atheists

An open question directed at religious believers is drawing discussion online: after praying to God for forgiveness, how can someone tell whether and when that forgiveness has actually been granted? The prompt, tagged with atheism and faith, invites theists to explain how they recognise divine absolution, and is prompting reflection and debate about the nature of prayer, guilt and evidence of divine response.

A long-running philosophical challenge to religious believers is circulating online: if God controls Satan, God is complicit in evil, but if God cannot control Satan, He is neither all-powerful nor all-loving. The argument, a version of the classic problem of evil, is drawing replies from both atheists and theists debating free will, divine sovereignty and the existence of suffering.

A line from French playwright Jean Anouilh is being shared widely: 'Every man thinks God is on his side. The rich and powerful know He is.' The aphorism suggests that religion often serves the interests of wealth and power, and it is being circulated in atheist and secular circles as a pointed critique of faith's political uses.

A debate question is circulating among atheists and theists: if every holy book and religion disappeared along with all memories of them, would humanity eventually arrive at the same beliefs again? Responses are weighing whether religious faith is a natural human impulse or a product of cultural transmission, with atheists suggesting the answer would be no and believers arguing otherwise.

A debate question is circulating on Mastodon asking theists how they can distinguish a divine revelation from a delusion. The question is framed with hashtags on atheism, faith and god, and is aimed at believers in general rather than any specific event or person. It invites religious users to explain what criteria, if any, separate genuine spiritual experience from mental error, and is likely to draw argument between believers and atheists.

A quote attributed to the late writer Christopher Hitchens — "The suicide bombing community is entirely faith-based" — is circulating on social media. Hitchens, who died in 2011, was a leading critic of religion, and the line reflects his argument that religious belief motivates suicide terrorism. Users are sharing it alongside atheist hashtags, drawing familiar arguments about religion's role in violence.

A century-old aphorism by British writer Holbrook Jackson — 'Man is a dog's ideal of what God should be' — is being shared and quoted in discussions about faith and atheism. The line suggests that humans worship gods shaped in their own image, much as dogs adore their owners, prompting debate about the origins and nature of religious belief.

A quote attributed to Christopher Hitchens is circulating online: "The man who prays is the one who thinks that God has arranged matters all wrong, but who also thinks that he can instruct God how to put them right." The aphorism captures Hitchens's characteristic critique of religious belief, and it is drawing both agreement from atheists and pushback from believers who see prayer differently.