The definition of atheism you and another user are using in this thread is synonomous to agnosticism. Why? Sent from my LG-E739 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
because thats the actual dictionary definition, not something made up and because they go hand in hand
If I were you answering this question, I would just chalk it up to semantics cause that's all I'd know.. but I am not you, so.. Not having a belief in God and believing God is not real both fall under atheism. No offense to the OP, but he is a gnostic (more militant) atheist. There are plenty of them out there and that's pretty much the go-to definition when people think about atheism, if they don't know any better. There are also agnostic atheists, ones who don't have a belief in God but don't claim to know that God isn't real.. and while it's rare, there are people who've never even been exposed to God. I call them natural atheists, but they too don't have a belief in God (or a belief that God is not real) because they've never been exposed to the concept, lucky them. Just like theist beliefs have a wide range and spectrum, so does atheist non-belief.. Those who think atheism is a cut and dry, simple definition of rejecting God have a narrow mind.
It's not about atheism being cut and dry. It's about how there is no such thing as non-belief that isn't replaced by another form of belief.
No. You are picking a definition that suits your side of the debate. You are playing semantics and the definition of atheism that you chose is no different than "agnostic" http://m.dictionary.com/definition/atheism As you can see the exact definition varries based on source. So im not the only one playing semantics. If you want to talk about reality though, the true definition is the one society as a whole accepts. Because words are communication and that is it. No matter what dictionary you try to cite, the practical definition of atheist to the common man, is the belief that there is not god. Saying disbelief in god =\\= believing in no god, is actually tje semantics debate, which makes you thd guilty party. Theist - belief in god Agnostic - dont know Atheist - belief in no god. Either way its still a belief. And the term "belief" not "atheism" is the real word we are arguing about Sent from my LG-E739 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
that source still says the same thing we've been saying all along http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheist a·the·ist [ey-thee-ist] Show IPA noun a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
rejecting/disbelieving is the same as believing in not existing Sent from my LG-E739 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
when someone makes a claim, and you do not believe it, doesn't automatically mean you believe the statement is false it may not be understood well enough to say one way or the other, or you may lack enough information to test the claim, or you may simply not care enough to think about it.... thats how you can take a theist's claim, the claims don't deserve rational belief, but there simply isn't enough substance to say anything more about them...you simply reject belief in because the theist doesn't give good enough reason to believe...and you can end there... is dishonesty still honesty? a disbelief is not a belief...
Look at it this way, since lack of belief is still belief, lack of proof is still proof. So the next time one of these 'enlightened' ones argues against the lack of proof of God, we can just take their reasoning and apply it. Retarded. I am curious as to how I picked a side when I stated that BOTH believing God is not real and not having a belief in God fall under atheism.. Definitions from the link you provided. #1 is what you're talking about, #2 is what we're talking about. Myself and Amp never said #1 is wrong.. only that atheism is both #1 and #2. You and PeePee are the ones saying that #2 is wrong. In case you're confused about disbelief, lets take the definition from the same site. That is disbelief, non-belief. The only assertion made is that there isn't a belief in something being true.. Just because someone doesn't believe in something, doesn't mean they automatically believe that something isn't real. Just for shits and giggles, do an advanced search on your user name with the keyword 'semantics'. If you're like me, it'll give you a good laugh..
You are describing agnostic. If someone makes a claim (god) you dont nessesarilly believe it to be false. You just dont know. Not atheism Why bother having the word "agnostic"? And what do you call someone who believes god doesnt exist? Sent from my LG-E739 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Their both atheist...and like I've said before agnostic isn't a 3rd option, it goes hand in hand with atheism...if don't hold a belief in god you are atheist, be it because you deem it unknowable or because you think its bullshit, both fall under atheist... If you're not agnostic atheist then you're gnostic atheist, those are the 1s you keep describing...
And like i said.you are just debatinf semantics now. /thread Sent from my LG-E739 using Grasscity Forum mobile app