Lack of belief in gods.

[Jeremiahcp]

I already answered this. You said the answer was ridiculous.

It was ridiculous. Maybe you have some type of weird brain damage where you can't entertain ideas without accepting them, but most people can.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

Here's is the problem guys. I am an atheist. If you both simply lack belief in gods, you are not of the same belief as me. If we should ask an atheist, what better atheist than me?

And here is that ridiculousness I was talking about.

Btw, there is a reason I don't label myself atheist under religion.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

When is a sock a hat? When it is not a hat!

Makes perfect sense. . . .

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Sure we are, follow the quotes back. I was addressing a line of reasoning proffered for why some people define atheism as...

That line of reasoning was etymology.

I followed the quotes back to the OP. Nothing about etymology.

Have you confused this conversation with another one?

 

[Curious George]

Nope. I'm an atheist,

No, you are changing the word by adding "os" so that you can make up your own etymology.

The word is "atheism" not "atheosism".

That is the etymology, if you don't like it, that won't change it. If you do not think origin of a word is the end all of how and why we define words the way we do, that is fine, just a different discussion.

 

[Curious George]

LOL

I suppose abstinence is a sexual orientation too right?

Again, some atheists BELIEVE there are no gods(myself for instance), while others do not. The former is a subsection of the latter.

That is a different discussion than your previous reasoning which was strictly related to the etymology.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

That is a different discussion than your previous reasoning which was strictly related to the etymology.

Is anyone else in this thread a participant in this discussion you think you're having?

 

[Curious George]

I followed the quotes back to the OP. Nothing about etymology.

Have you confused this conversation with another one?

Yes, I absolutely was. Sorry about that.

Any other definition I've ever seen either:

- quickly becomes unworkable when you scratch the surface,
- only works in an environment with only one religion, or
- ends up implying that atheists don't exist.

If you've come up with one that solves these problems, I'm all ears.

Of course, you should know that the "lack of belief in gods" definition is how people really do use the word. The "babies can't be atheists" objection is based on connotation, not denotation, like people thinking that it "sounds wrong" to describe the Pope as a bachelor, even though he meets the strict definition.

Yes, my solution is to define what a god is. And I believe I have offered that definition to you in other threads before.

 

[Curious George]

Is anyone else in this thread a participant in this discussion you think you're having?

Yes. The person to whom I was replying. Sorry for mixing up your conversation with the one I was having with that poster.

 

[Curious George]

It was ridiculous. Maybe you have some type of weird brain damage where you can't entertain ideas without accepting them, but most people can.

Sure let's play. You can entertain that of someone who does not believe that the proposition god exists is true and doesn't believe the proposition god does not exist is true. What ideas do you entertain from this viewpoint? Does god exist? Let us hear your participation.

 

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

That is a different discussion than your previous reasoning which was strictly related to the etymology.

No, it's the same discussion. I mean, here we are, discussing.

Still the same subject. Still the same context.

The etymology describes lacking, or being absent of, theos.

One who lacks theos, or theism, is an atheist.

One who lacks theism may have formed an opinion(belief on the subject) or maybe not. They may be aware of the idea of eternal superheroes that spend their time meddling in human affairs from the shadows, or they may have never even heard of it.

I think the tendency to insist that atheists are believers too is completely disingenuous, and 99 times out of 100 speaks to a very clear agenda.

 

[Curious George]

No, it's the same discussion. I mean, here we are, discussing.

Still the same subject. Still the same context.

The etymology describes lacking, or being absent of, theos.

One who lacks theos, or theism, is an atheist.

One who lacks theism may have formed an opinion(belief on the subject) or maybe not. They may be aware of the idea of eternal superheroes that spend their time meddling in human affairs from the shadows, or they may have never even heard of it.

I think the tendency to insist that atheists are believers too is completely disingenuous, and 99 times out of 100 speaks to a very clear agenda.

The etymology describes a not-god belief system.

 

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

The etymology describes a not-god belief system.

Not-god. Exactly.

No god for the antitheist, nor for the infant. God must be adopted consciously, all else is not-god.

 

[RedDragon94]

Why does it seem important to some to view a lack of belief in gods as a belief itself?

It's classified as a philosophical position. Therefore, it's something some people adhere to.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

Sure let's play. You can entertain that of someone who does not believe that the proposition god exists is true and doesn't believe the proposition god does not exist is true. What ideas do you entertain from this viewpoint? Does god exist? Let us hear your participation.

"You can entertain that of someone who does not believe that the proposition god exists is true and doesn't believe the proposition god does not exist is true. "

More nonsense I see. . . .

"Does god exist?"

Let me put on some of my many hats for you:

God exist

God does not exist

I am undecided if God exist

God may or may not exist.

Some Gods exist and some don't.

I don't care one way or another.

There are so many variation, and I am sorry if you are simply not cable of such mental flexibility.

 

[Thumper]

It's classified as a philosophical position. Therefore, it's something some people adhere to.

I don't belief that fairies exist. Is that a "philosophical position" also?

 

[Jeremiahcp]

I don't belief that fairies exist. Is that a "philosophical position" also?

You fairy hater, what did Tinkerbell ever do to you?

 

[RedDragon94]

I don't belief that fairies exist. Is that a "philosophical position" also?

Yes, there are lots of different ways to doubt. Philosophy is beautiful in that it can approach anything, tear it apart, and put it back together.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

Yes, there are lots of different ways to doubt. Philosophy is beautiful in that it can approach anything, tear it apart, and put it back together.

"Philosophy is beautiful in that it can approach anything, tear it apart, and put it back together."

No, it can't. As a philosophy enthusiast myself I recognize that it too has limits. Like religion it's overly abstract and subjective, and, just as it is with religion, because of this it has limits when dealing with the objective world. Which is why we have science.

 

[Thumper]

No, it's the same discussion. I mean, here we are, discussing.

Still the same subject. Still the same context.

The etymology describes lacking, or being absent of, theos.

One who lacks theos, or theism, is an atheist.

One who lacks theism may have formed an opinion(belief on the subject) or maybe not. They may be aware of the idea of eternal superheroes that spend their time meddling in human affairs from the shadows, or they may have never even heard of it.

I think the tendency to insist that atheists are believers too is completely disingenuous, and 99 times out of 100 speaks to a very clear agenda.

Not necessarily the same thing.

Is one who lacks theos (god) the same as one who lacks theism (god belief)? i.e., Is atheosism (not-god belief) the same as atheism (not god-belief)?

Admittedly the "a-" prefix can have a number of meanings, but are we really talking about the antithesis of god (theos) or belief in god (theism). This seems to be a major sticking point for a number of theists.

As an atheist for over 40 years, I have always define the word as not god-belief, i.e., "a-theism".