I tried- but He showed me different...

You really think there is a massive glowing dude in the sky? Most likley nude?

Occam's Razor.

Too much inconsistency and too many proven alternatives.

i only belive things that can be sciantificly proven people cling to religion because there scared of the unknown

I wouldn't say I chose to believe there is no God. I'd say I looked for evidence, and I've experienced the world, and I've found no reason TO believe in God. THAT is the natural state of the human being - not believing. We aren't born with the choice to believe there is no God, we're are taught TO believe in God, just like we're taught to believe in Santa. As I've said before, "God" serves the same purpose as "Santa" - to control people.

For the same reasons that people choose to believe in God. Because it feels right to them.

Because I had a "Christian" upbringing (if that's what you want to call it) and there was not even ONE time where the existence of God was evident. There was not ONE time where I "felt the presence of God". It felt exactly like believing in Santa.

I do not choose. I simply do not believe.

I've seen too much hypocracy in religion to believe anymore.

I didn't choose to believe that there is no God. (Oops. I didn't notice this was under Atheism until now. My bad. You can flag this answer if you want to).

I didn't choose not to believe. I was born that way.

I don't choose... I don't know, i was just born uncertain...

I didn't choose. In many ways, it would be nice to believe in some kind of celestial Big Daddy who could solve all the problems. But I don't see any evidence of any God anywhere. And the God I have been most "introduced" to, the Christian one, strikes me as incoherent and inconsistent. To believe something, I have to have some evidence. So I "choose" not to believe in God in the same way as I choose not to believe in Spoinge.

Until i was 15 i went to church every sunday... i was babtized twice... i prayed every night when i went to bed and before i ate anything... i went to youth group and church services... i never cursed... i obeyed the 10 commandments... but no matter how much i prayed for someone or something... or anything at all it never happened... i prayed for my grandpa not to die... i prayed for my brother no make it through... I prayed for my dad to stop hitting me... i prayed so hard i dont think anyone could pray that much... until one day i figured it all out... god wasnt real... and he never had been... i stopped going to church...i broke a few commandments... i crused... everything got better... i had wasted 15 years of my life believing in something that was never there... thats why i do not believe that there is no god...

NO EVIDENCE

Atheism is not something I chose. It was something that happened slowly but surely over time.

"Atheist" has two meanings: the "weak" version, which means simply lacking a belief in a god or gods (this includes "strong" atheists, agnostics, skeptics, people who just don't care, and all babies); and the "strong" version, which means an active belief that there is no god or gods, which is an intellectual choice. I fit in the first category. I'm a skeptic, in the philosophical / epistemological sense of the word. That means that I, personally, admit that I know nothing, about anything, including whether a god or gods exist, at this time. No arguments have ever convinced me that any statement whatsoever was true knowledge. I have yet to find any statement that is more or less true than any other. I don't deny the possibility that there may be means to attain true knowledge about some or all things, of which I am currently unaware, but neither do I deny the possibility that such means may not exist either. As to, specifically, the question of whether a god or gods exist, I don't really particularly care, or see the significance of it to me. Knowing one way or the other wouldn't change my values or how I live my life. And, to make matters more confusing, with so many different meanings for the word "god", the question isn't really even semantically meaningful.

Do you believe that Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer actually lives with Santa at the North Pole? Assuming the answer is no, did you choose not to believe in him? I don't believe because there is absolutely no evidence or reason TO believe - just as is the case for Rudolf, Puff the Magic Dragon, the Tooth Fairy...

I didn't "choose" to believe there is no god. I just don't see any reason why there would be one. To believe that there isn't a god seems to be the default position. "To believe" is a verb, and thus implies active choice. It would seem pretty silly for me to go around asking people standing at a bus stop "why do you choose not to run out into the road." - as there's no real reason why they would do. It would be more reasonable to ask someone who did run into the road "Why did you choose to do that?". Not that I have any problem with people choosing to believe in God if they want - but we aren't born with that belief.

It's not me! Lol!

I don't believe god exists because I have no reason to do so. I make assertions about its existence so I don't 'believe there is no god'

Choose? I don't. You have it all backward. I don't believe that there is a god because there is no credible evidence at all that supports his existence. I do not choose to believe in god in spite of the lack of evidence.

It wasn't really a choice for me; I knew I couldn't wholeheartedly believe without some kind of proof. If you can't believe 100% you're just wasting everyone's time. I can't make myself believe any more than I can get blood from a stone, so I'm not going to fake it "just in case."

because I want proof

Who said I did?

Perhaps > for some ... seeing is believing? Perhaps > why humans are permitted to abort children without question? ... When we are all Gods children. Perhaps > action to prevent sickness and pain for many ... and not create it. Perhaps > there being so many negatives in human society ... western and third world ... a positive sign would help. Perhaps > those who do doubt ... would like to see some positive action from the big guy once every now and then. A million churches and a book ... do not make a miracle and the dying young can only hope for so long. The universe they can see. No offense intended. Thankyou

For this I need to quote the great philosopher and thinker, Curley Q (of the 3 Stooges) "I tried but notin' happened...NYUK...NYUK...NYUK..."

why do u choose there is? just by the books there is no proof at all ..i dont mean to offend any1 this is only my opinion and any1 that does believe has a right for his/her opinion and i and we all should respect that.. as far as i know jesus son of god could of been a very smart guy that tricked people simply an illusionist that walked over the water... god wouldnt let kids die there would be fairness in life ...we would all be with the ones we love..

What makes you think it is a choice? I was born this way and no amount of church or religious teaching has caused me to think differently. The "belief" that there is no god of any sort has ALWAYS been a part of me.

Atheism is not 'choosing to believe' that there is no god. It's simply acknowledging that there is no evidence for any such belief and that that belief is therefore not required.

There are two main theories. One, being that "God" was the creator of all. The second, being that The universe was created by the Big Bang. There is no evidence for either theory. I believe in the Big Bang theory purely because it makes more sense to me. Religion just doesn't "click" in my mind. It's not about choosing to believe that there is no God, I just DON'T.

Because he hasn't done shit for me.

because an all knowing and perfect being who loves you would not damn you to anything let alone what the bible describes as hell. especially for choosing your own path and not swearing your soul to a jealous windbag that would see we were capable of anything and mix up our languages just to make things interesting.

There is no god. Therefore, nobody chooses not to believe but rather a lot of fools choose to believe that which isn't so

no personal proof

To me, it's like a favorite color. Everyone has a favorite color. Why? No one knows. Oh, they claim to, but they don't. For me it was an inevitable conclusion. Can't remember making it, don't know when I did.

How can you belive what you don't know? I belive what I do know I don't know about god I do not belive in god But I do not belive there is no God either!!!

Because I would not benefit at all from believing

It took a long time to shake the indoctrination I went through. There was too much thou shalt not and guilt. As I got older I didn't believe but said nothing. Now, I am vocal about it. There is nothing out there that is what we call supernatural. No ghosts, no angels, no devils, no Santa, no Easter bunny, no tooth fairy, no soothsayers, fortune tellers or psychics and certainly no 72 virgins or gods.

Any god that allows the wars and genocide that's happening around the world to happen is no god of mine. There's no proof, never has been and never will, I just wish people would understand that he's a made up person to control the weak minded people on this planet.

Why do you choose to believe that pigs can't fly?

I don't choose to believe that there are no gods. I have examined the evidence and that leads me to the conclusion that there are no gods. It's not a matter of choice, more the inevitability of rational exploration. This conclusion is provisional. Given sufficient new evidence that gods existed I should revise my opinion.

When I realized there's too many of them!

I don’t choose to believe there is no god, I just don’t see any reason to believe there is one..or two..or what ever. I have never heard, read or seen anything to convince me otherwise. And if there is one, then it certainly isn’t one that conforms to any known religion...

how can you believe there is a god and have no proof? i find it very unsupported[the side that says god exists]

Why do you choose to believe that water freezes to become ice? The answer is that you don't make that choice, the evidence leads you to the conclusion. It is the same with atheists. We don't choose to believe that there is no god, it is where the evidence (or lack thereof) leads us.

Because it's very obvious to me that the bible is a hoax.

I believe in God and why his son died for us, but I have no faith in organized religion and I never will. I don't need religion anyway to believe anything. If it works for you, I'm not going to speak ill of you.

I didn't choose it. It's just so unfortunately obvious. I would gladly be a believer, gladly! But talent for misconception is a great gift. One should cherish it, because when it's lost, its gone forever.

So I could be judged & punished by religious zealots on AB (who simply hold different opinions than mine) with their incessant sanctimonious downrates?! ;-)

I was constipated one night and, as I sat there on the toilet, trying to pass a big one, I said to myself: "hmmmm...if there was a god, I wouldn't have to be going thru this. He would just let me go without so much pain and suffering. So, I think I will choose to believe that there is no god now" WTF? Are you people really that thick?

The total lack of corroborating evidence.

It's not a choice. I was born a logical creature, and logic leads me to understand that there cannot be a God. I'd have to make a choice to believe in God, but not believing is my basic state.

because humans try and find an answer to everything. They will make up an answer if they can't find one and create false prophets. they will use any answer no matter how "bogus" it is.

I do not choose. I KNOW there is no god. http://godisimaginary.com/

Because there isn't any certainty that God exists. Of course, there also isn't any certainty that he doesn't. This is why I choose to be on the fence.

I didn't choose. In the absence of evidence, I have no choice but to assume there is no god. It is the only logical and rational position. If someone has evidence, they may present it to me at any time. I will evaluate the evidence fairly and determine if it is valid or not. Thus far, no one has been able to show me anything that could not be explained by natural means.

Because there's no proof, only a fool believes in something they have never seen before.

Because there are better explanations for problems than "The Magic Man dun it".

I choose to believe there is a universal presence of light and love, that has no boundaries of religous concepts, that we all originate from, that is , source I guess..................:0 peace, light and love ! :)

I didn't choose to disbelieve, as there is no reason to. Do you "disbelieve" bigfoot or Lord RAmen? I'm guessing you just "lack belief" because there is no convincing evidence. The same applies to God. We all lack belief at birth; then most of us are indoctrinated. It is up to us to shed our "training", or accept it like animals who don't know better.

Lack of evidence....And no logical reason why there should be one.

Born not believing in a deity. Lack of any evidence to convince me that a or any deity exists.

There is only one god.But some have people they look up to and and we all look up to someone different and some of us do it because of the person misconception of power and others do it because they are a better light of being.I have good people i look up to and they respect me for reasons only my past can tell.who do look up to and why$$????

Theres gotta be a reason for life

Is god good or bad and is he bad or good and is he as pure as everybody thinks he is or does he have secrets and if he does do u know what they r.and if these questions are planned by god for god then are his emotions controlled with the questions

For the same reason I believe there are no fairies or leprechauns or unicorns. No evidence. It's not much of a choice either. I just find it silly to believe in such things.

To even ask the question is to completely miss the point. I didn't "choose" ANYthing. The complete lack of credible evidence for the God Hypothesis COMPELS me to dismiss it out of hand as nothing but ad hoc speculation (that's "something you pulled out of your ass", for those of you in Rio Linda)...

Odd choice of words. It would be more logical to ask why *you* choose to believe in a deity.

This is a TEST for anyone who thinks they may be an anteist but are willing to give this little test a try just to be sure (the answers are at the end), maybe you DO believe in God afterall! The theory of evolution of the Coca Cola can. Billions of years ago, a big bang produced a large rock. As the rock cooled, sweet brown liquid formed on its surface. As time passed, aluminum formed itself into a can, a lid, and a tab. Millions of years later, red and white paint fell from the sky, and formed itself into the words "Coca Cola 12 fluid ounces." Of course, my theory is an insult to your intellect, because you know that if the Coca Cola can is made, there must be a maker. If it is designed, there must be a designer. The alternative, that it happened by chance or accident, is to move into an intellectual free zone. The banana--the atheist's nightmare. Note that the banana: 1. Is shaped for human hand 2. Has non-slip surface 3. Has outward indicators of inward content: Green--too early, Yellow --just right, Black--too late. 4. Has a tab for removal of wrapper 5. Is perforated on wrapper 6. Bio-degradable wrapper 7. Is shaped for human mouth 8. Has a point at top for ease of entry 9. Is pleasing to taste buds 10. Is curved towards the face to make eating process easy To say that the banana happened by accident is even more unintelligent than to say that no one designed the Coca Cola can. TEST ONE The person who thinks the Coca Cola can had no designer is: ___ A. Intelligent ___ B. A fool ___ C. Has an ulterior motive for denying the obvious Did you know that the eye has 40,000,000 nerve endings, the focusing muscles move an estimated 100,000 times a day, and the retina contains 137,000,000 light sensitive cells? Charles Darwin said, "To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree." If man cannot begin to make a human eye, how could anyone in his right mind think that eyes formed by mere chance? In fact, man cannot make anything from nothing. We don't know how to do it. We can re-create, reform, develop . . . but we cannot create even one grain of sand from nothing. Yet, the eye is only a small part of the most sophisticated part of creation-the human body. George Gallup, the famous statistician, said, "I could prove God statistically; take the human body alone; the chance that all the functions of the individual would just happen, is a statistical monstrosity." Albert Einstein said, "Everyone who is seriously interested in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe—a spirit vastly superior to man, and one in the face of which our modest powers must feel humble." TEST TWO A. Do you know of any building that didn't have a builder? ___ YES ___ NO B. Do you know of any painting that didn't have a painter? ___ YES ___ NO C. Do you know of any car that didn't have a maker? ___ YES ___ NO If you answered "YES" for any of the above, give details: _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ Could I convince you that I dropped 50 oranges onto the ground and they by chance fell into ten rows of five oranges? The logical conclusion is that someone with an intelligent mind put them there. The odds that ten oranges would fall by accident into a straight line are mind-boggling, let alone ten rows of five. TEST THREE A. From the atom to the universe, is there order? ___ YES ___ NO B. Did it happen by accident? ___ YES ___ NO C. Or, must there have been an intelligent mind? ___ YES ___ NO D. What are the chances of 50 oranges falling by chance into ten rows of five oranges? ______________________ If you answered "YES" for any of the above, give details: _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ The declaration "There is no God" is what is known as an absolute statement. For an absolute statement to be true, I must have absolute knowledge. Here is another absolute statement: "There is no gold in China." TEST FOUR What do I need to have for that statement to be true? A. No knowledge of China. ___ YES ___ NO B. Partial knowledge of China. ___ YES ___ NO C. Absolute knowledge of China. ___ YES ___ NO "C" is the correct answer. For the statement to be true, I must know that there is no gold in China, or the statement is incorrect. To say "There is no God," and to be correct in the statement, I must be omniscient. I must know how many hairs are upon every head, every thought of every human heart, every detail of history, every atom within every rock...nothing is hidden from my eyes...I know the intimate details of the secret love-life of the fleas on the back of the black cat of Napolean's great-grandmother. To make the absolute statement "There is no God." I must have absolute knowledge that there isn't one. Let's say that this circle represents all the knowledge in the entire universe, and let's assume that you have an incredible 1% of all that knowledge. Is it possible, that in the knowledge you haven't yet come across, there is ample evidence to proved that God does indeed exist? If you are reasonable, you will have to say, "Having the limited knowledge that I have at present, I believe that there is no God." In other words, you don't know if God exists, so you are not an "atheist," you are what is commonly known as an "agnostic." You are like a man who looks at a building, and doesn't know if there was a builder. TEST FIVE The man who sees a building and doesn't know if there was a builder is: ___ A. Intelligent ___ B. A fool ___ C. Has an ulterior motive for denying the obvious Perhaps you have questions that hold you back from faith. First, almost every question you have about suffering humanity etc., can be adequately answered. Second, we have faith in plenty of things we don't understand. Did you understand the mechanics of television before you turned it on? Probably not. You took a step of faith, turned it on, and after it worked, understanding how it worked wasn't that important. We accept that there are unseen television waves right in front of our eyes. We can't see them because they are invisible. For them to manifest, we need a receiver, then we can enjoy the experience of television. God is not flesh and blood. He is an eternal Spirit-immortal and invisible. Like the television waves, He cannot be experienced until the "receiver" is switched on. Here is something you will find hard to believe: Jesus said, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21). Either that is true or it isn't. Jesus Christ says that He will manifest Himself to anyone who obeys Him. Approach the subject the same way you approached your first television set. Just take a small step of faith. If it works, enjoy it, if it doesn't, forget it. Or have you an ulterior motive? Could it be that the "atheist" can't find God, for the same reason a thief can't find a policeman? Could it be that your love for sin is clouding your good judgment? If the Bible is true, and Jesus Christ has "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel," then you owe it to yourself just to check it out. Here is how to do that: TEST SIX With a tender conscience, check this list of the Ten Commandments: 1. Have I always loved God my Creator with all my heart, mind, soul and strength? 2. Have I made a god in my own image to god to suit myself? 3. Have I ever used God's name in vain? 4. Have I kept the Sabbath holy? 5. Have I always honored my parents implicitly? 6. Have I murdered (God considers hatred as murder)? 7. Have I committed adultery (including premarital sex and lust)? 8. Have I stolen (the value is irrelevant)? 9. Have I lied (including fibs and these questions)? 10. Have I coveted (been greedy or materialistic)? ___ YES ___NO ___ YES ___NO ___ YES ___NO ___ YES ___NO ___ YES ___NO ___ YES ___NO ___ YES ___NO ___ YES ___NO ___ YES ___NO ___ YES ___NO If you have even broken one Law, then you have sinned against God and therefore will "surely die," for the "wages of sin is death." We are all guilty of breaking the Commandments. Listen to the voice of your conscience, and let it remind you of some of the sins of the past. We are not perfect as we are commanded to be (Matthew 5:48), neither is our heart pure. On Judgment Day our transgressions will be evidence of our shame. Think of it: God has seen every sin we have ever committed. We share our thought-life with Him. We are guilty of violating His Law a multitude of times, yet if we repent, God can forgive us because Jesus stepped into the courtroom 2,000 years ago and paid the fine for us. His death on the cross satisfied the Law we so blatantly transgressed, and at the same time demonstrated how much God loves us—"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." His shed blood on the cross can make you clean in the sight of a holy God...as though you have never sinned. God doesn't want you to go to Hell. Please, forget your arguments, repent and put your trust in Jesus and be saved from God's wrath. Make Psalm 51 your prayer, then read your Bible daily and always obey what you read; God will never let you down. Thank you for taking the time to read this booklet. Adapted from God Doesn't Believe in Atheists by Ray Comfort

(I had to post this as an answer because the "comments" thing keeps popping up Sorry, Try Again. So sorry, it belongs under comments for my original answer post) Newton's Third Law of Motion: III. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The degree to which you get angry or stubborn in your stand that there is no God, is the degree to which you'll rejoice and obey and serve God once you come to faith. God could really use you to help save lost souls once you open your heart to the possibility that you might be wrong and start searching for the truth...St. Paul in the bible was one of the most fiercesome persecutors of the early church believers UNTIL he came face to face with Christ and turned 180 degrees into being one of the most faithful spreaders of the Good News - Christ is the Way, The Truth, and The Life, anyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. Give it some thought. Read the gospel of John and of Romans and then sleep on it. Be open to the possibility that you MAY be wrong and let God work in your life. You have nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to Gain!

i was raised Baptist, converted to Catholicism, & one day I saw what a bunch of nonsense it all was. I grew up & stopped believing in fairy tales.

That's backwards. We are born atheist. One chooses to believe there is a god.

Because science shows more convincing a solid evidence. And if I didn't believe science I wouldn't believe anything I don't think.

and after all God had shown them and done for them....they still left HIM....the Israelites....each were living as they wanted, doing their own WILL......"each were doing what was right in their own eyes"..just like man is doing today... its man's nature.....we are all a 'hard headed' peoples..... BLESSED even more so will be those who have HEARD but not SEEN , and they BELIEVED...... once we have HEARD and choose to deny, HE will deny us when the time comes....

Because i was brought up in a Christian family and everytime i talked back meant a ass whooping. Then i finally got into science whuch has ridd me of religion.

I was attacked outside a church.

Absence of evidence.

Why do you choose to believe that there is no Xenu? There is absolutely no evidence that Xenu DIDN'T bring billions of human beings to earth millions of years ago and blow them up in volcanos with hydrogen bombs. How can you make this conclusion without undergoing years of Scientology training to learn more about it? You are clearly biased by culture to be anti-Xenu, and you willfully turn your back on the truth. You choose not to believe in the galactic ruler Xenu despite our repeated warnings about the thetans that infest your body. It couldn't possibly be that you aren't choosing not to believe, but that you simply don't believe there is a Xenu. I doubt you are unable to believe in something so demonstrably silly. You also refuse to believe in Shiva, Vishnu and the other Hindu gods, the Greek pantheon, the Norse gods, and any number of other deities. You are clearly very stubborn!

Because I am mathematically minded and understand such concepts as probability, statistical reliability, and outcome spaces ;-)) The probability of a superior being existing and creating the universe is miniscule if you add the proviso that that superior being have no precursor. Adding such a precursor (God's Daddy) is merely the first link in a chain making the notion ever more improbable. In seeking out the basic resoning behind the universe we need to seek simpler precursors, not more complex ones. regards JakobA

Because their isnt

Because not everyone believes as you do.

"Belief" has nothing to do with it. We KNOW there is no god. How? By THINKING! REASON - COMMON SENSE - OBJECTIVITY - LOGIC! These are the tools of intelligence. Try it. You'll be amazed at what you learn. Don't be afraid.

It is based on my limited intelligence and understanding of the facts.

I only choose to try to determine truths, and there is no convincing evidence that any gods exist. I have knowledge, rather than mere belief in this. Beliefs have no evidence, so they are foreign to my temperament. I know there are no gods, rather than merely believing it. .

probably cause they havent had proof yet