I won't regurgitate the case for atheism. Rather, I'd like to discuss the mentality of the atheist. He is a person who fancies himself to have assessed the world he lives in for the likelihood that there are either gods or God and has concluded that neither can be.
The condition doesn't prescribe why the person feels this way or how they feel about it. There could be profound disappointment. There could be faith in something they find to be greater. It could be a passionate subject the person is very angry and vocal about with a pantheon of grievances to air out. It could be an uninteresting subject that the person politely steers conversations away from without trying to raise offense.
What all of these have in common is that they perceive the decision to be atheist as something practical people arrive at through observation. They don't consciously decide. For them, they are merely stepping out into a midnight sky to not behold the Sun.
For an atheist, it must be a practical decision for him to believe before he can do it. When I was still atheist, I remember distinctively how my thought process changed from bitterness with religious world views to, "I don't believe... but wouldn't it be nice if I did?"
In order to begin the path towards genuine faith, the yearning to have faith must be sparked.
If you're a lifelong believer, you might not like the following list,
but it's not written to please you, but rather to grow the kingdom of God.
Reasons You Would Want To Believe in God if You Could
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You are socially isolated. This one is easy to comprehend in today's post-Covid world of automation and so-called artificial intelligence. While many people have adapted to these circumstances and maintain a healthy social life there are a growing number of people with increased anxiety who have chosen isolation and addiction to technology.
Church represents a third space where you have a chance at a life of substance in the real world. What's more, if you have a family, you don't want your kid to grow up interacting with other kids exclusively through Discord voice chats; otherwise he or she will become one of these isolated people.
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You are chronically sick or poor. Both of these things tie into problems with social isolation. And the social isolation makes it more difficult to get a leg up so that you can get a proper opportunity to live well.
People in the church community might privately bemoan knowing that someone has only attended a church function because they can't afford to eat, but they absolutely won't allow that to stop them from having you eat. They're commanded to help the poor, but they often disagree about what is and isn't help. Standing on the corner begging for money is not only humiliating, but many people will cast you as not needing help when doing this kind of thing.
However if you participate in the church community, they have a hard time to dismiss you. If they run a business, they want to give you a job. If someone asks for prayer requests, they will mention your name. Word will spread that you are the type of person who is described in the Bible who is blessed and deserves help.
Imagine how much easier it would be to get in control of your life if you really believed and had these people in your corner as a result. Imagine that you could be part of the group doing the help as well, something that might never be possible otherwise if you remain on your own.
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Your way of life is under attack. If you are from a western country that has been historically Christian, you may have never thought about religion being the steward of your secular life before. However Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech and other virtuous elements of your culture arose from a Christian foundation.
At one time it may have seemed like much of what you loved about your culture was coming from progressive angles. As an atheist you may have considered religious people to be stuffy, uptight, uppity, and holier-than-thou. But as religion has become less important in many peoples lives, has there not come a new religion of sorts with people who seem to align with your enemies?
Islamists? Marxists? Feminists? Anarchists? Foreigners? Radically homosexual retards? Are they not more uppity these days then you recall them being in previous decades? Have they not sown strife between your own people? The old religion begins to sound more appealing when you consider it that way. It may be the best weapon we have against those who want to destroy us.