no, a disbelief in flying, talking vaginas and a belief that flying, talking vaginas are not real is the same thing. the e-x-a-c-t- same
only if the point of the thread is to fit your own personal argument, rather than illustrate the OPs point.
OP's point is stupid. Everyone who says atheism requires faith is being stupid. If you think that atheism is the position that there 100% is no god, then explain to me why NOT ONE atheist in this thread has said that there 100% is no god?
I misread your post, sorry But, Atheist translates to a lack of belief in god, not a disbelief in god. Would you argue that those two are the same?
No, the OP made a blanket statement about atheism that doesn't apply to all types of atheism. He ought to have specified. Let me ask you, do you believe in a god?
it doesn't matter whether or not anyone proclaiming to be an atheist in this thread has made the claim that there is 100% no god. atheism is a term that has a definition which exists outside of the make it up as you go along mentality that has been illustrated by atheists who have since created agnostic atheism as an answer to the suggestion that atheism is as much a closed minded and faith based position as is theism. Main Entry: athe·ism Pronunciation: \ˈā-thē-ˌi-zəm\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle French athéisme, from athée atheist, from Greek atheos godless, from a- + theos god Date: 1546 1 archaic : ungodliness, wickedness 2 a : a disbelief in the existence of deity b : the doctrine that there is no deity is merriam-webster no longer a trusted source for definitions of words? a disbelief in the existence of a deity translates to the belief that a deity does not exist. the doctrine that there is no deity is pretty clear.
Implicit and explicit atheism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia According to George H. Smith, there are 2 types of atheism. Implicit and explicit atheism. Implicit is simply the lack of belief without specifically rejecting it. Explicit atheism is the conscious rejection of it. So one of the types of atheism doesn't even reject the belief in a god. And even the kind of atheism that DOES reject belief in a god, I don't see how that means that you have to be 100% certain. So, for the 98347387435th time, ALMOST NO atheists claim to be 100% sure there is no god.
Noone here is denying that atheists don't believe in a deity. Are you even reading the thread? You're correct, NO ATHEIST believes there is a god. That doesn't mean that they say it's 100% that there isn't. That's the whole point. If you're going to try to have a debate, please try to keep up and understand what the opposite side is saying.
An agnostic who claims to not know whether or not god exists is not actively believing a deity exists. They aren't saying one does not exist for sure, but they still do not actively believe in one, hence a lack of belief. Do you really not see how that's different from believing one doesn't exist, such that the latter is an assertion while the former is not?
i was saying both sides (atheists and theists) have people like that, not just atheists - my bad for not making that clearer
you keep repeating yourself and saying that very few self proclaimed atheists would assert that there is zero possibility for god's existence as if it is relevant to the fact that atheism as it is defined is a faith based position while suggesting that it's me who doesn't understand the thread. while your view that most self proclaimed atheists are actually agnostic atheists may be accurate, it doesn't change the fact that this thread is titled Atheism Is A Faith Based Position. coming in and redefining what "most atheists" are when a clear definition exists really does nothing to help a debate, it just serves to change the debate to fit your personal view. it is obvious that people who originally defined themselves as atheist were confronted with the argument that their position was as closed minded as theism and so began to identify with agnosticism and create degrees of atheism i order to distance themselves from the assertion that they do not believe in god 100%.
Well, technically the prefix "A" means without, lack of, or no. So, I would think that would make A-theist one of three things" 1. Without belief in god. 2. Lack of belief in god. or 3. No belief in god. In my eyes, none of these suggest a disbelief. But, since many do define it as such, that's why I think it's important to clarify what type of atheist you are talking about by adding gnostic or agnostic, before saying things like "Atheism is a faith based belief" Because, regardless of your position, it's clear that not all people that identify as atheists claim to know that no deities exist.
You seem confused. I 100% agree with the definition of atheism that is that we don't believe in god. The definition is true. No atheist believes in god. Your own definition that you posted to prove a point proved nothing except something that we would have admitted. Find me a definition of atheism that says that we are 100% sure that there is no god.
...but, agnosticism isn't atheism it's like douglas adams proclaiming himself to be a radical atheist just so he wouldnt get asked again if he was agnostic... he was quoted saying he was convinced there was no god
Exactly. One of the requirements of a scientific theory or explanation is that it must be falsifiable. (See Falsifiability) If it cannot be dis-proven then it cannot be quantified in the scientific realm and therefore would fall into the category of faith based positions.
One can be agnostic and atheist or one can be agnostic and theist. To be only agnostic (and not an atheist or a theist) is not really a superior position despite how much you would like it to be.
It's really that you just didn't realize there were such distinctions. Atheism could refer to either weak (agnostic) atheism or strong atheism. The title made no specification so us atheists came in here to explain said distinction. If I made a thread that asserted "Christians practice confession" I would be misleading in failing to specify which particular branch of Christianity practiced confession, and just plain wrong in asserting all Christians do. You just keep using the blanket term of atheism without specifying to which type you are referring.
Interesting theory. Well science can't prove that the universe wasn't created in a mature state last tuesday. Therefore believing that the earth is more than a few days old is a faith based position. Science can't prove that cows don't speak english to eachother when we're not watching them. Therefore it's a faith based position that cows don't speak english. LOL. makes sense to me.
i am not confused in the least bit. your continual assertion that atheists have not claimed they are 100% sure god exists does not matter. personal claims mean nothing when an objective definition of a word exists. a disbelief in god is a belief god does not exist, a faith based position, which by default is the position anyone who adheres to the definition of atheism is taking. if you personally aren't an atheist, but rather an agnostic atheist, cool. i don't see why you continue to insist i don't understand the difference between atheism and agnosticism just because certain "atheists" have decided to blend the two into "agnostic atheism" or split the term atheism into "strong" or "weak" atheism, which is really just a redundant distinction between atheism and agnosticism.