A fair point. You are leaving yourself open to the possibility that there are things you don’t yet know.

@Leeshi Oh yes. We know so little about the Universe. I'm more of an Agnostic the way the purists here look at, but l really don't care about that.

I was referring to the profile question that asks how certain you are that there is no god. Which god they are referring to, I leave up to you

Belief isn’t the same as fact. I hope that what I believe is the truth, but, realistically, it may not be. I try to use my best judgement and be open to other people’s ideas as they may have a pov or Information that makes more sense.

To answer your questions: no, I can’t prove or disprove that those beings exist. I think it likely that aliens do, but am extremely skeptical of the rest as I have seen no reason other than people’s imagination and fictional stories and movies. I don’t believe every advertisement I see. I don’t worship Trump. Frankly, I don’t see what any of these things (blindly believing in something) have to do with my question. I wasn’t asking how someone could NOT believe in a god, I was asking how they could be sure with such an absolute degree of certainty.

I’m talking about the god agnostic. com is referring to in their profile question about how sure you are that god doesn’t exist.

@Leeshi There is an old concept in logic, popularized by Sagan but you can trace a version of it back to mathematician Laplace, that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I don't mean to patronize, I would guess you are familiar with it. Absent any evidence at all, let alone extraordinary evidence, I'm comfortable concluding that any of the entities anyone claims to be God (and having those characteristics which would define that for anyone) are at least unproven and are, for all practical purposes, untrue. I have no doubts, even understanding that proof may yet surface. I also doubt that it will. We each have our own concept of our reality, this is mine. And I'm sticking to it.

[rationalwiki.org]

@zeuser Fair enough

I agree that the “god” that people worship would have to be incredibly cruel. My question is how anyone can be 100% certain of anything. We are fallible and constantly discovering new data/evidence, whatever it may be. How can anyone say that they KNOW, with absolute certainty, that they are correct and others are wrong? Isn’t that what all the religious zealots are doing every day? “I’m right, you’re wrong. Bend to my will.”

@Leeshi If you broaden the definition of "god" then I agree with you on that we never know 100%. But a god whose definition is that of a personal god controlling things and watching over us just doesn't work considering all the mess we have here.

@starwatcher-al agreed

Where is your proof that this god doesn’t exist? While I can be reasonably certain that it doesn’t exist based on the evidence disproving specific beliefs held by religious people and my ability to extrapolate data, I am not aware of a way to prove a negative. So, again, how are you 100% sure?

@Leeshi prove that the three-headed progeny of a dinosaur and a blue pig doesn't exist. why does someone have to prove no gods exist? it is not up to the person laughing at the ridiculous assertion. it is up to the person making the ridiculous assertion.

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It feels like you are deliberately confusing the issue and not answering the question. I am reasonably certain that no deities exist, but to say that I am absolutely certain seems absurd to me as I am not all-knowing or all-seeing. How can you possibly be 100% certain that your belief is the correct one? Because, unless you have absolute proof that no gods exist, which you can’t possibly have, then your belief is just that: a belief.

@Leeshi you are confused....you are basing your question on a falsehood....the allegation is irrational delusional....to ask about an ill defined gibberish sound representative of an extant something somewhere unknowable and unknown is circular rationalizing not even reasoning...I married an African born in an animist tribe...they exist without the delusions of bible gawds....they think spirits inhabit trees rocks and lions but again no bible gawd from your false xian Webster dictionary.....my missionary father in law helped translate a dictionary into the Gbyaya language and what they invented for your gibberish sound gott is BA GUSSA WAN....meaning biggest of all chiefs ever alive....again mere bragging big metaphors for an unknown non-thing nowhere

So, if someone presented you with compelling evidence that challenges your non-belief, you wouldn’t take it? Because to me, that’s what absolute certainty is. 100% knowledge that your way is the right way. Just like all of those religious kool-aid drinkers we shake our heads at.

@Leeshi Based on my experience and the overwhelming lack of any evidence of any kind I have concluded that no gods exist. If, by some chance some evidence were to come to light that demonsrtatres one might exist, I'll drop that certainty by whatever percentage the evidence is strong enough to support.

I'm 100% certain numerous things for which there is no evidence do not exist but, as a reasonable person, I'm open to any new evidence that proves me wrong. Until that time, I'm secure in my conclusions. This is something the faithful are unwilling to even consider.

@Sgt_Spanky thank you. Did you answer that question as 100%?
I’m getting the feeling that many of the people who did share your thoughts and, honestly, that would clear up my confusion as it would mean that I have a different understanding of what 100% certainty is. Does 100% mean that nothing could convince them otherwise, or are they saying that there is nothing to date that gives them any reason to believe in the existence of a god. Personally, I fall into the latter group.

@Leeshi That's the only reasonable stance to take. Believers will just state that nothing will ever convince them otherwiise. It's irrational.

Belief is different from certainty. I’m wondering how those people that answer the profile question about how sure they are can be certain enough to choose 100%. Just because I haven’t seen evidence of something doesn’t mean that it is non-existent. How are you sure that your BELIEF is correct?

@Leeshi

I don't care. The Bible was made up. Religion was created to control people.

Your concerns don't interest me. I don't have to justify my atheism to anyone, including you.

Michigan had a hard winter when I was 13. Bored and restless, my 10-year-old brother, Lee, and I read the World Book Encyclopedias. Lee started with "A" and I began with "Z."

I was inspired by rational philosophers Spinoza and Descartes. They were anti-theist (anti-gods) and anti-clergy. They bravely defied the Catholic Church in the 1600s when heretics were burned at the stake.

Christians ask the same tiresome questions:

1. How did the universe begin? A: Nobody knows. Science advances every year. Since when does being an atheist automatically make me an astrophysicist?

2. What happens when we die? A: Nobody knows. I plan to become fertilizer for trees.

3. How can you be a good person with morals without reading the Bible and believing in God? A: Being a good, honest person is a series of daily decisions. At age four, I realized if I am nice to people they are nice to me. I don't need a book to tell me to act kind and honest.

@LiterateHiker Good for you for not caring. I don’t recall asking you to justify yourself to me. I simply asked a question in order to understand how people different from myself (though falling under the same umbrella of non-belief) think. I’m sorry that you chose to be rude and dismissive, but if you don’t care, then no one made you answer my question. Move along.

@Leeshi

Rude and dismissive? I did not insult or attack you personally.

Since age 13, Christians have been trying to convert me, and confronting me with the same, tiresome questions.

Over the years, I have become stronger and more blunt in answering.

This shuts them up. Sorry if I came across as rude.

@Leeshi

You replied:

"Belief is different from certainty. I’m wondering how those people that answer the profile question about how sure they are can be certain enough to choose 100%. Just because I haven’t seen evidence of something doesn’t mean that it is non-existent. How are you sure that your BELIEF is correct?"

"How are you sure that your BELIEF is correct?" is asking me to justify my atheism.

@LiterateHiker I also apologize if I came across as trying to make you justify your belief to me. I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in a god. My sole purpose in asking the question was to understand how anyone is 100% certain.

After reading some of the comments, I think that 100% just might mean something different to me. When I see 100%, it says that that person is unflappable. Maybe I’m bringing some of my bias towards religionists into this, but I have found that they are usually unflappable in their beliefs, no matter what evidence to the contrary is presented. This is what defines the rigidness of religion for me. So, when I see that 100%, I just wonder how they can possibly be so sure.

Maybe that 100% just means that they see no current evidence of religion and therefore don’t believe in it? If so, I agree