Arguments against the existence of God

Since theistic religions first began, there have been many arguments made by non-theists against the existence of God. When people refer to arguments for or against the existence of God, these arguments almost always refer to (a) a classical Biblical view of God, in which God is anthropomorphic, or (b) any view of God in which God is portrayed as omniscient, omnipotent and omni-benevolent (all-good). Most Jewish and almost all Christian views of God fit these definitions.

• Incoherency (or Incompatible-properties arguments)[?]: arguments regarding incoherent divine attributes
  • The argument against a transcendent god[?]
  • The argument from nonbelief
  • The problem of evil and logical and evidential arguments from evil
  • The freewill argument

Theodicy is a project to refute the problem of evil and similar arguments against the existence of God, by providing good justifying explanations that reconcile God's existence to the more troubling features of the world.

It's also worth noting that many, perhaps most, atheists deny that arguments against the existence of God are necessary to support or sustain atheism. They argue that the burden of proof is on the person who makes the positive claim. It is then not up to atheists to prove that God does not exist; it is up to theists to provide proof of their own. Without such proof, it is not rational to believe in the existence of God, any more than it is to believe in the existence of fairies, dragons, demons or unicorns.

See also: Arguments for the existence of God, atheism, agnosticism, rationalism, philosophy of religion