Can An Atheist Believe in God?

[Kilgore Trout]

Simple question: Can you believe that god(s) exist and still be an atheist?

If so, please explain your position.

If not, is there any other belief which would also disqualifiy you as an atheist?

 

[Magic Man]

If not, is there any other belief which would also disqualifiy you as an atheist?

Not that I can think of.

 

[Wandered Off]

Simple question: Can you believe that god(s) exist and still be an atheist?

About the only way I can think of is to believe that "god" exists only as a construct of a believer's mind, and not outside that environment.

 

[Willamena]

Simple question: Can you believe that god(s) exist and still be an atheist?

If so, please explain your position.

If not, is there any other belief which would also disqualifiy you as an atheist?

As Wandered Off said, it depends on what you consider "god(s)" to be.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Simple question: Can you believe that god(s) exist and still be an atheist?

If so, please explain your position.

If not, is there any other belief which would also disqualifiy you as an atheist?

I suppose it's possible for an atheist to believe in something that someone else calls "god", but without believing that thing to be a god.

For example, a pantheist believes that the universe is God. I believe the universe exists and I acknowledge that pantheists consider the universe to be God, but I still consider myself an atheist.

 

[Buttercup]

If not, is there any other belief which would also disqualifiy you as an atheist?

Yes. Believing that babies aren't tasty as hell.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

About the only way I can think of is to believe that "god" exists only as a construct of a believer's mind, and not outside that environment.

So, you're believing in the existence of someone's mental construct of god, but not in the existence of god itself. This being what makes you an atheist, correct?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Essentially, I'm trying to ascertain what atheism isn't, instead of what it is.

So, other than believing in the existence of something you define as god, is there any other criteria which would negate being an atheist?

 

[Storm]

Essentially, I'm trying to ascertain what atheism isn't, instead of what it is.

So, other than believing in the existence of something you define as god, is there any other criteria which would negate being an atheist?

None that I can think of.

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

The root of the word "atheist" gives you your answer itself. A- meaning none Theos- meaning God. No god.

 

[Wandered Off]

So, you're believing in the existence of someone's mental construct of god, but not in the existence of god itself. This being what makes you an atheist, correct?

Pretty much. Heck, I might even have a mental construct for god characters described in holy texts or literature, just as I have a mental construct for Arthur Dent, but that doesn't make him real outside my mind or the pages of a book. It's not at all unusual for mental constructs to have no external referent.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Essentially, I'm trying to ascertain what atheism isn't, instead of what it is.

So, other than believing in the existence of something you define as god, is there any other criteria which would negate being an atheist?

Depending on your definition of "atheist", the inability to have any beliefs at all would negate being an atheist.

I've heard some people claim that rocks, for instance, are "atheist", since they don't believe in anything and therefore don't believe in God. I personally think that's an unreasonable use of the term "atheist".

The root of the word "atheist" gives you your answer itself. A- meaning none Theos- meaning God. No god.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't you said that you're an atheist and that you consider yourself to be a god?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Depending on your definition of "atheist", the inability to have any beliefs at all would negate being an atheist.

I've heard some people claim that rocks, for instance, are "atheist", since they don't believe in anything and therefore don't believe in God. I personally think that's an unreasonable use of the term "atheist".

Excellent point. I definitely agree with that. Not being able to conceptualize the idea of what a god is not only negates one being a theist, but also an atheist.

So, other than being able to conceptualize what a god is, and believing in the existence of something you define as god, is there any other criteria which would negate being an atheist?

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't you said that you're an atheist and that you consider yourself to be a god?

I don't literally consider myself to be a "god". My organization holds no belief in anything beyond the physical. We use the term "god" loosely, to mean that we are in charge of our own lives and can do whatever we so choose while on this earth.

 

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

I don't literally consider myself to be a "god". My organization holds no belief in anything beyond the physical. We use the term "god" loosely, to mean that we are in charge of our own lives and can do whatever we so choose while on this earth.

Autotheism in a nutshell. Have you ever read the Satanic bible? Sounds as if your philosophy might be drawn straight from it.

 

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

And to be on topic, believing in god is the only thing one can't do, by definition, and still be an atheist. That is the only qualifier. :fight:

 

[bobhikes]

I like to find exceptions to all rules and definitions but this one doesn't seem to have an exception, an atheist can not believe in God.

The moment he/she believes in god he is no longer an atheist.

 

[footprints]

Simple question: Can you believe that god(s) exist and still be an atheist?

If so, please explain your position.

If not, is there any other belief which would also disqualifiy you as an atheist?

Simply put no. The atheist belief, and what makes them atheist, is their belief, that they are lacking in a belief, that a deity exists.

This means everything associated and related to a deity, for to accept something like tarrot cards as one example, the perceived atheist would be giving support to the possibility of a deity position and thereby diminishing their lack of belief position. They would be moving to or from the pagan position, or caught between two belief patterns.

Other than the above, the atheist position is open slather to every other belief pattern on earth, the good, the bad and the downright ugly of it all.

 

[joea]

Simple question: Can you believe that god(s) exist and still be an atheist?

If so, please explain your position.

If not, is there any other belief which would also disqualifiy you as an atheist?

Yes. An atheist will not believe in a God as a concept, or the existence of deities, but he may believe that God is in him, he is already a divine being.

 

[Baydwin]

I wonder, if a person believed in a God but also thought that God unworthy of worship, so that God had no part in their lives whatsoever beyond that simple acknowledgement of existence. What would they be?