Atheism is not the topic here, it is not even mentioned in article. Although it is not a scientific fact, I wouldn't call it a faith because there is nothing really to be gained by wishing it was true. Most faiths promise a decent return of interest for true believers.

If a human-made device could produce sensation of God presence, it would diminish all the holy visions reported by saints. Dawkins denied feeling any such sensation, so it doesn't seem like he is lying to defend his beliefs?

> Dawkins denied feeling any such sensation, so it doesn't seem like he is lying to defend his beliefs?

Maybe cleanroom believes that the helmet induces accurate visions of religious phenomena, so they think Dawkins did see something, but denied seeing it to support his worldview?

Wouldn't it beneficial for a prominent atheist like Dawkins to believe that feelings of divinity are merely side effects from some electric fields near the head? If he were to lie wouldn't he do so in favor of the God Helmet having an effect?

> I wouldn't call it a faith because there is nothing really to be gained by wishing it was true.

Of course there's something to be gained; you don't have to follow any rules and can live however you want without expecting punishment after death.

> If a human-made device could produce sensation of God presence, it would diminish all the holy visions reported by saints.

Maybe, but not obviously; if a human-made device can produce a sensation of (touch|vision|sound), does that diminish reports of (touch|sight|hearing)?

Ah yes, I didn't consider the threat of eternal damnation. My argument would be valid only if we consider atheism on its own, without context of Christianity being alternative.

I would say that widespread occurrence of sensation that was previously considered rare and sacred would significantly diminish foundations of most religions.

As we enter the age where it is easy to fabricate visual and audio recordings, people will become increasingly wary of believing it. I would think same would apply to sense of supernatural presence?

Belief in punishment after death is not logically connected to belief or non-belief in deities. Where such connections exist, they too are matters of faith. There are for example atheists that believe in reincarnation and karma/vipaka.

If worrying about punishment after death is the only thing that keeps you from acting immorally, please stick with the religion.

:) An Atheist (hopefully) doesn't need to be forced to not murder people, but they can eat bacon, sleep with a prostitute (where legal), and tell a "white lie" without fear of punishment.