# Atheists, do you wish there was a god? Why or why not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815 "2012-06-11T14:37:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Syme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@Syme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syme)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/61 "2012-06-12T09:41:07Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > “Atheist” just means you don’t believe in gods, it doesn’t mean you are opposed to gods, or even to belief in gods. That would be [a form of “antitheism”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitheist#Other_uses). I am both an atheist and antitheist, myself According to the above given definition, then Christians and all adherents of monotheistic religions are atheists for they don’t believe in gods :rolleyes: isn’t ironic that not to believe in something, is also a belief ? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/62 "2012-06-12T09:43:45Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > “Atheist” just means you don’t believe in gods, it doesn’t mean you are opposed to gods, or even to belief in gods. That would be [a form of “antitheism”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitheist#Other_uses). I am both an atheist and antitheist, myself Strictly speaking, atheists should be called “non-theists.” True “atheists” would be the people who don’t really care whether there is a god . . . whom I call “shrugnostics.” ---
**Author:** ![Syme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@Syme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syme)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/63 "2012-06-12T09:50:58Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Strictly speaking, atheists should be called “non-theists.” True “atheists” would be the people who don’t really care whether there is a god . . . whom I call “shrugnostics.” how can you be against something you deny its existence ? there many meanings of the word ‘atheist’ so it is always better to ask an ‘atheist’ for his position or ‘belief’ ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/64 "2012-06-12T10:55:09Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Strictly speaking, atheists should be called “non-theists.” True “atheists” would be the people who don’t really care whether there is a god . . . whom I call “shrugnostics.” I wish the terminology was clearer, for sure. I’m not sure if this helps though. If “non-theist” just means lack of belief in god, then virtually all shrugnostics are also non-theists. Conversely if it means an explicit belief that there is not a god then many current atheists are neither non-theists (I don’t claim to _know_ there is no god, I just feel the same about god as I do about invisible pink unicorns) nor shrugnostics. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/65 "2012-06-12T12:58:41Z")
I’m an atheist, and an antitheist, and if deities exist, I’d be a misotheist. As for why? I think Pratchett had it right - humans have a design flaw. It’s our tendency to bend at the knees. It’s a flaw I try and overcome. “Last priest, last prince”, that’s the world I want to live in. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/66 "2012-06-12T13:09:17Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Strictly speaking, atheists should be called “non-theists.” True “atheists” would be the people who don’t really care whether there is a god . . . whom I call “shrugnostics.” “Apatheists” is the term I like for them. As for my vote, I absolutely do **not** wish there were a god. If only because this universe seems to be working, if a bit off kilter, and I wouldn’t want to change a basic underlying principle just in order to see (or not, if things went South… :eek:\*\*) how it works out. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/67 "2012-06-12T13:12:35Z")
When I was younger, I occasionally thought it would be nice if one existed. But after learning more about religion and human nature I don’t. For a time I did try the UU church but, at least the ones I met, were on the extreme liberal side of the spectrum. I believe the pastor (is that what they’re called?) had a picture of Lenin in his office. I felt about as comfortable there as I would at a uber conservative evangelical church. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/68 "2012-06-12T13:34:14Z")
Some handsome dude started a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=650568) on the subject not too long ago. The consensus was “On the contrary, I’m glad that there is no evidence for the proposition.”, but it wasn’t quite as cut-and-dried as I was anticipating. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/69 "2012-06-12T14:08:15Z")
I wish there was a god all the time. Probably at least every day. I used to be a devout Christian as a teen, and there was a sense of safety, a sense of “everything’s going to be okay,” that helped me through the hardest times. And when I suffered, I suffered for a higher purpose. I find the very concept of existence rather terrifying. It kills me that as humans we are so vulnerable to pain and suffering, that my world can be flipped upside-down on a dime. That I can die slowly of cancer, or lose my husband, or be tortured to death, horrifies me beyond my ability to explain. To have no meaning to justify the suffering is the hardest part. I used to be very existential about all this, very “Well I’ll create my own meaning, then,” but lately that isn’t doing it for me. I just don’t see the point in existence. So yeah, God would help. But not the Christian god. I’ve learned all too well what a double-edged sword that is. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/70 "2012-06-12T15:12:54Z")
Not a a god in the Big Capital G God, but…ghosts, maybe. _Something_. Actually, I wished I believed in an afterlife. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/71 "2012-06-12T16:25:55Z")
I don’t want to have to worship any god, regardless of any promised benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/72 "2012-06-12T16:52:12Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I don’t want to have to worship any god, regardless of any promised benefits. What if “worship” is not required? What if “acknowledgement” would do? What if he actually was the proverbial all-loving god who would take you to heaven/whatever even if you never admitted he existed? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/73 "2012-06-12T17:28:47Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > What if “worship” is not required? > What if “acknowledgement” would do? > What if he actually was the proverbial all-loving god who would take you to heaven/whatever even if you never admitted he existed? What a useless god that would be. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/74 "2012-06-12T17:30:36Z")
I didn’t think anyone would vote “Yes” flat out. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/75 "2012-06-12T18:27:10Z")
If it was a god who helped out once in a while, then yeah, sure, that would be cool. Beats this layabout we’ve got now. The biggest miracles I’ve heard of Him doing in the past century involve leukemia remissions (which seem to happen every once in a while regardless of religion) or Mike Eruzione. ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/76 "2012-06-12T19:19:50Z")
All the so-called “Gods” I’ve read about are assholes–not unlike the people who created them. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/77 "2012-06-12T19:21:42Z")
It depends. A world where gods, demons, angels and spirits were real would be interesting. It would also be infinitely more terrifying no doubt. OTHOH, I’d make a kickass supernatural critter hunter. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/78 "2012-06-12T21:12:20Z")
No… I don’t wish there is a God, or a dragon, or a fairy. Mythical creatures are… well… mythical for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![AnlytcPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@AnlytcPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnlytcPhil)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/79 "2012-10-04T21:41:51Z")
Who wouldn’t like to live forever in bliss? I sure would. But I don’t know how to believe that there is any god, though. People tell me I chose not to believe in a god but they are wrong, but they won’t listen. They believe I chose to be an atheist. But I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![AnlytcPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@AnlytcPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnlytcPhil)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815/80 "2012-10-04T21:45:17Z")
Who wouldn’t want to live forever in bliss? I sure would. But I don’t know how to believe that there is any god, though. People tell me I chose not to believe in a god but they are wrong, but they won’t listen. They believe I chose to be an atheist. But I didn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-do-you-wish-there-was-a-god-why-or-why-not/624815.md?page=5)