Home > Author > Armin Navabi
1 " Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” This touches on the heart of the argumentum ad populum fallacy. Physical reality does not require belief to sustain it, and belief will not modify the rules of the universe. "
― Armin Navabi , Why There Is No God: Simple Responses to 20 Common Arguments for the Existence of God
2 " If God creates morality, then morality is nothing more than the whimsy of a divine being blindly followed by humans. "
3 " Not knowing the answer to a question is not a valid excuse for making up a fairytale to explain it. "
4 " Close analysis of ‘miracles’ have never led to any proof for a supernatural explanation, and, in fact, many have proven to be cheap magic tricks, hallucinations or primitive misunderstandings of natural phenomena. "
5 " An all-loving god would surely not damn his children to an eternity of torture simply for being born into a culture that believes in the wrong deity, follows the wrong holy book or attends the wrong type of church services. "
6 " There is no evidence to suggest that God helps people. There is, however, ample evidence that people can help themselves and each other. "
7 " Scriptures may have grains of historical truth within them, but there is also ample hyperbole, speculation and mythology. "
8 " It is likely that religious beliefs have been so widespread because they tap into the psychological desires of many people, not because there is any external proof of their veracity. "
9 " Science doesn't claim to have absolute certainty about the world; it creates models that provide the best explanation based on the available evidence. If additional evidence is found, the model can be changed. "
10 " An unknown cause is not the same as divine intervention. "
11 " The religions that we have today are a small fraction of all religions that have existed throughout human history. The ones that we are left with have survived because they have more effectively adapted to attract and hold the allegiance of many people. "
12 " If morality truly stemmed from an all-powerful deity, it would not change over time. "
13 " the truth is true even if no one believes it, and untrue claims are still untrue even if everyone believes them. "
14 " In order to indoctrinate their followers and secure obedience, religions frequently tear people down, creating an emptiness that must then be filled with Jesus, Allah or any other deity. People are told that they are inherently bad or sinful and that the only way to become good is by giving over control of their lives to faith. As there is no evidence that any of that is true, religion, in effect, is creating an imaginary problem simply so that it can sell an imaginary solution. "
15 " There is no single outside force imposing meaning on the events of your life. There is no evidence whatsoever that people’s life events conform to some sort of divine plan or predestination. Life is, objectively, meaningless; given the size and scope of the universe and our tiny role within it, it’s absurd to think that we might have any sort of cosmically vital role. "
16 " There are many examples that show that events with very small probability are not miraculous. In fact, they're commonplace. Mathematician J.E. Littlewood suggested that each one of us should expect one-in-a-million events to happen to us about once every month. Failing to recognize this is due to us ignoring the astronomically high number of events that occur which we find insignificant. Events that we do find significant, such as winning a lottery or dreaming about your mother calling you right before waking up to her call are just a tiny fraction of many other insignificant events with the same or even lower probability of occurring, such as the chance that you had a dream of your mother calling you and also running out of milk five days after at 7:21 am. "
17 " With no evidence for an afterlife, we should recognize the true value of our current lives as our one and only shot at happiness. Wasting it on unfounded claims and ancient myths is an absolute tragedy. "
18 " Belief in God can come with a high price for some. Some of the most powerful nations in the world are making major political decisions based on a belief in God. Wars are fought using religion, and the rights of some individuals and groups are oppressed in the name of God. The lives of billions of people around the world are affected by religious beliefs. "
19 " No satisfaction based upon self-deception is solid, and, however unpleasant the truth may be, it is better to face it once for all, to get used to it, and to proceed to build your life in accordance with it. "
20 " According to some believers, God answers prayers in one of three ways: “Yes,” “No,” and “Wait.” This sounds reasonable and even wise before you realize that this explanation is inherently meaningless. In fact, those three answers cover every possible outcome of any event. Either it will happen now, it will happen later or it won't happen at all. This is true whether you pray to a deity or to a bar of soap; it does nothing to prove the existence of a deity. "
