Are we born as Atheists?

[TheKingOfImmortality]

So if there is A God, Why are we born not knowing about him/her?

 

[glo1]

So if there is A God, Why are we born not knowing about him/her?

Do you think we are?
Do you think all of us who call ourselves 'religious' are only so because we were taught?

It would be interesting to hear the views of others, but I find that hard to believe.
I think most people are deeply wired to have a desire for God/religion/spirituality (whatever you want to call it ...).

To give a Biblical perspective, Jeremiah 31 puts in like this:

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the LORD.
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,"
declares the LORD."

 

[HumbleSiPilot77]

Atheism is something people consciously decide to follow later on in life.

 

[Durga]

Just my personal feeling and opinion on this is that we form some idea of "God" very early in life, probably in infancy -- based upon our parents providing for our needs and very survival. God seems to be innate to me, of course without any fancy theology.

 

[Eudaimonist]

I remember having to be taught that there was a God. This was around three or four years of age. I would be surprised if it was otherwise for other people.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[glo1]

My children are not being taught that there is a God ...
Of course they are aware that some people believe that there is a God, but that's a different thing altogether ...

 

[elwill]

i think that if i went to desert or to any empty place where no one see it before , or let me say if i went to other planet , then i found computer in the middle of this empty planet !!!!!!!!!!!
believe me , i will not need anybody to tell me that there is someone produce this complex system and was existed in this place before me

so , what about if i found myself , creation of myself , creation of other creatures and creation of this planet to be capable for life !!!!!!!

whatever , i don't think that i will need for anyone to tell me that there is a God , i will know it by fitrah (innate)

 

[Eudaimonist]

elwill, I seem to lack this fitrah.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Jersey]

So if there is A God, Why are we born not knowing about him/her?

Whether there is a god or not, how can a little baby know anything?

A baby can no more form non-belief any more than it can form a belief in a Deity. It's impossible. It's little mind hasn't evolved enough yet to even form an opinion.

It's almost like asking are we born Baptists or born Christians.

Therefore, as an atheist, we are not born atheists. We're just born human.

 

[Tinker Grey]

Whether there is a god or not, how can a little baby know anything?

A baby can no more form non-belief any more than it can form a belief in a Deity. It's impossible. It's little mind hasn't evolved enough yet to even form an opinion.

It's almost like asking are we born Baptists or born Christians.

Therefore, as an atheist, we are not born atheists. We're just born human.

Taking atheism as the absence of belief in gods (as most atheists do) as opposed to belief in no gods, since babies lack belief in any gods (by your own statement) babies are born atheists.

 

[BranwenUerchLlyr]

While I would avoid using the term atheist to refer to children (even if the strict definition is correct), I would say that babies are not born with an innate sense of the existence of a personal deity--this comes through enculturation and parental teaching. Though children are very creative, so I wouldn't say its impossible for them to come up with the idea on their own.

 

[morningstar2651]

So if there is A God, Why are we born not knowing about him/her?

Actually, most young children exhibit animism. I didn't expect it... I discovered it when I studied developmental psychology.

http://www.questia.com/library/book...c-k-ogden-andrew-tomlinson-joan-tomlinson.jsp

 

[Jersey]

Taking atheism as the absence of belief in gods (as most atheists do) as opposed to belief in no gods, since babies lack belief in any gods (by your own statement) babies are born atheists.

I think you are missing the whole point. A baby is not capable of making any rational decisions when it comes to such things, so how can it be considered an atheist? Besides your using a definition for atheism, lack of belief that doesn't even appear in any reputable dictionary. I personally don't buy into the lack of belief definition because it would include a variety of people including babies who aren't even able to think coherently yet.

Every time I hear an atheist saying babies are born atheists, I have to bite my tongue because it's so ridiculous to hear. Not to mention the lack of belief definition for atheism.

Tell you what you can do the next time you see a little baby, ask it if it believes in God.

 

[Kutte]

One is an atheist, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist by accident, while being born into a society dominated by certain beliefs oder philosophies.

Since ancient people couldn't explain certain natural phenomenas they began believing that nature was inhabited by spirits, out of which later developed gods, and still later a monotheistic God. Many societies still believe in several gods, such as Hindus and others.

Kutte

 

[PujolsNonRoidHomerHitter]

All human life has the thumbprint of God -- you can't escape it.

One of the ways God marks us is that He writes His law in our hearts. Which is also the thing that makes us responsible for either choosing to believe in Him or not. If you take away the input of parental information from children they will eventually form rules and laws in order to govern themselves. There are cultures and tribes of people who have never been taught about the God of the Bible and yet they have a system of laws -- they have a code of right and wrong. That can only come from a conscience that has the stamp of God upon it.

No one is born an atheist --however, many will die that way. We are born with the very image of God at work within us. Do infants understand any of it? Of course not . . . but they will, whether taught or not.

Go Cards!

 

[Eudaimonist]

All human life has the thumbprint of God -- you can't escape it.

I think we're escaping it just fine.

One of the ways God marks us is that He writes His law in our hearts.

The problem here is that people's feelings about values can change depending on their basic premises. This is how people can feel very strongly in favor of different political systems or positions, for instance.

Which is also the thing that makes us responsible for either choosing to believe in Him or not.

This is not a matter of choice. Either you believe or you don't. You can't "choose" to believe that the Moon is made of green cheese and pass a lie detector test.

If you take away the input of parental information from children they will eventually form rules and laws in order to govern themselves.

Of course they will. Why wouldn't they?

There are cultures and tribes of people who have never been taught about the God of the Bible and yet they have a system of laws -- they have a code of right and wrong. That can only come from a conscience that has the stamp of God upon it.

No, it just requires a conscience, which can come from evolution.

No one is born an atheist --however, many will die that way.

I was born an atheist, and I'm dying an atheist.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Eudaimonist]

I think you are missing the whole point. A baby is not capable of making any rational decisions when it comes to such things, so how can it be considered an atheist?

While this is a reasonable objection, whatever point young persons do acquire the ability to believe or not, they start off as atheists.

Besides your using a definition for atheism, lack of belief that doesn't even appear in any reputable dictionary.

When finding a definition for atheism, the best place to go is an atheist, not Mr. Webster. Dictionaries are horrible for finding the best definitions for words. They tend to focus on overly-broad and popular definitions.

I personally don't buy into the lack of belief definition because it would include a variety of people including babies who aren't even able to think coherently yet.

And yet if we limit the definition to "coherent thinkers", a lack of belief works just fine.

Every time I hear an atheist saying babies are born atheists, I have to bite my tongue because it's so ridiculous to hear.

That is precisely my reaction to the claim that we are all born theists, or even as theists for the christian god.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[JCFantasy23]

We're just born of not comprehending anything. We are called in various ways to reach and learn of God later.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

So if there is A God, Why are we born not knowing about him/her?

It all depends on how you define "atheism". Of course we are born without any abstract concepts already firmly in place within our minds. Newborns know about as much about Christian theology as they know about Communist politics or Kantian philosophy.

I'd also contest the notion that infants already have any conception of deity - least of all the sort of personal deity postulated by most religions. If anything, their parents mostly fill the position of "God" in their universe, acting as universal providers and protectors.

So - yes, they are "atheists", yet it is not the result of reflection, of acceptance or rejection. And as pattern generators, human beings *are* predisposed towards spirituality, even if it's only a very general tendency.

 

[Tinker Grey]

I'd argue that infants (well, newborns anyway) have little if any conception of self, let alone of a god.