What do people think "atheist" means?

[averageJOE]

When a person tells me that he or she is an atheist, I think that tells me that this person is not a theist, that this person doesn't believe in the existence of gods.

When a person tells you he/she is an atheist, what do you think that tells you? No philosophical treatises please, just a few short sentences.

It makes me think that they believe monkeys gave birth to humans.

 

[ArtieE]

Why bother to create a thread about how people subjectively interpret a word then berate several posters for not subjectively interpreting it in the way you wish they had subjectively interpreted it?

Augustus, you are a master at making a mountain out of a molehill. I don't see any point in responding because you never actually understand any points I am making and appears to have no idea what "clear, concise and to the point" means. Such an exchange is pointless so I'll just wait until you have produced a post that is clear, concise and to the point, and then show that you have actually understood my response.

 

[ArtieE]

It makes me think that they believe monkeys gave birth to humans.

That tells more about you than them...

 

[leibowde84]

When a person tells me that he or she is an atheist, I think that tells me that this person is not a theist, that this person doesn't believe in the existence of gods.

When a person tells you he/she is an atheist, what do you think that tells you? No philosophical treatises please, just a few short sentences.

I agree. The only thing that can be REASONABLY assumed from the term "atheist" is that the person is not a theist. Or, in other words, that person does not believe in the existence of God.

Unless more is explained or claimed, anything further is an unreasonable assumption.

 

[leibowde84]

Equal to saying the statement "There is no God" or "No God". No indicator of views on Religion or such, just a declaration that no God or Gods exist.

What about the self-proclaimed Atheists who lack belief in God, but aren't willing to make a claim that God's existence is impossible?

 

[ArtieE]

To call the first an atheist, even if weak, still makes no sense to me. I'd just call that person "undecided" at best.

Whether a definition makes sense or not to you has no bearing on the validity of the definition Rival.

 

[leibowde84]

Oh, here is the definition from Noah Webster - an American dictionary:

atheism


Tweet
noun athe·ism \ˈā-thē-ˌi-zəm\
Definition of ATHEISM
1
archaic : ungodliness, wickedness
2
a : a disbelief in the existence of deity

b : the doctrine that there is no deity


That's so modern it's from the internet.

"Disbelief" can be merely "a lack of belief".

 

[leibowde84]

Artie, what is your definition of an Atheist?

No philosophical treatises please.

He's pointing out the difference between these two positions. One is a claim and one is just an explanation of insufficient evidence.

1. "I lack belief in the existence of God due to lack of evidence" ("weak atheist")
2. "I believe that God cannot exist because there is evidence that God does not exist" ("strong atheist")

 

[leibowde84]

No, I think that the first is not an atheist, owing to the qualifier "but I don't believe they [deities] don't exist either". This is not atheism, it's "I don't know". If you don't believe that deities don't exist, then you are rejecting a-theism, "without belief in God/s".

To call the first an atheist, even if weak, still makes no sense to me. I'd just call that person "undecided" at best.

Where are you getting the crazy notion that being "without a belief in the existence of God" means that you "believe that God does not/cannot exist"? This is blatantly false.

 

[leibowde84]

It makes me think that they believe monkeys gave birth to humans.

lol. You aren't serious with this, right?

 

[ArtieE]

He's pointing out the difference between these two positions. One is a claim and one is just an explanation of insufficient evidence.

1. "I lack belief in the existence of God due to lack of evidence" ("weak atheist")
2. "I believe that God cannot exist because there is evidence that God does not exist" ("strong atheist")

1 is an "agnostic weak atheist" and 2 is a "gnostic strong atheist".

 

[leibowde84]

1 is an "agnostic weak atheist" and 2 is a "gnostic strong atheist".

You are correct. It always surprises me how often people misuse the term agnostic without bothering to even look up the meaning of the term. It is in no way some middle ground between atheism and theism.

 

[Augustus]

I'll just wait until you have produced a post that is clear, concise and to the point, and then show that you have actually understood my response.

If your definition of an atheist is a person who believes gods don't exist, if a person told you "I am an atheist but I don't believe gods don't exist, I am just not a theist" would you tell him that he's not an atheist? You would have to wouldn't you, otherwise you would have changed your definition...

No I wouldn't. It's not a definition. You don't seem to understand the way we use language in normal everyday life, that's why I explained it to you.

 

[dust1n]

Gee, my favorite topic: on what exactly does "atheist" mean.

 

[leibowde84]

An atheist is a person who isn't a theist, i.e has no God belief.

This is all that can be reasonably assumed by the term "atheist" or "without theism".

 

[ArtieE]

No I wouldn't. It's not a definition. You don't seem to understand the way we use language in normal everyday life, that's why I explained it to you.

The way we use language in normal everyday life, is that when we hear a person calling himself an atheist we understand that this is a person who is not a theist and doesn't believe gods exist whatever else he might mean by the word in addition to that.

 

[Windwalker]

Gee, my favorite topic: on what exactly does "atheist" mean.

Considering how often it comes up with so much rancor and dispute maybe it should just indicate confusion as its meaning?

 

[Deathbydefault]

This is all that can be reasonably assumed by the term "atheist" or "without theism".

Yes. As is the same with theism.

You can only draw a line from atheism to "without a God belief".
In turn, a line can only be drawn from theism to "has a God belief".

That is all that can ever be assumed about either position.
Anything more is a false addition, and is not at all supported.

 

[dust1n]

Considering how often it comes up with so much rancor and dispute maybe it should just indicate confusion as its meaning?

Rancor and dispute could at least be warranted over something that vaguely mattered at all.

 

[Windwalker]

Rancor and dispute could at least be warranted over something that vaguely mattered at all.

Actually, that is true. I would say only something that is considered a strongly held belief would elicit such rancor and dispute. Hardly a matter of "I really don't think about it". So then to answer the question of what it means when someone says to you "I am an atheist", they are speaking of their beliefs, affirming a belief, not merely the absence of them.