Atheism is a faith

[Scuba Pete]

You likely know more than 6 atheists.

I'm not sure if this is the case with you, but I've found that people tend to assume that those who aren't vocal about their beliefs think like they do.

I used the word FRIENDS and not acquaintances. MOST of my friends are agnostic and they just don't care either way. As for me thinking that others think like me, Bwahahahahaha! I have a unique perspective on just about everything and I am fine with that. I have yet to meet someone who has my beliefs. If I ever do, I will demand that they return them!

 

[UnTheist]

But it comes with assumptions that require faith.

That there is no evidence? No assumption required.

 

[Quagmire]

I don't find that to be true at all. Of the 6 atheists that I know, all hold faith and churches in general in contempt.

I know a few theists who feel the same way.

 

[gnomon]

Is faith required to believe that my cat ate the baby Jesus?

 

[MoonWater]

Is faith required to believe that my cat ate the baby Jesus?

Yes, after all it can't be proven.

 

[gnomon]

Yes, after all it can't be proven.

Good answer.

 

[MoonWater]

Good answer.

Thanks

 

[Nanda]

I don't find that to be true at all. Of the 6 atheists that I know, all hold faith and churches in general in contempt.

Well, Pete, most of the Christians I know personally have tried to convert me, but I don't assume that this is how all Christians behave.

 

[Sunstone]

Calling atheism a faith renders the concept of faith trivial and nearly meaningless.

 

[Scuba Pete]

Calling atheism a faith renders the concept of faith trivial and nearly meaningless.

How so?

 

[Sunstone]

How so?

If faith is no more profound than an atheist's "faith" there is no deity, then it is trivial. The "faith" that an atheist has is not transformative. It doesn't change him or her anymore than the "faith" I have that my car keys are where I remember last seeing them changes me. Go ahead and say that "faith" and the faith of a Christian are the same, but if you do, prepare yourself for being told your faith is non-transformative, doesn't change anyone, doesn't do much of anything.

 

[Prometheus]

Atheism is not a faith nor is it a denial of the existence of deities. It is merely the absence of a belief. It really is a very important difference.

All other life on this planet (as far as we can guess), the severely mentally handicapped and infants are Atheists. None of them believe there is no God nor do they believe that there is a God. The question is not in their minds.

It doesn't matter whether you have a concept of God that you have thought about and rejected as being true or if you have no concept at all. Atheism is a lack of a belief. It describes only what a person is not and makes no positive assertion.

Though if you want to get into "weak" and "strong" atheism then I would concede Strong-Atheists have a belief. Generally, though, when someone says they are an Atheist, it means they are a Weak-Atheist. That is in my experience, at least.

 

[w00t]

My husband is an atheist having been a devout 'born again' as a young man. He wouldn't say his atheism is a faith.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

All other life on this planet (as far as we can guess), the severely mentally handicapped and infants are Atheists.

Sadly, this is what passes for the logic of this position.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

If faith is no more profound than an atheist's "faith" there is no deity, then it is trivial. The "faith" that an atheist has is not transformative. It doesn't change him or her anymore than the "faith" I have that my car keys are where I remember last seeing them changes me. Go ahead and say that "faith" and the faith of a Christian are the same, but if you do, prepare yourself for being told your faith is non-transformative, doesn't change anyone, doesn't do much of anything.

Do you mean that the faith itself is non-transformative, or the effect of the faith on the believer is non-transformative?

 

[Scuba Pete]

but if you do, prepare yourself for being told your faith is non-transformative, doesn't change anyone, doesn't do much of anything.

This is already the norm from many atheists. Can you have FAITH in the wrong thing? Sure.

By faith, our soldiers went to Iraq to discover WMDs. Unfortunately their faith was in a shrub that was not burning and so they were not only disappointed but killed by the score with even more Iraqis losing their lives.

By faith, I did not support the war, for I did not believe that there were WMDs in Iraq. Unfortunately, my disbelief in the existencene of WMDs has been proven out and it appears that the vast majority of Americans were deceived in their faith in WMDs.

Your faith can be a system of beliefs... or dis-beliefs. My dis-belief in WMDs has caused me to do many things.

 

[w00t]

This is already the norm from many atheists. Can you have FAITH in the wrong thing? Sure.

By faith, our soldiers went to Iraq to discover WMDs. Unfortunately their faith was in a shrub that was not burning and so they were not only disappointed but killed by the score with even more Iraqis losing their lives.

By faith, I did not support the war, for I did not believe that there were WMDs in Iraq. Unfortunately, my disbelief in the existencene of WMDs has been proven out and it appears that the vast majority of Americans were deceived in their faith in WMDs.

Your faith can be a system of beliefs... or dis-beliefs. My dis-belief in WMDs has caused me to do many things.

Sadly ex PM Tony Blair went along with Bush's nonsense. I doubt Iraq is a better place today than it was under Saddam, possibly worse! Faith can be a very misplaced commodity!

 

[Fluffy]

MoonWater in the OP you make the following claims:
1) If something cannot be proven, then it is faith based
2) If there is no evidence for something, then it is faith based
3) If something is fact based, then it cannot be faith based

So in order to keep your position "true", please justify the proposition "Atheism is a faith" to the same extent as you expect an atheist to justify the proposition "There is no God".

In other words please prove "Atheism is a faith", please provide evidence supporting that proposition and ensure that evidence coheres with a fact.

In doing so you will need to justify the other premises you have made in your OP to the same extent, specifically the three that I have highlighted in this post since your argument rests upon them.

 

[Scuba Pete]

So in order to keep your position "true", please justify the proposition "Atheism is a faith" to the same extent as you expect an atheist to justify the proposition "There is no God".

That's easy. A singular statement with no evidence and faulty reasoning is easy enough to produce.

In other words please prove "Atheism is a faith", please provide evidence supporting that proposition and ensure that evidence coheres with a fact.

Make up your mind here! Either you want evidence or you don't!

However, there is plenty of "evidence" in this thread alone. Asking to produce MORE evidence is a red herring. Also, why the exclusion of reason here? Reason is just as important to understanding this as anything else.

In doing so you will need to justify the other premises you have made in your OP to the same extent, specifically the three that I have highlighted in this post since your argument rests upon them.

Again, why are you holding MoonWater to a higher level of proof than you hold atheism?

 

[MoonWater]

thanks for your support scuba pete. Fluffy The very first sentence in the OP is a definition of faith I got from a dictionary. This provides the first of my "evidence" that Atheism is a faith as the claims and/or assumptions it makes cannot be proven. Also I agree with Scuba Pete on reason. Reasoning is a vital component of any debate so in saying that I can ONLY use facts is greatly limiting especially when you consider that when dealing with matters such as this there really are very few, if any "facts" to go on. For a thread like this one really has no choice but to rely mainly on opinion, past experience, and REASONING since, aside from definitions, those are really the only things we have to go on.