Atheism is not a belief.

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

No. Not in science, at least. Consistent defiance of falseability tests is not a matter of belief.

Nobody has ever been able to explain to me the difference between knowledge and strong belief.

If I flip a coin a zillion times and it keeps landing on heads over and over again, my beliefs regarding the future behavior of the coin will likely get stronger and stronger with each toss.

I really can’t find this magical cutoff that folks like you talk about where strong belief suddenly turns into knowledge.

 

[HonestJoe]

A famous meme says, "There are no atheists in a war."

A meme, not a fact. It is demonstrably not true. Plenty of atheists have experienced war but remained atheist and some theists loose their faith as a consequence of facing the horrors of war. There are also plenty of examples of nominally religious people directly going against the principles of their religion in wartime (most notably of course, by killing people).

The fact all sorts of people will say or do things in extreme circumstances that are irrational from their normal point of view don't prove anything about the strength of their core beliefs, just the loose grip we all have on the controls of our minds. And the fact that the "irrationality" can often include reaching for religious symbology only demonstrates how much certain religions have been deliberately ingrained in to certain societies.

It's important to note that atheism is not merely a belief, but a lack of belief in a higher power. This is why it can be 'switched off' so easily, as it's not a belief system that requires constant affirmation.

That depends entirely on the individual. However much you might like to think so, atheists are far from being all the same. There is at least as much diversity and variation across atheism as there is across theism.

 

[bobhikes]

A famous meme says, "There are no atheists in a war." A renowned atheist replied that
this is an argument against wars, not atheism.

But there are no atheists in a falling aircraft, either. Is this an argument not against
atheism but against aircraft falls? Who cares about the falls? It is safer to take a plane than a train.

It's important to note that atheism is not merely a belief, but a lack of belief in a higher power. This is why it can be 'switched off' so easily, as it's not a belief system that requires constant affirmation.

If one does not believe is God and is then labeled an Atheist by others, then it is not a belief. If one acknowledges themselves as an atheist by label it is a Belief that requires affirmation.

 

[Mock Turtle]

This whole movie is great. Here's a clip. If you don't want to watch the whole 10 minutes, the relevant bit to this thread is from 3:20 to 4:00.

I was at one of his lectures shortly after this happened and where he gave a slide show and talked about this experience, and read his book. Says much about one person's determination and resilience to survive such an awful experience, and I don't find it unusual that he had no thoughts of praying to any god.

 

[LuisDantas]

Nobody has ever been able to explain to me the difference between knowledge and strong belief.

If I flip a coin a zillion times and it keeps landing on heads over and over again, my beliefs regarding the future behavior of the coin will likely get stronger and stronger with each toss.

I really can’t find this magical cutoff that folks like you talk about where strong belief suddenly turns into knowledge.

That may be because you are expecting some form of magic.

That is not how it works.

 

[LuisDantas]

If one does not believe is God and is then labeled an Atheist by others, then it is not a belief. If one acknowledges themselves as an atheist by label it is a Belief that requires affirmation.

Nope. To think so would be to raise atheism to something much more active than it is.

 

[bobhikes]

Nope. To think so would be to raise atheism to something much more active than it is.

What are you saying Nope to. The fact that a person being labeled by others is not a belief or the fact that someone accepting a label has the belief that label is correct for them. Atheist is a label created by humans, originally from theists to label non-believers. It is not a Scientific Fact and as such it is your choice is to believe the label applies to you or not. Am I missing something?

 

[Altfish]

But some atheists act as if the non-existence of God is a doctrine they are forced to believe.

Who? Examples please.

 

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

That may be because you are expecting some form of magic.

That is not how it works.

How does it work? How many times do you need to get heads before you know you’ll always get heads? What is the magic number!

The sun has risen every day of my life so far. Do I know that it will rise tomorrow, or is it a strong belief?

Instead of making false claims about my expectations (which does your credibility no good), why not simply inform me of yours?

Just tell me the magic number. You claim that the magic number exists. What is it? Is it a secret?

Maybe you don’t want to talk about it. That happens.

 

[LuisDantas]

What are you saying Nope to. The fact that a person being labeled by others is not a belief or the fact that someone accepting a label has the belief that label is correct for them. Atheist is a label created by humans, originally from theists to label non-believers. It is not a Scientific Fact and as such it is your choice is to believe the label applies to you or not. Am I missing something?

Atheism is just a passive situation coming from the absence of a belief. It is wrong to mistify it into some sort of active action or attitude.

 

[LuisDantas]

How does it work? How many times do you need to get heads before you know you’ll always get heads? What is the magic number!

The sun has risen every day of my life so far. Do I know that it will rise tomorrow, or is it a strong belief?

Instead of making false claims about my expectations (which does your credibility no good), why not simply inform me of yours?

Just tell me the magic number. You claim that the magic number exists. What is it? Is it a secret?

Maybe you don’t want to talk about it. That happens.

I guess I don't. I do not like to encourage magical thinking.

 

[Revoltingest]

A famous meme says, "There are no atheists in a war." A renowned atheist replied that
this is an argument against wars, not atheism.

I thought the meme was about foxholes.
Kurt Vonnegut handled it best....

 

[Revoltingest]

You cannot. But life can: there are no atheists in a falling aircraft.

I achieve this by spending a little time
as possible in aircraft, falling or otherwise.

Have you ever seen the movie, "Into The Void"?
It's a true story. Painfully facing death, the
atheist climber never had that "Come to Jesus
moment".

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Atheism is just a passive situation coming from the absence of a belief. It is wrong to mistify it into some sort of active action or attitude.

Well, there is this version of atheism. And sorry, I can google and find actually atheists that are different than you. But remember they are not really atheists, they are in effect relgious theists, who misunderstand atheism.
"...
Definitions
Atheism is the comprehensive world view of persons who are free from theism and have freed themselves of supernatural beliefs altogether. It is predicated on ancient Greek Materialism.

Atheism involves the mental attitude that unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason and aims at establishing a life-style and ethical outlook verifiable by experience and the scientific method, independent of all arbitrary assumptions of authority and creeds.

Materialism declares that the cosmos is devoid of immanent conscious purpose; that it is governed by its own inherent, immutable, and impersonal laws; that there is no supernatural interference in human life; that humankind, finding the resources within themselves, can and must create their own destiny. It teaches that we must prize our life on earth and strive always to improve it. It holds that human beings are capable of creating a social system based on reason and justice. Materialism’s ‘faith’ is in humankind and their ability to transform the world culture by their own efforts. This is a commitment that is, in its very essence, life-asserting. It considers the struggle for progress as a moral obligation that is impossible without noble ideas that inspire us to bold, creative works. Materialism holds that our potential for good and more fulfilling cultural development is, for all practical purposes, unlimited."

Our Vision

We envision a world in which policies are made using the best evidence we have rather than using religious dogma.

www.atheists.org

Notice the URL atheists . org

So as always there is no need to use religion to claim what an atheist is. You just observe that it depends on the atheist in question and that none of us as atheists speak for the rest.

So a piece of advise one atheist to another. If you want to have your beliefs unchallanged by a follow atheist, ask me to put you on ignore and I will ask you to put me on ignore.
But until then. You are not the objective source of what an atheist is and neither am I. And nor are they.

 

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

I guess I don't. I do not like to encourage magical thinking.

Magic could save your life, if you are skilled at healing.

That’s science.

 

[bobhikes]

Atheism is just a passive situation coming from the absence of a belief. It is wrong to mistify it into some sort of active action or attitude.

In my opinion any time a person labels themselves for example I am a Giants fan it is an active action and attitude designed to fortify their ego and allow them to relate to others with similar ego.

In my opinion It you accept the label of Atheist you have made an active action and defined an attitude to include others of similar attitude or dismiss other of opposing attitude.

 

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

Well, there is this version of atheism. And sorry, I can google and find actually atheists that are different than you. But remember they are not really atheists, they are in effect relgious theists, who misunderstand atheism.
"...
Definitions
Atheism is the comprehensive world view of persons who are free from theism and have freed themselves of supernatural beliefs altogether. It is predicated on ancient Greek Materialism.

Atheism involves the mental attitude that unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason and aims at establishing a life-style and ethical outlook verifiable by experience and the scientific method, independent of all arbitrary assumptions of authority and creeds.

Those are bizarre definitions.

I guess I’m no true atheist.

I suppose I’ll start calling myself a cosmovionistsa (a worldviewist, that is, a person with worldviews, prefferably six impossible worldviews before breakfast)

It’s interesting that in Colombia, folks use the word cosmovisiones (worldviews) where we use the word religion in English to represent the same thing.

 

[Tinker Grey]

I achieve this by spending a little time
as possible in aircraft, falling or otherwise.

Have you ever seen the movie, "Into The Void"?
It's a true story. Painfully facing death, the
atheist climber never had that "Come to Jesus
moment".

*touching * the void

 

[Mock Turtle]

But some atheists act as if the non-existence of God is a doctrine they are forced to believe.

Much like those who have a religion? And where there is better evidence for this than for your accusation, given that overwhelmingly most children get a religious education, so by statistics it is the religious who are the ones more likely to be accepting or even forced to believe what they are taught. Unless you can produce some facts as to vast numbers of people leaving the religion they had educated/indoctrinated into them. Or you are just not bothered as to what religion anyone might get based upon where they were born.

It's quite simple, chum, I would think that the vast numbers of atheists have thought about the issue of God or gods, and of religions, and decided that there just wasn't enough evidence for a belief in God, and hence become atheists or agnostic atheists, and even where such often does take some courage - because of the prevalence of religious beliefs in most societies. But they at least are acting on their beliefs and not in conflict with any other religious belief that might conflict with theirs - as per the Middle East and several other places all around the world.

 

[F1fan]

But some atheists act as if the non-existence of God is a doctrine they are forced to believe.

There are no atheists that think this way. Only theists who try to create false positions for atheists write things like you do. No one thinks about the "non-existence" of things not known to exist. That you and other believers go on about atheists suggests you are sensitive to the fact that no one can show any gods exist outside of human imagination.

And there is no atheist doctrine, and there is no one forced to believe such an absurd notion.

If believers really had some sort of truth they would be calm and at peace with their belief and that atheists exist in the world. But this sort of misrepresentation suggests an deep insecurity and concern that your religious beliefs may be wrong.