It’s a challenge encountered by non-believers frequently. Believers think that the existence of their god is the default reality. Anyone suggesting otherwise had better explain themselves.
They fail to appreciate that we were all born atheists. To credit their intellectual honesty in at least this case, I’ve never heard a believer even try to say that we are born with an inherent belief in a particular god. They believe the newborn has a relationship with god, but it’s a one-way relationship. God supposedly knows the baby, but there’s no indication the baby is aware of god. So I can conclude that babies are born Tabula Rasa, with no concept of gods.
I’m at a loss to imagine how anyone can present positive proof of a thing’s nonexistence. How could I prove that Superman doesn’t exist, the unicorn, leprechauns? I’m pretty much stuck with if a god behaves the way its followers say it does, then it would have to have left physical evidence, having interacted in a physical way with humans in the past. The lack of evidence and lack of modern day contact would lead to a conclusion that either a god had existed but died, left town, whatever or that it never existed in the first place.
I don’t feel any more inclined to defend my non-belief to believers than I do my nonpartisan position to Dems, Repubs and Libs. I’m not making a positive claim, I’m not asking them to believe anything, not an alternative religion or anything else. All I’m asking them to do is examine their beliefs critically and, if they are to have a faith, have a faith that can withstand rigorous skepticism. I’m asking them to actually think about what they believe. I’m demanding nothing more of them than to use their god given brain. For that I don’t have to prove a thing.
Winning converts to atheism has no purpose. It provides no benefit to other atheists, it offers no reward, it isn’t celebrated. I do like socializing with atheists more than mixed groups or an all-believer group. I am often in mixed and all-believer groups. They don’t scare me and I’m not overly impressed with them. But when I’m around other atheists, just like when I’m around other geeks, other animal lovers (nothing kinky, mind you) or other gays/bi’s, then I’m totally relaxed and find the conversations far more stimulating. Note that every group I consider myself a part of does no proselytizing, doesn’t recruit and firmly believes that one is either born an animal lover, geek, gay and/or atheist (we’re all born atheists) or one is not. And no one is likely to wake up one morning to find themselves magically transformed into one. They’re expressions of our genetic profile. I can’t yet alter the genetic profile of others. That’s why I can’t even think about trying to convert others to atheism.
Theists, on the other hand…
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