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The Ignorance of Atheistic Denial of God

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
In the context of the reasoning in the OP if a strong atheist says "I believe there are no gods" and a Christian theist says "I believe there are no gods except one" has the Christian theist searched the whole universe and all of existence and not found Zeus or Thor or Poseidon?
No, but then she doesn't have to search anywhere apart from where she is. The Christian only has to 'find' that one god that resides within.
 

ArtieE

Well-Known Member
No, but then she doesn't have to search anywhere apart from where she is. The Christian only has to 'find' that one god that resides within.
Of course not. Both the Christian and the strong atheist says "I believe there is no Thor or Poseidon or Zeus etc". The Christian is more than 99% strong atheist he's just made an exception for one single god. The objections to atheism in the OP also applies to Christians.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Both the Christian and the strong atheist says "I believe there is no Thor or Poseidon or Zeus etc". The Christian is more than 99% strong atheist he's just made an exception for one single god.
Just to be clear, atheists disbelieve in 100% of all gods.
 

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
The Christian is more than 99% strong atheist he's just made an exception for one single god. The objections to atheism in the OP also applies to Christians.
But the Christian is also 100% theist, which should carry more weight as a measure.
 

ArtieE

Well-Known Member
But the Christian is also 100% theist, which should carry more weight as a measure.
No, theism is per definition the belief in the existence of god or gods. A Hindu is a theist and believes in lots of gods. A 100% theist would have to believe in all gods since being an atheist (not a theist) means believing in no gods. A Christian is therefore over 99% atheist as he believes that over 99% of all gods don't exist. Just go to http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/02/11/gods-we-dont-believe-in/ and see how little difference there is between a Christian and an atheist.
 
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Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
No, theism is per definition the belief in the existence of god or gods. A Hindu is a theist and believes in lots of gods. A 100% theist would have to believe in all gods since being an atheist (not a theist) means believing in no gods. A Christian is therefore over 99% atheist as he believes that over 99% of all gods don't exist. Just go to Gods We Don’t Believe In and see how little difference there is between a Christian and an atheist.
You're taking this to absurdity.

The Christian, who believes in god, fits the defintion of belief in the existence of god or gods.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
I laughed. ... a first post in this thread ... when it starts out with a claim of 'ignorance' I find it hard to take seriously. Has been good for some laughs though.
 

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
You did notice right that the lists are similar except for one god? So what do Christians and atheists have in common? That they don't believe in over 99% of all gods.
Does putting theism into an atheist context make for a meaningful comparison? What are you going to do with this information?
 

The Neo Nerd

Well-Known Member
Therefore, in saying “There is no God,” atheists are implicitly claiming to be God, and thus inevitably contradicting themselves.

I do not claim to be god because i do not believe in one.

I claim to be god because my girlfriend keeps screaming "OHH MY GOD, OHH MY GOD, OHH MY GOD"

:yes:
 

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
Does putting theism into an atheist context make for a meaningful comparison? What are you going to do with this information?

I don't think comparison of atheism and theism in that way is particularly meaningful. However I still think it's worth keeping this concept in mind. To explain;

Atheists and theists commonly talk past each other.
I'm going to completely generalise here, in the interests of making my point, but atheists are often talking about evidence, proof, scientific verification. This underpins their atheism. Theists are often talking about looking beyond the limits of our 5 senses. About the supernatural. About a higher purpose.

It's selfish, but something that theists should keep in mind is that they don't accept ALL God concepts of the world. Commonly, they don't even exist MANY God concepts of the world. Instead, they are selecting one. Which means they are rejecting others (at least effectively).

Whilst I think the 'Atheists have just gone one God further' line is unlikely to convince any theists of anything much, and can sound trite, it might make sense to them that moving through a series of God concepts and not finding one that seems the truth is really all atheism is.

Ergo, I've been exposed to some of the multitude of religions and God concepts in the world. Of those I have been exposed to, I've found none neccessary or compelling. Therefore I'm an atheist.

Maybe a slightly different slant on the same tired old arguments?
 

Thief

Rogue Theologian
No, theism is per definition the belief in the existence of god or gods. A Hindu is a theist and believes in lots of gods. A 100% theist would have to believe in all gods since being an atheist (not a theist) means believing in no gods. A Christian is therefore over 99% atheist as he believes that over 99% of all gods don't exist. Just go to Gods We Don’t Believe In and see how little difference there is between a Christian and an atheist.

I believe in an Supreme Being.
Someone is on top of the scale.
There is an Almighty.

To say otherwise you need to have no sense of anything greater.
No concept of superlatives....none at all.
(which would through a wrench in everyday diction)
 

Treks

Well-Known Member
You can still have a sense of 'something greater'... greater than me the puny human is the world, the galaxy, the universe. When reading about cosmology, physics, quantum mechanics and nature in general, I feel small and insignificant yet connected as part of this world, and full of awe at everything. This is a sense of 'something greater', but it doesn't have to be a God-character.
 

Sapiens

Polymathematician
You can still have a sense of 'something greater'... greater than me the puny human is the world, the galaxy, the universe. When reading about cosmology, physics, quantum mechanics and nature in general, I feel small and insignificant yet connected as part of this world, and full of awe at everything. This is a sense of 'something greater', but it doesn't have to be a God-character.
Yes, I feel much the same when I look into the eye of a whale at a range of a few feet. I not only feel small, I am small, but the whale is not a god, just *********** big.
 

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
It's selfish, but something that theists should keep in mind is that they don't accept ALL God concepts of the world. Commonly, they don't even exist MANY God concepts of the world. Instead, they are selecting one. Which means they are rejecting others (at least effectively).
:shrug: They only need one to be theist.

Whilst I think the 'Atheists have just gone one God further' line is unlikely to convince any theists of anything much, and can sound trite, it might make sense to them that moving through a series of God concepts and not finding one that seems the truth is really all atheism is.

Ergo, I've been exposed to some of the multitude of religions and God concepts in the world. Of those I have been exposed to, I've found none neccessary or compelling. Therefore I'm an atheist.

Maybe a slightly different slant on the same tired old arguments?
Argument for what, though? Perhaps I'm missing a beat.
 
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