atheism

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 quote by American journalist and playwright Mignon McLaughlin is being shared among secular and faith-oriented readers: 'When suffering comes, we yearn for some sign from God, forgetting we have just had one.' The line is tagged with references to atheism, faith and God, prompting reflection on whether suffering itself should be read as a divine sign, and on how people interpret hardship religiously.

A quotation attributed to architect Frank Lloyd Wright — 'I believe in God, only I spell it Nature' — is circulating in discussions tagged atheism, faith and god. The line frames nature itself as the object of belief, blurring the line between religion and secular naturalism, and is being shared by people reflecting on what belief in God really means.

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.

People online are wishing each other a happy Wōdnesdæg, using the Old English name for Wednesday, which derives from the god Woden. The greeting, tagged with atheism, faith and god, plays on the etymology of weekday names and invites reflection on the pagan roots behind common calendar terms.

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 challenge circulating online asks religious believers to apply the same critical scrutiny to their own religion that they naturally apply to others. The message argues that people can think rationally about faiths they were not raised in, and invites them to turn that same outsider perspective inward. It has resonated in atheism and secularism discussions, prompting debate about bias, upbringing and belief.

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.