# Atheists: Ever wish that God existed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 3, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813 "2012-05-03T23:49:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/41 "2012-05-04T14:55:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’d say that atheism is a lot more terrifying than any religion. I’d be vastly comforted to think that there’s an omnipotent being out there watching over us and whose powers we can call upon. It wouldn’t comfort me at all, because I can look around and see what the world is like. If such a being existed, then, given the world we live in, it would have to be indifferent, capricious, or outright evil. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/42 "2012-05-04T15:08:18Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It wouldn’t comfort me at all, because I can look around and see what the world is like. If such a being existed, then, given the world we live in, it would have to be indifferent, capricious, or outright evil. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > You’d like to be watched over by an sadistic egomaniac? That is how most gods are portrayed. A sadist who we have no hope of defending ourselves from, one who we can’t even escape from by dying? I find such a scenario nightmarish. No, that’s how you envision God. I’ve never accepted the idea that you can give God blame for all the evil in the world while never giving him credit for any of the good. It’s just as silly as the believers who only credit him with the good and never blame him for the evil. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/43 "2012-05-04T15:36:07Z")
As god is my witness, nope. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/44 "2012-05-04T16:13:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, that’s how you envision God. > > I’ve never accepted the idea that you can give God blame for all the evil in the world while never giving him credit for any of the good. It’s just as silly as the believers who only credit him with the good and never blame him for the evil. My point is that an omnipotent being would \*have to be \*responsible for both good and evil, and, thus, it could not be benevolent. Someone who perpetrates both good and evil is not good. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/45 "2012-05-04T16:42:18Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I had to say “other,” because so much depends on whether we get a “Nice Big Sky Guy” or “Kali the Destroyer.” > > Yes, I occasionally find myself wishing there were a “perfect Daddy” god who loved us and would save us from our perils… > > …and didn’t come with this whole “Hell” business slavering from his chops. I voted, “other”, basically because of this. I suppose I could compromise on the whole “hell” thing if we got rid of this “eternal” business. After a few million years of punishing even Hitler, further punishment really can’t serve a further purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/46 "2012-05-04T17:10:52Z")
Yabbut if I go believing there is a God that means all of the horrible things happen in the world even with a God there. So maybe I wish one would show up and be like “OH SNAP I FORGOT ABOUT YOU ASSHOLES” but I certainly don’t wish one was always here. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/47 "2012-05-04T17:12:09Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > This is one thing I never understood about some organized religions. Why on earth would you claim that your god is ALL-POWERFUL _and_ benevolent, when the world clearly doesn’t match that proposition? Wouldn’t it be far more believable to say your god’s power is great but limited, and opposed by a strong force of evil? > > Anyway, yes: if the god were more or less to my liking, of course I wish there was one. All the good comes from God and all the evil is our fault - that is why religion is so comforting. 🆒 I’m much happier knowing natural disasters are random than thinking they are the responsibility of an all-powerful monster. As for an afterlife, I’ve reached the age where I’m not sure I want to hang around forever seeing the world go to hell in a handbasket and not being able to do anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/48 "2012-05-04T17:13:17Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I on the other hand don’t want any such thing. I want to choose my purposes and my direction in life, not have them imposed on me. Tools are made with a purpose, not free people; and I want to be a free person, not a tool or a slave. Number Six: I am not a number. I am a free man! Number Two (God): Ha ha ha ha. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/49 "2012-05-04T17:53:20Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Yeah, I know. “Define ‘God’”! Well, any sort of benevolent omnipresent type figure fits. Christians believe it of God, Muslims believe it of Allah, Jews believe it of YHWH. For whatever reason, atheists don’t believe it. > [..] > Do you ever wish that there was evidence that you could accept for the existence of God? These two bits seem contradictory to me. If there were acceptable evidence for the existence of god (e.g. I could pray to this god and get an obvious answer to my prayer in return, say), then it wouldn’t be God/Allah/YHWH (who have a pretty strict hands-off policy from what I’ve seen). I admit it would be cool to have some kind of benevolent magic powers. E.g. if I got a paper cut I could pray and have it instantly healed. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/50 "2012-05-04T18:07:25Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > These two bits seem contradictory to me. If there were acceptable evidence for the existence of god (e.g. I could pray to this god and get an obvious answer to my prayer in return, say), then it wouldn’t be God/Allah/YHWH (who have a pretty strict hands-off policy from what I’ve seen). > > I admit it would be cool to have some kind of benevolent magic powers. E.g. if I got a paper cut I could pray and have it instantly healed. To atheists it would, but to billions of the faithful God’s “hands on” policy manifests itself daily. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/51 "2012-05-04T18:29:51Z")
Blatant hijack alert! 😃 > [@Czarcasm](#): > > I don’t want to believe in a God that caused all the evil shit in history to happen, Really? Are you sure that it isn’t down to people? Population, power, etc? > [@](#): > > but even more I don’t want to believe in a “good” God that would _allow_ all the evil shit in history to happen. Why should God fix it when humanity can? (FWIW I count myself a theist but don’t believe in an afterlife.) ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/52 "2012-05-04T19:07:57Z")
I voted “On the contrary, I’m glad that there is no evidence for the proposition.”, and really I am. A world without god is one where I don’t run the risk of eternal torture for opposing such a being : get this - _even if_ a god were powerful and benevolent , still I would oppose it (omnipotent+omnibenevolent being an absurdity, of course.) “Last prince, last priest”, yadda, yadda. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/53 "2012-05-04T21:26:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, that’s how you envision God. > > I’ve never accepted the idea that you can give God blame for all the evil in the world while never giving him credit for any of the good. I don’t. It’s just that the world is on balance a horrible place, and most of the good that _is_ in the world clearly comes from us, from our own efforts. God won’t help me, but my family or neighbors or the government might. We’ve spent millennia building a civilization to drag ourselves up out of the hellish conditions that are humanity’s state of nature. Judging from their respective effects on the world, God is clearly either less benevolent or less powerful than, say, the typical Western government; and who would call one of those a god? And the world is full of evils we still can’t do anything about, and wild animals that live miserable, horrible lives full of suffering & deprivation. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/54 "2012-05-04T22:05:30Z")
I always say I’m agnostic, but I have a friend who maintains that I’m an atheist who wants to believe. So in a way, yeah, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/55 "2012-05-04T23:00:53Z")
Only when I can’t find my keys. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/56 "2012-05-04T23:57:32Z")
It’s hard for me to wish for something that I can’t really imagine. There are times, I admit, when I indulge in magical thinking - e.g. wouldn’t it be fabulous if I were suddenly physically young and hot with lots of money, but with all the wisdom I have now - but I don’t put much energy into it. And at least I can imagine what that would be like. Life after death? No thanks, especially not eternal life. Reincarnation? I wouldn’t mind, but I also wouldn’t know about it so it doesn’t make any practical difference. Nirvana, or becoming one with the universe? Again, probably not something I would know about even if it happened. There would be no “I” any more. I’m afraid the appeal of any of those things totally escapes me. I’m not afraid of life, and I’m not afraid of death. The only thing I might miss from religion is the fellowship, but I don’t see that that has anything to do with deities or afterlife, except as an excuse to get together. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/57 "2012-05-05T00:10:56Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > My point is that an omnipotent being would \*have to be \*responsible for both good and evil, and, thus, it could not be benevolent. Someone who perpetrates both good and evil is not good. By the same logic, someone who perpetrates both good and evil is not evil. Otherwise you’re just proving my point that you’re only giving God the blame without any credit. But my personal opinion is that divine morality is a moot issue. God doesn’t exist or not exist because he’s good or evil or neutral. I can understand somebody saying they choose not to worship God because he’s evil. But somebody saying they don’t believe in God because he’s evil? That’s just silly. Do they also choose not to believe in the existence of Adolf Hitler or serial killers or childhood leukemia? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/58 "2012-05-05T00:48:46Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > By the same logic, someone who perpetrates both good and evil is not evil. Dunno… One drop of wine in a barrel of sewage is sewage. One drop of sewage in a barrel of wine is…sewage. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/59 "2012-05-05T00:55:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > By the same logic, someone who perpetrates both good and evil is not evil. Otherwise you’re just proving my point that you’re only giving God the blame without any credit. We are fallible human beings who do good and evil for a variety of reasons, some of them wired in. God does not have that limitation. Perhaps he chooses to let us do evil, but he does not have to do it himself. Yet he does. > [@](#): > > But my personal opinion is that divine morality is a moot issue. God doesn’t exist or not exist because he’s good or evil or neutral. I can understand somebody saying they choose not to worship God because he’s evil. But somebody saying they don’t believe in God because he’s evil? That’s just silly. Do they also choose not to believe in the existence of Adolf Hitler or serial killers or childhood leukemia? The Greeks didn’t have this problem. But the very definition of the Christian God involves him being good. One who believes he does random evil believes in some other God, not the Christian one. That evil god may or may not exist - I agree that not all definitions of god involve moral perfection. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813/60 "2012-05-05T01:02:53Z")
Of course a benevolent, all-powerful deity would be nice to have at your beck and call. Any time one of my children is sick, I do wish there was a magic fairy I could just beg for healing and receive it. I understand what makes people want that. Or anytime my mind just gets to churning about what’s on the other side of black holes, or the big bang, how nice it would be just to have that answer. But regarding whatever deity was on call a couple weeks ago when a 6-year-old child was dragged through a wood chipper… that one’s an incompetent asshole and I have no use for him in any case. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-ever-wish-that-god-existed/620813.md?page=4)