No, please try to FOCUS on my actual position and the actual WORDS that I used.
I don't believe in god.
NOT HAVING SOMETHING ISN'T EQUIVALENT TO HAVING SOMETHING.
Not HAVING a belief in god isn't equivalent to HAVING a belief that god doesn't exist.
I don't HAVE a belief that god doesn't...
DO WE SAY THAT?
Please try to focus your attention on the real people trying to have a discussion with you.
Do the people you are NOW having a discussion with SAY these things?
Or do you want to debate THOSE people somewhere ELSE who say these things?
Do you KNOW what a straw man argument is...
Please EXPLAIN where the word game is, precisely.
I see NO word games on his part.
You talk about PATIENCE and CONSEQUENCE and being ADULTS ( a veiled ad hominem argument? ).. what has this to DO with the OP?
Ok, great. Let's.
THOSE are the only reasons you see?
Where are you LOOKING for your reasons?
You seem to have an issue with your narrow view of atheists and logical analysis.
Ok.. then don't SAY that. Atheists sure don't.
What's your point?
Ok.. maybe that's why I never heard an...
we would only say that if it WERE our position.
We don't ARGUE your straw man of our position.
PLEASE try to understand our position.
If you cannot understand our true position, and insist on tilting at windmills, then by all MEANS... knock yourself out.
IF, however, you want to actually...
We ALL should take responsibility for our beliefs.
Please, DO take responsibility for your beliefs.
The OP is not a QUESTION of taking responsibility for beliefs.
It's a question as to what should be a DEFAULT POSITION on beliefs.
Try to stay on topic.
Yes, some people believe whatever they feel like. Some people don't know how to think critically at all.
This isn't surprising. Religions actively DISCOURAGE critical thinking.
And we aren't TAUGHT critical thinking as a rule.
Your feelings seem to be what tells you what is true or not.
I...
IF you do not KNOW anything about X, please tell us how you could form a BELIEF about X.
DO you have a belief in X?
How many beliefs do you have about X? Twenty? Two? Three thousand? ZERO BELIEFS?
Not having a belief seems the same to you as having a belief.
You say you don't HAVE a...
Well, the PROBLEM I see that your having with the idea is the way that you USE "dis".
Let's take a look at the statement for a sec.
A BABY DISBELIEVES X BY DEFAULT.
You might find it RIDICULOUS that a baby uses critical thinking ... and I would agree... they pee and poo all over the place...
Doesn't fit WHAT?
You say your default position on other gods is that you DON'T believe, because as you say you don't have a reason to.
That's what it means to have a default of NO when it comes to truth claims.
UNTIL we are give a good reason to believe in the truth of the proposition, we...
And NOT having is a result of NON Ownership.
What is your point?
But owning a statement doesn't mean that it's TRUE by default.
What is your point?
Just because we can make a statement that it becomes TRUE?
What ARE you trying to say?
I'm sorry, I'm not at all following your logic.
I can't...
It would mean that you didn't have a belief that the earth was round, cubic or otherwise. You had NO belief in the roundness of the earth or of anything else, for that matter.
But you had no belief.
That's what it might mean in Hell or anywhere else they speak English.
Aren't we atheists...
Inability?
What ABILITY am I lacking?
Let's say that I am perfectly ABLE to believe in the truth of a proposition.
I look for ways that it can be known as true.
I don't FIND those ways.. but I'm STILL FULLY ABLE to believe IF some way becomes available to me.
I don't LACK an ability to have...