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How can atheists say for sure there's no god?
Most atheists don't assert that no gods exist; only a subset of all atheists are also "strong" or "positive" atheists. In fact, most atheists identify primarily by their lack of belief in gods, rather than the belief claim that none exist.
The terms "strong" and "weak" in this context are not referring to the level of fervor or conviction one has concerning atheism. They are indicative of whether or not the person is making a gnostic belief claim or not.
Weak atheism makes no gnostic claim. It is simply the lack of belief in any god. Monotheists share the same lack of belief in gods, except for the one they do believe exists. Weak atheism is the de facto position of the majority of atheists today.
Strong atheism is weak atheism plus a gnostic belief claim: a strong atheist asserts with certainty that no gods exist.
All atheists are at least weak atheists; a subset of those are also strong atheists.
Why would anyone be a strong atheist then?
Strong atheism usually bases its arguments in dismissals of the existence of gods. Depending on the epistemological stance, some atheists can either claim that gods are inherently contradictory and therefore cannot exist (an "a priori" argument), or that the concept of (some) gods are inconsistent with our observations (an "a posteriori" argument).
Many arguments also offer that a god by most definitions is impossible or lacking any substantiation. The definition of God is very flexible however as Yahweh is quite different from Loki is quite different from Spinoza's God, etc. The nature of god claims can be very ambiguous and worked around as even logic itself could be subject to a creator's whims. As such, specific attributes must be addressed and within the context of how we can address their validity.
It is important to note that not all arguments must be absolute so much as persuasive.
So, what kind of atheist are you?
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