Is atheism even possible?

sircaren

Explorer
Would it be possible to actually disbelieve in the existance of gods in a world such as a 'standard' D&D world, where the gods are real, and their influence can be seen everywhere? It would be interesting to come up with a character concept where the character refused to believe in gods, when there is such ample proof everywhere in D&D. With the raising of the dead, the smiting of undead evil, the healing of the sick and the wounded, the ability to speak with agents of gods (commune), etc. How would one come to the conclusion there were no gods?

(edit - spelling)
 
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"They're not really gods, they're just very powerful outsiders."

"Great Crom sits on a mountain, and cares little for us mortals."

"Mialee can cast magic, and she doesn't have to pray."
 



You would think that some aspiring deity-to-be would cash in on the collective egos of the atheists in any given campaign world - there has to be some power in that. Besides, "Patron God of Atheists" sounds too good to pass up. :D
 

I played a character in 2nd edition who believed that all the gods were just high level wizzards. His name was Melf (go figure).

Conveniently (or not), there was no priest in the party, so the issue of divine vs. arcane magic never came up.

buzzard
 


Other possibilities:

-"Gods" are really manifestations of social belief. Their existence is only proof that the ability to work magic exists, to a greater or lesser degree, in all sentient beings; they represent a collective magical work. (sociological atheism)
-There are no gods, but magic itself is flexible. Some people channel their power through arcane words, whereas others channel it through prayer. Presumably, a magically-inclined person who believed hard enough could channel their magic through tap-dancing. Oh yeah -- that's a bard! (scientific atheism)
-I don't care what you say, the idea of Gods is dumb. (insane atheism)
-Gods exist, but they must be opposed at every turn. They are selfish powerful alien beings who treat mortals like expendable pawns in their internecine squabbles. Humanity will only be free once the Gods are driven out of our reality. (this might be classified as antitheism, rather than atheism)

Obviously, the available variants of atheism will depend on the world in question. A world in which the Gods make regular appearances won't really allow for what I'm calling scientific atheism. A world in which the Gods are very remote and uninvolved in human affairs won't have much for an antitheist to rebel against.

I tell players in my game that, while atheism is an option, it should be extremely rare, and will be regarded as an almost criminal insanity by most people. This is just a quirk of my world, though: it's easy to imagine a world in which atheism is a viable option for whole communities.

Daniel
 

If you can get your hands on a copy of the Factol's Manifesto from the 2nd ed. Planescape line, read up on the first faction presented, the Athar. They have a pretty cool spin on Atheism in the fantasy world.
 

I've always wanted to play an athiest cleric.

Casts divine spells but is in denial that what happens is anything more than a coincidence, or refuses to see the results at all.

So, yes, I believe you can have an actual athiest in D&D (who denies both the existance of divinity and the existance of divine magic), but they have to be off their rocker.

Alternately, the athiest cleric could not be quite as insane but spout out phrases like "Behold the manifest power of my disbelief!" or "I smite you in the name of... ME!"
 

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