Atheism is a very, very narrow thing.

[A HERETIC I AM]

73. You can not assign such things to "all" atheists.

Atheism simply addresses the question as to the validity of the claim of the existence of a god or gods.

That's it. Many Buddhists are Atheist and they have a belief in some sort of existence beyond the human one. Plenty of people who have no belief in god believe in some sort of afterlife.

I like Matt Dillahunty's explanation the best;

(Paraphrasing) "The atheist position is that the claims made for the existence of god have not been proven. It is the same as if in a court of law, the defendant is found "Not Guilty". The defendant is not found innocent. There is a specific difference.

God is not guilty of existing because there has been no proof provided for the claim that he does. There is a reasonable doubt standard that can apply.

The simple word "Atheist" does not claim that no gods exist, merely that insufficient evidence has been presented so far as to make god "guilty" of existing."

As far as the way I look at it, I KNOW all gods are mythical constructs. They are all cut from the same cloth, as well. There is no more reason to believe the god of Abraham and Isaac are real entities than there is reason to believe Zeus and Apollo are real. In fact, if you think Jehovah is real, then you should also think Isis and Set and Osiris are real. Because they are essentially the same.

I have no gods because I don't need any. And if Jehovah is real and is anything at all like the stories told about him in the bible, I want nothing to do with him.