A stranger comes to your door and tells you that your child has been killed in a car accident outside their school. You would feel a pang of emotion, but this is a stranger. Do you believe them? Do they know who your child is? Is this some sort of cruel joke? Do you really believe that your child has been killed? You will be inclined to harbor some strong doubts. Two police officers come to your door, squad car in the driveway. They tell you your child has been killed. They need you to come with them to identify the body. You will in all likelihood believe them, they are police officers. You will feel the emotion as though you know for a fact that your child is dead. It will be real to you. You should notice that the difference between these two examples is the authority of the messenger, not the message itself. These examples are also chosen for their emotional content because the emotional content is a large part of what makes a situation real to us. The point is, whether we believe something based on authority, or emotion, or both, we cannot know it is true until we see with our own eyes. The highest authority you can imagine could tell you the simplest thing, and you may believe them, and they may believe themselves, but that does not in any way make it true.
agnosticism|An agnostic is someone who is unsure of whether or not a god exists. [7] X Research source You can be both an atheist and agnostic. Many atheists are also agnostic (even if they only identify as agnostic). A gnostic atheist is someone who is someone who is sure of god(s)’s nonexistence. Atheists do not “hate god”. Since atheists do not believe in a god(s) they cannot hate something they cannot hate it. (They can however hate the notion of a god(s) or the idea of god(s)’s impact on society though many atheists do not hate the notion of god. ) Atheists aren’t always non-religious. Though most people who identify as atheists are non-religious some organized religions are atheistic. Note that being an atheist does not mean that someone doesn’t believe in the afterlife. Although many atheists don’t, atheism is lack of belief in god(s) not the afterlife. You do not have to be anti-religion. Some atheists, however, do disapprove of organized religion as well as the doctrine of faith as a virtue. There are others who still attend religious services for their own reasons, such as an agreement with some of the moral tenets, membership in a community, or even just a fondness for the music. You do not have to write off the possibility of unverified or unverifiable phenomena. You can acknowledge that they are possible without insisting or acting as if they are true, or trying to convince others that they are true. You do not have to subscribe to any set of beliefs. Atheism is not a religion. Atheists hold a wide variety of beliefs and outlooks, the only similarity being a lack of belief in a god or gods.
If there aren’t many atheists in your area (or you can’t talk to them) try looking for an online community.
