[[ImageFile:Sartre1385px-Sartre and de Beauvoir at Balzac Memorial.gifjpg|thumb|170px200px|right|[[Jean-Paul Sartre]]and [[Simone de Beauvoir]]at the Balzac Memorial.]]One of the most popular arguments for God's existence is the [[teleological argument]]. Derived from the Greek word ''telos'', which refers to purpose or end, this argument hinges on the idea that the world gives evidence of being designed, and concludes that a divine designer must be posited to account for the orderly world we encounter. Research and historical data indicate that a significant portion of atheists/agnostics often see the their lives and the world as being the product of purposeful design (see: [[Atheism and beliefs that the world is designedpurpose]]).<ref>
*[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/opinion/sunday/does-everything-happen-for-a-reason.html ''Does everything happen for a reason?''],'' New York Times'', October 17, 2014
*[http://creation.com/children-see-the-world-as-designed Children see the world as designed] by David Catchpoole, [[Creation Ministries International]], Published: 16 July 2009
*The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' declares: "In 1885, the Duke of Argyll recounted a conversation he had had with Charles Darwin the year before Darwin's death: In the course of that conversation I said to Mr. Darwin, with reference to some of his own remarkable works on the Fertilization of [[Orchid]]s, and upon The [[Earthworm]]s, and various other observations he made of the wonderful contrivances for certain purposes in nature — I said it was impossible to look at these without seeing that they were the effect and the expression of Mind. I shall never forget Mr. Darwin's answer. He looked at me very hard and said, 'Well, that often comes over me with overwhelming force; but at other times,' and he shook his head vaguely, adding, 'it seems to go away.'(Argyll 1885, 244)[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/teleological-arguments/notes.html Notes to Teleological Arguments for God's Existence]</ref>
In addition, notable professing [[Atheism|atheists]] have had the characteristic of variability and instability when it came to maintaining thoughts in accordance with atheism. For example, [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] was one of the leading proponents of atheism of the 20th Century.
== Richard Dawkins and agnosticism and atheism ==
''See also:'' [[Atheism, agnosticism and flip-flopping]]
The [[agnosticism|agnostic]] Richard Dawkins publicly flip-flops between the positions of agnosticism, atheism and [[militant atheism]] (see: [[Richard Dawkins and agnosticism]]).
== Atheist PZ Myers dreamt about dying and standing before the pearly gates of heaven ==
[[File:PzMyers2.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|[[PZ Myers]]
<br /><br />
<small>(photo obtained from [http://www.flickr.com/photos/reuvenim/4426093513/ Flickr], see [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en license agreement])</small> ]]
''See also:'' [[Atheism and death]]
There have been no reports of [[theology|theologians]] or [[creation science|creation scientists]] having dreams that atheism is true.
== Atheism has a lower and its retention rate compared to other worldviews in individuals ==
{{See also: [[|Atheism has a lower and its retention rate compared to other worldviews]]in individuals}}
According to recent research by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in the United States, a majority of those surveyed who were raised in atheist or [[agnosticism|agnostic]] households, or where there was no specific religious attachment, later chose to join a religious faith.<ref>http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/defectors-to-faith-mark-a-growing-trend/story-e6frg7ko-1225710667095</ref><ref>http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1204/religion-changes-affiliations-survey</ref> A notable example of a person raised in a an atheistic household who later became a Christian is William J. Murray. Mr. Murray is the son of the late atheist [[Madalyn Murray O'Hair]] who founded the organization American Atheists. In 1982, William J. Murray founded the [[Religious Freedom Coalition]].
In addition, in atheistic [[Communism|Communist]] China, Christianity is experiencing explosive growth.<ref>http://www.millennialstar.org/christianity-exploding-in-china/</ref><ref>http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/shows/cwn/2008/August/Christianity-Growing-in-China-/</ref> On July 3, 2005, the [[New York Times]] reported concerning many countries in the former [[Soviet Union]]: "A return to religion in [[Romania]] and the region's other formerly Communist countries has in many places outrun the speed at which the church can screen and train clergy..."<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/03/international/europe/03romania.html</ref>
== Thomas Nagel ==
The Christian apologist Tom Gilson, after citing cases where atheists hold to views without sufficient evidence, quotes the prominent atheist [[Thomas Nagel]] who declared:
{{Cquote|I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.<ref name="Gilson">
[https://www.thinkingchristian.net/posts/2015/08/atheism-and-evidence-self-defense-against-belief/ 'Atheism and Evidence: Self-Defense Against Belief?''] by Tom Gilson</ref>}}
== See also ==
*[[Resources for leaving atheism Atheism and becoming a Christian]]*[[Christian apologetics|Evidence for Christianity]]*[[Atheist factions]]*[[Decline of atheism]]*[[Atheists have low retention rate compared to other worldviews]]*[[Attempts to dilute the definition of atheism]]*[[Essay: The question atheists fear|The question atheists fear]]*[[Essay: Atheist restaurant|Atheist restaurantevidence]] - satire
*[[There Are No Atheists In Foxholes]]
*[[Atheism and cowardicethe supernatural|Atheists and supernatural beliefs]]*[[Desecularization and social conformity]]*[[Atheism and presuppositional apologetics]]*[[Attempts to dilute the definition of atheism]]*[[Christian apologetics|Evidence for Christianity]] '''Essay:''' *[[Essay: Will atheism ever disappear?|Will atheism ever disappear?]]
{{Nb Atheism}}
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category: Atheism]][[Category: Psychology]]