I'd find it rather strange that people who follow a religious path based on faith would ever ask for proof that a God doesn't exist, surely faith alone should be enough proof from an Athiest that one didn't exist? But in the real world it's not possible to disprove the existance of something which isn't there.... I could tell you that in the very deepest core of the Sun there is a perfect bowl of Banana split with icecream on it, realistically there isn't much you could do to argue the point that it isn't there if I have faith that it is.

As for the OP, I'm afraid I follow the simple line of thought that Bigtakka has http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=7272549 I think we get very little time to live on this planet and I'm upset enough that there is 7-8 hour periods of the day where I have to sleep to continue living so I definately wouldn't consume any of the finite hours I have in my life with kneeling down and hoping for an 1up afterwards, if anyone is reading this and thinks that I'm wrong and will burn in hell for all eternity because of my views.... well that's just the icing on the cake at most I have another 50 years to live if I was granted eternal life (even if it was suffering and being burned etc) it would still be eternal... like... Hell would be painful... but you can't die... you'll live forever. Would be bizzarre anyway I wasn't afraid of death before I was born because I didn't exist and I wont worry about it after I die because I wont exist.

Point that they are outnumbered by people who don't share their beliefs stands.

I agree with JWeinCom, both the comment itself and the meaning behind it.

I wonder if our religions will die out and be replaced some day. I think that we will have some sort of beliefsystem for many, many more years, but I think that we'll get a "modern" bible some day. I wonder how it will look.

I think most religious people would like a bible that doesn't talk about owning slaves or stoning kids, you know? Faith isn't about those things anyways. The bible was obviously a product of its time, and as such has a lot of weird stuff in it. If people got together and tried to make a new holy book, and tried perhaps (might be impossible, but why not try?) to unite all the religions under one banner, with better goals and rules. I think that would benefit all of humanity.

I think it comes mainly from the mindset I have had since childhood. I loved learning, and still do to this day. I would study maps and histories and watch documentaries on cultures. People and the world fascinated me so naturally I asked questions.

In church their was ultimately a brick wall of answers like "god did it" or "only god knows" using the deity as a catch all to cover ignorance.

In school I found far more satisfactory answers, and the humility to answer "we do not know, at least not yet".

I went to church until I was no longer forced to as felt disconnected from the congregation and notions of "faith".

Once I went to University I found I was not alone and met people from all walks of life. My understanding grew through my conversations and even met more sophisticated theists. I ultimately found their beliefs or reasoning lacking and alien. It was at this point I realized I was an atheist and that this was okay.

At 30 the only disappointing aspect of this debate is that it has been years since I've heard new or interesting arguments. It feels recycled at the stage that I can see the next three steps of a typical discussion before it happens. I have an open mind, but nothing presented by anyone in my life makes the compelling argument that there is any deity of any kind present in our reality.

You said christianity wasn't the most commonly believed religion, and then went on to say islam was the most commonly believed religion. Just tellin you, that's not the case.

Exactly, lol.

I was raised as a Christian.
As I grew older I began to question things. These questions led to: why is Christianity any more of a real concept than Judaism or Muslim?
Learning about religions that come and go also brought more questions. Hercules, Hades etc. are Greek myths. Myths are religions that no longer have a following. These myths often predate the current religions.

Religion is often considered to be real because of the texts that describe their deity. During each era, different religious factions have had conflict with one another because their text is the true 'message'.
If you look at political texts during these eras, both sides of each society has a bias against the other.
This often led to war, massacres, genocide etc.

War still occurs to this day due to religion. Religion also has a strong hold on politics which is wrong and just grants you a conservative leader that enforce their beliefs upon a nation because of an old book.
An old book that is not backed up by any evidence.
Books that are often misrepresented so people can use that religion for their own agenda, and to control the minds of millions.

I believe in what is real. What can be proven to be real. I enjoy Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings, however, I know that they are fantasy.

I am an Atheist that follows what can be proven to be real. I even challenge social norms. Just because something has been normalised within a culture, does not make it the right thing. I believe in questioning the state of things and challenging them. I believe in progress. Sure there is much that can be learned from the past, such as: do not act like these people did.

I live in reality, not fantasy. My source of hope is educating myself, and hoping that others do the same. You can make a better world by challenging norms that have been established and generating equality within a society. Believing everything will be better (or worse) in the afterlife is all well and good. People should focus on the life that they know truly exists and focus on making that life the best and most positive thing they can. We definitely exist, that can be proven. We can make our lives and the lives of others better. Can we prove that one religion trumps another? Can we prove that any deity exists?

That is why I am an Atheist.

End of rant.

I think it is an unrealistic standard to hold that all beliefs we all form are/should be based on reason or empirical data. Many beliefs that even the most scientifically minded people hold are based on intuition and emotional reasoning. A perfect example is String Theory. For decades now many physicists have been chasing it because it is a mathematically beautiful theory, but still there have not been many ideas about how we can test it. I don't think irrationality in beliefs, or intuitive beliefs are exclusive to religion, nor do I believe that intuitive reasoning has absolutely no use in even science (often it informs us in the direction we should look before we formulate our testable theory.) Furthermore, religion is a very complicated thing. A lot of it is allegorical, and it is very hard for people to separate the allegory (which can feel quite true to their lives) from the mysticism. The afterlife is not that unrealistic of a concept for many, and I don't think it is that irrational of a belief in the grand-scheme of things (despite myself not believing in a traditional one.)

You're all right! While my comment was just an honest answer to the question and not meant to offend anyone, I'm perfectly fine with you being offended by it if you want to be. Afterall, taking offence to something is a personal choice, and I'm not your master so go nuts. And that is how I actually feel. It just wasn't what I was portraying in that comment.