So ... this thread is a religiously-themed free-for-all, is it? May I join in? Thorne and I have often disagreed about the truth of atheism, even though we both claim to be atheists. I maintain I simply believe there is no god: Thorne appears to me to insist that the fact that there is no god is the only possible truth.
Well, here's my credo:
No-one can prove that God exists: no-one can prove He does not.
I don't think the religious are interested in the idea that there is no God, and they certainly do not look for proof that he doesn't exist, but atheists say, If you claim that God exists, you must prove it; but you can't. They claim exemption from any like obligation to prove atheism is true because, You can't prove a negative.
Given that there are very clearly two bodies of opinion on this point, the question has to remain open.
There may be no proof, but the existence of the universe and of life is evidence that God exists/does not exist
To my mind, it is just as much a matter of faith that there is no God as it is that there is one (or more), and neither body of opinion can be said to be truer than the other. Maybe science will one day be able to demonstrate that everything happened by itself, without any external cause. Maybe God will one day reveal himself. Until then, a spontaneous creation of the universe by itself out of nothing seems as preposterous an idea as supernatural creation, if not more so.
Unless, as a current line of enquiry seems to suggest, we are all just an illusion: http://www.gizmag.com/fermilab-holom...acetime/16829/ (I hasten to add, I do not understand what that article describes, or if it is even half credible. I am simply headline-grabbing to illustrate my point).
If God exists and is benevolent, he would not interfere in the world, whatever befalls it, except to rescue it entirely.
If God exists and influences events in the world, he cannot be other than evil because no benevolent entity would allow so many bad things to happen to the innocent, yet shower so much wealth and privilege on the undeserving.
If God is perfect, and He created us, He would never "test" us, because that would be pointless
If we have free will, only an evil God would punish us for exercising it
... even if we committed mass genocide. If He is perfect and punishes us, he purposely created the fault for which we are being punished.
Well, that'll do for now. I could go on, but the above demonstrates that atheism is not a certain fact, and for an atheist to decry religion is as bad as the religions denouncing unbelief. Zealotry among the faithless is as bad as the zealots of religion.