begins with faith.

NO. Atheist means LACK OF BELIEF IN A GOD/DEITY.

However, some think (believe) there is energy with consciousness. Or a type of "living energy" - - that is capable of intelligent thinking.

But, that falls strictly under science.

God belief is faith based. Not science based.

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed

Thank you for illustrating my point so neatly.

I know I'm not wrong. It only begins with faith.

You're welcome.

Sure my goal was to make a mockery of your beliefs, but you were able to do that better than I could.

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
It takes more faith for an atheist to believe there is no God than to believe in God. Atheism isn't really about believing or not believing though, it's about arrogance, vanity, pompous self importance, a purposeful lack of humility and rebellion against anything except the atheist's own desires. Once a person grows beyond the need for all those childish things and casts them away, (if they can ever get over themselves), can they discover that God exists and is waiting for them to begin seeing truth.

wow. Or maybe you just don’t like atheists, and you choose to believe all of these things because it makes you feel above them.

I don’t describe atheism as a lack of belief in god so much as a lack of belief in people’s claims. I find that this pov is more accurate and far more descriptive of the situation.

a reply to: RoScoLaz5

this atheist doesn't. i give santa more credibility.

I'd bet you won't feel that way on your deathbed, GOD forbid.....

originally posted by: Edumakated
There are no atheist in foxholes....

Neither in lifeboats .

Surely it would make anyone sweat to vocalize such hideous statements . By daring God they imply their wrongful sentiment will be causing upon themselves and or significant others an invocation of explicit damnation from an external actor . Its a lot different than just wishing something along .
Perhaps they're not daring God as much as daring Life or some Universal Law to damn them , which is not defined by religion but is a perceptible reality they take as being misascribed to religious Gods, hence they would sweat , and anyone bar the coldest criminals would. Though its a given that some dedicated atheists are devoid of a moral compass as well

originally posted by: Woodcarver

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
It takes more faith for an atheist to believe there is no God than to believe in God. Atheism isn't really about believing or not believing though, it's about arrogance, vanity, pompous self importance, a purposeful lack of humility and rebellion against anything except the atheist's own desires. Once a person grows beyond the need for all those childish things and casts them away, (if they can ever get over themselves), can they discover that God exists and is waiting for them to begin seeing truth.

wow. Or maybe you just don’t like atheists, and you choose to believe all of these things because it makes you feel above them.

I don’t describe atheism as a lack of belief in god so much as a lack of belief in people’s claims. I find that this pov is more accurate and far more descriptive of the situation.

Thanks for illustrating my point. And no, I don't feel "above" anyone. God loves everyone the same very greatly, even so called atheists, but it's all up to each individual to choose their own pursuits.

I hear this a lot.

There are no atheist in foxholes....

This is simply a platitude that some think is true. Of course there are atheists in the military, and no amount of fear is going to make me suddenly give up on reason.

Also i would posit that atheists are much less likely to join the military to fight bankers wars and bomb families and children. We are much more logical and are not easily swayed with emotional pleas Christianity has long been the tool to use to get people behind evil bureaucrats.