When “Lack of Belief” Equals Denial of God

By Ajit Krishna Dasa

Atheists often say, “I don’t deny God; I simply lack belief.” That sounds neutral, but it collapses when we look closer—especially if we take seriously the idea of a God who defines Himself as innately known to everyone.

The Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) records Kṛṣṇa’s own claim: “I am seated in everyone’s heart; from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” The self—the ātmā—is understood in Vaiṣṇava thought to have an eternal, built-in relationship with Him. Awareness of God is not an optional belief we might or might not adopt. It is part of what we are.

Now consider the common atheist reply: “I lack belief in God.”
If God is simply an optional hypothesis, the reply makes sense. But if God is the One who says, “I am innately known by every person,” the words “I lack belief” mean more than they admit. They amount to “That kind of God does not exist.”

The reasoning is straightforward:

1. If a God exists who is by definition known to everyone, then everyone does know Him.
2. Some people claim they do not know or believe in such a God.
3. Therefore they are denying that such a God exists.

What looks like a neutral suspension of judgment is really a rejection of the God being described. If there truly is a God who makes Himself innately known to everyone, then saying “I merely lack belief” is logically the same as saying “no such God exists.” It isn’t a harmless pause in belief; it’s an outright denial of the very God whose defining feature is universal self-revelation.