What Do Atheists Know of God or Religion?:
Atheists have constructed many trenchant critiques of both religion and theism over the years. Some of these critiques can be responded to reasonably, but others are much more difficult to address in anything like an adequate manner. Sometimes, it may be easier to simply find a way to dismiss atheists entirely and thus avoid having to address any of their critiques in the first place. Common ways of doing this are to argue that atheists have never had any of the relevant and necessary experiences to teach them about God and religion. If they did, they would understand and believe.
Atheists Have Never Tried to Find God, Don't Try to Find God:
If atheists' nonbelief is based on a rational, sober assessment of the evidence, reaching the conclusion that belief in gods is unreasonable, this challenges a religion's claims to truths as well as the assumption that theism is rational. Not all adherents of theistic religions recognize the significance of the challenge posed by the mere existence of atheists, but many do and this may why they have tried to come up with excuses for why atheists don't believe. Here we have a popular one: the allegation that, unlike theists, the atheists never really tried in the first place. Atheists Just Haven't Tried Hard Enough
Atheists Have Never Really Experienced God:
Many myths which religious theists generally, and Christians in particular, hold about atheists depend on the assumption that atheists don't really understand religion. When it is pointed out that most atheists used to be religious believers, people attempt to salvage their myth by arguing that the atheist was never a "real" believer. Christians, for example, will claim that no real Christian, having personally experienced God and Jesus, would ever leave Christianity. This myth commits the fallacy of Begging the Question because it assumes the point which is being debated. Atheists Haven't Experienced God
Religious Experience Prove the Existence of God, Supernatural:
According to the Argument from Religious Experience, people have “religious experiences” — experiences of the supernatural, like heaven or angels or even a god. Because we believe other experiential claims people make — like that they went to the store or own a car — then we should believe these claims as well. It is also argued that when skeptics apply higher standards for claims based on religious experiences than they do for claims based on other experiences, they exhibit a prejudice against religious claims. This prevents them from understanding and believing. Religious Experiences Do Not Prove God Exists
Mystics and Mystical Experiences Prove the Existence of God, Supernatural:
An important form of the Argument from Religious Experience focuses on the issue of mysticism — it might be called the Argument from Professional Religious Experience. It is claimed that, throughout time, in various cultures and places, there have been people who have somehow had direct, personal experiences with God. There is a tremendous amount of variety in the reports by religious mystics over the millennia. Not only are the reports from different religions mutually incompatible, but not even all the reports in a single religious tradition are compatible. Mystics Do Not Prove the Existence of God
People Become Atheist After Bad Experiences with Religion:
Religious theists sometimes try to dismiss atheism and atheists by claiming that people only become atheists due to bad experiences as kids with false or bad religions. This myth allows theists to imagine that atheists' experiences with "false" religion has nothing to do with their own "true" religion, that atheistic critiques of religion don't really impact their own religion, and that if atheists only learned about "true" religion then they would abandon their atheism. In this way a religious theist can basically ignore whatever the atheist has to say. Atheism is Not Due to Experiences with False Religions
You Must Be an Atheist Because You've Never Heard About Jesus and the Gospel:
Some religious theists — especially Christians and some Muslims — believe that the only reason why a person would not be a member of their religion is simply because they are unfamiliar with it. Or, to put it in Christian terms, because they have not heard the "Good News" which they of course now wish to share. As a result, it is common for these believers to immediately launch into preaching in order to rectify that situation. It never seems to have occurred to them that nonbelievers have heard the message and simply don't find it credible or reasonable. Atheists Haven't Not Heard the Gospel
Atheists Fear They Are Too Sinful to be Accepted by God:
This myth is likely to come from a Christian, particularly a Protestant. The idea that all human beings are depraved sinners who know that they are depraved sinners, unworthy of forgiveness or eternal life, has been an important aspect of Christian doctrine. God, however, is loving and generous enough to forgive us despite how horrible we are. If a Protestant Christian sees this as central to their own life, they may assume it's central to others' lives as well — even atheists who don't believe in sin or gods. This is just nonsense, however, and atheists do not fear any gods. Atheists Do Not Fear God's Judgment
Atheists are Fools who Say in their Heart 'There is no God':
Christians seem to love to quote the above verse from Psalms. Sometimes, I think this verse is popular because it allows them to call atheists "fools" and imagine that they can avoid taking responsibility for doing so - after all, they are just quoting the Bible so it's not really them saying it, right? Even worse is the part they don't quote - but not because they don't agree with it. They often do, but I don't think they want to be caught saying it directly because that's harder to defend. Atheists are Fools who Say in their Heart 'There is no God'
Atheists Have Just Never Heard an Intelligent Defense of Christianity:
Christians who are completely caught up in their religious beliefs sometimes have trouble understanding why someone else would fail to agree with them. They regard their religion, doctrines, and traditions as so obviously true that it's inconceivable that a person could take a serious look at them without ultimately accepting them. Assuming that the atheist isn't an idiot or being perverse, then the most viable conclusion to draw from their disbelief is that they are ignorant of the facts. Atheists Have Not Heard an Intelligent Defenses of Christianity
