Why don't people just believe in God?

Atheists often hear the very general claim that atheists tend to convert to Christianity when they are on their deathbeds.

Originally posted by Eis
There is no need to believe in "something".

Believing in something is unavoidable; even believing that there is "no need to believe..." is a belief.
Atheism is a belief system.
My experience has been that atheists tell you "believe in yourself" (as if somehow this, and believing in a higher power were mutually exclusive).
Agnostics, at least, IMO, have the most honest approach, if (perhaps) being shy of the most practical approach.

Atheism is not a belief system. It doesn' t consist of an integrated system of doctrines, beliefs, and ideas that are used to provide guidance and stability in people' s lives.

Originally posted by Storm
Atheism is not a belief system. It doesn' t consist of an integrated system of doctrines, beliefs, and ideas that are used to provide guidance and stability in people' s lives.

I respectfully disagree, there maybe no doctrine, but there is commonality. To not choose is still a choice. The range of the atheist’s non-belief is the organized religions they rail against. I see agnostics and atheists as not the same thing. An agnostic dose not know and will not make a stand, were as atheists are making a stand. Therefore, ironically, they are becoming what they fight against. I could be wrong, but only time will tell.

Atheism implies no further belief system. It implies no beliefs about politics, no philosophy, no beliefs about society, no beliefs about science, no beliefs about religion. If you know that a person is an atheist, then you know that he or she lacks belief in gods. Nothing more, nothing less.

It is indeed nonsensical to call atheism a belief system; it merely defines a single attribute about a person, and that attribute is about what the person does NOT belief in. Christians don't believe in, say the ancient Roman Gods, but if such disbelief had a name, you wouldn't say that was their belief system, would you?

Which means there are still plenty of belief systems that atheists can (and do) have; their philisophical beliefs are not defined by their atheism, that is only one small part of it.

What you are referring to, Shaky, is Humanists. That IS a belief system. It happens to be atheist.

So are Naturalism, Nihilism, and arguably even Buddhism. They are the belief systems; atheism is merely a facet.

The only reason to see atheism as a belief system is because you are defining it as being a group that is against other belief systems; this is an erroneous view. There is no such single group of 'atheists' any more than there is a single group of 'theists'.

indeed

Well many people would call it a belief system. A belief in non belief if that makes since. Or skeptical needing facts, I suppose, though I believe it does encompass many views, not just one lump definition because not all people think alike.

They would very much be wrong to, then, because atheism does not fit any reasonable definition of a belief system. 'Scepticism' isn't a belief system either, it's an attitude.

for the second time today, indeed................sort of getting into a habit

why should people beleive in god if he is real whats he doin for the world now then ???

"Why don't people just believe in God?"

Some people will only believe things they can understand or experience for themselves.

For some God is simply not one of those things.