If you can't believe.....

[Valjean]

The reasoned denial of God is a subset of atheism; a type of non-belief. It's not the definitive feature of atheism.
The essence of atheism is simply a lack of belief. Anything that lacks belief can be described as atheist, though the term might be pretty meaningless in some situations.

You don't have to actively deny the existence of Thor to be an a-thorist. You don't even have to know who Thor is.

 

[Thief]

No. We have no self awareness at birth, nor any sense of object permanency. At birth we are nothing more than a child responding to stimuli. As we begin to age, we come to develop a sense of self, and as we develop this we are also taking in what our culture teaches us. How can anyone have any sort of default position when they do not even know of themselves?

So we are NOT atheist at birth.

It is then required to develop a sense of self BEFORE we deny there is a God.

 

[Thief]

Which one?

Ciao

- viole

The Almighty....Creator.
Choose any Name you care to.

 

[Thief]

Not surprisingly, I don't think what you call "atheism" is very much alike the real thing.

I don't consider atheism to be the real thing anyway.

 

[Aupmanyav]

We have no self awareness at birth, nor any sense of object permanency.

We have self awareness even before being born That is why the fetus squirms if the position is not comfortable to it. Of course, self awareness has no relation to God or religion, it is about the body.

 

[Willamena]

If you can't believe in what cannot be proven.....
What are you doing here in a religious forum?

Believing in what can be proven. (That was a trick question.)

Wishful thinking?.....in the hope no rational can present God?

Yes, indeed. It's wishful thinking to think that everybody will think like me.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

We have self awareness even before being born That is why the fetus squirms if the position is not comfortable to it. Of course, self awareness has no relation to God or religion, it is about the body.

If we had self awareness then, we would know of our existence in the womb.

 

[Aupmanyav]

What I gather is that brain starts developing in the sixth week of pregnancy. A fetus is not a senseless piece of flesh. The first two entries in Google when I searched for 'reactions of fetus in the womb': There are a total of 433,000 entries (0.46 seconds) .

What Babies Learn In the Womb | Parenting
Baby's Senses in the Womb | Fetal Development | Pregnancy.org

 

[Shadow Wolf]

What I gather is that brain starts developing in the sixth week of pregnancy. A fetus is not a senseless piece of flesh. The first two entries in Google when I searched for 'reactions of fetus in the womb': There are a total of 433,000 entries (0.46 seconds) .

They have an active nervous system so of course their will be a reaction to stimuli, but the nervous system is very immature (the brain itself isn't fully matured until about the age of 21) and not developed to the point of self awareness or the realization of object permanency. Even plants respond to external stimuli, but it's doubtful they have any sort of self-awareness.

 

[JRMcC]

 

[Cephus]

And we all told Matt that Sye would be a completely dishonest prick during the debate and, surprise, surprise, he was!

 

[viole]

The Almighty....Creator.
Choose any Name you care to.

How about the big juju at the bottom of the sea?

Ciao

- viole

 

[Willamena]

If you can't believe in what cannot be proven.....
What are you doing here in a religious forum?

Someone was wrong on the Internet.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

That's the thing. The word decline doesn't fit in an atheist pocket book in order for it to have some purpose. Atheism is a default because when we are born we have no conception of a higher power. How we are raised and/or experienced from the outside in growing up showed some of us that a higher power exists. While this may be true, it is not true for others. It doesn't mean they decline, reject, or not accept it. They don't know it's there to begin with.

Atheist can talk all they want about the concepts of God, ideas, analogies, etc. Talking about it doesn't mean one believes it.

Can't decline something that isn't there to be declined.

Okay, continue....

THAT...I don't believe.
Any 'evidence' of any collection of people never having a faith?
Atheism as the first of all belief systems?

Nay.

and with that word in mind.....
You would need a belief of some Higher Power.......
BEFORE you have the opportunity to decline of it.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Everyone is an atheist at birth. To say one isn't is saying that one baby believes in Allah, one God, one Buddha, and one, I don't know John Smith. They don't know any higher power but their own parents and authority.

When they grow older and are introduced to outside instruction maybe from religious parents or christian environment, they personify these things (in general psychological terms) and they either agree with it as who they are or not.

That's why you have many people who are raised Catholic coming from the Catholic Church....that's what they were taught but in themselves that is not their faith.

If religion was a birth--say the Christian religion--no one can deny because it would be innate. Since it is not innate for us to believe in one specific God of many, then denial is possible.

It is good people deny sometimes because it's better to live the truth rather than a lie no matter what anyone else says.

So we are NOT atheist at birth.

It is then required to develop a sense of self BEFORE we deny there is a God.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Everyone is an atheist at birth. To say one isn't is saying that one baby believes in Allah, one God, one Buddha, and one, I don't know John Smith. They don't know any higher power but their own parents and authority.

When they grow older and are introduced to outside instruction maybe from religious parents or christian environment, they personify these things (in general psychological terms) and they either agree with it as who they are or not.

That's why you have many people who are raised Catholic coming from the Catholic Church....that's what they were taught but in themselves that is not their faith.

If religion was a birth--say the Christian religion--no one can deny because it would be innate. Since it is not innate for us to believe in one specific God of many, then denial is possible.

It is good people deny sometimes because it's better to live the truth rather than a lie no matter what anyone else says.

So we are NOT atheist at birth.

It is then required to develop a sense of self BEFORE we deny there is a God.

 

[Thief]

Belief is a choice.

Might not seem that way as you stand close to relatives and congregation.....but.....
On the inside your mind and heart are forming what you lean to.

This doesn't happen at birth.
A few years must go by.

To say there is no god requires the word ....no.

It is the first word we learn.....but we are not born speaking it.


Denial is a choice.

 

[McBell]

If you want to call Him a prude.....you are free to do so as you stand before heaven.
Good luck with that.

Who are you trying to convince?

FYI, I appreciate your giving me your permission, but I honestly give less than two cricket farts if I have it.

 

[Thief]

oh well.....

 

[Thief]

So the non-believers have allowed their champion to speak for them?
All said and done?