This is a twist on the "If a tree falls in the woods" question: Certainly there lived in the past a person, but the person in question has some very typical attributes: Nothing was written about or by this person. The person in question made no lasting contributions or left any tangible artifacts. No-one living has any memory of this person, nor are there any stories, legends, or tales being told. Did this person ever exist even with no known qualities, age, timeframe, or attribute other than "a human in the past?" There may well have been the faceless masses that are written about and populate historical accounts and ancient Greek plays, but what about specific but unspecified persons? They must have existed, but did they exist as individuals or only as a type?

You exist right now, right? You have some specific number of hairs on your head, and your toenails are some definite shape, etc. Nobody's keeping track of any of these things, though. Now flash forward to the year 3000, when you've completely and totally faded into obscurity. There is no possibility whatever of retrieving any information about you. Did you every exist, with your specific attributes? I suspect you're going to say "of course." Ditto for all the people who preceded you. To be is not to be remembered!

I'm 13 years old and I honestly don't know what to believe and it is literally driving me crazy. My mum says to stop thinking and relax but the problem is I can't, it's as if I stop thinking I'll, well, die. Knowledge is a part of me and I can't bear to let it go but I'm not sure whether there is a God and I think the only reason I ever believed is because I was afraid of what would happen to me after life. I don't fear death anymore but I hope that you will give me some answers and if Atheism is the answer.

You say: "if I stop thinking I'll, well, die"? This calls to mind that very famous idea from Descartes, "I think, therefore I am." What he means is that as long as I'm thinking, I must exist. What seems to worry you is the opposite--"If I don't think, I won't exist." But here's a very reassuring thing about Descartes' view. It doesn't matter what you think about. You can think about the existence of God or going swimming or eating ice cream, and the fact that you are thinking means you exist. In fact, what Descartes means by thinking is everything that goes on in your mind. So you can just enjoy the swimming and the ice cream, and that suffices for you to exist. In a relevant sense we even keep thinking in our sleep. Our minds are active. So closing your eyes at the end of the day isn't even anything to worry about. Of course, some things urgently need to be thought about. And maybe it seems to you as though the question of God is really urgent. But is that so? If there is an all-good...