- There are no atheists in foxholes
- Atheists are just angry with God
- Atheists are aggressive and rude
- Atheism is a white dude thing
- Atheism is just a faith like any other
- Atheists don't have a moral code
- Atheists lives are bleak and lack meaning
- Atheists are hedonists who don't understand the true meaning of love
- Atheists have no way to cope after losing loved ones without the belief in an afterlife
- Atheists are out to destroy Christmas
From this list, I get regularly attacked with (5) and (6), and the responses to them are eloquent and effective. I may have more of my own to add, but this'll do for now.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete*sigh*
ReplyDeleteA lack of belief is not in itself a belief system. I do not believe in God (or Zeus or Allah or Ra or Enki or Vishnu or Griff or Gitche Manitou or any of the other thousands upon thousands of gods that people believe in) because there is no evidence for them.
If you could show me evidence, any evidence at all, that there is a supernatural force that created and guides the universe, I would be more than happy to consider it. I'm not saying that science has all the answers, but where science has not yet explained some question of existence, I don't feel the need to fill in the gap with some supernatural cop-out. There are literally thousands of creation myths and I reject them all, including yours, on the same basis.
Scientific knowledge is always developing, and changing based upon observation and empirical evidence. It improves over time. Religion requires that evidence be rejected in order to maintain doctrine that cannot withstand scrutiny. Scientific knowledge isn't perfect or complete, but I will trust in the power of the scientific method to advance knowledge that is beneficial for society (medicine, weather & climate, physics, geology, biology, and so on).
> no one has scientifically proven there is no god
It is not possible to prove a negative. You can't prove that there isn't a ninja hiding in this room (where I define "ninja" as someone who is exceptionally good at hiding in rooms). Or that there isn't an invisible unicorn in my back yard. Etc. The person making the claim has to provide evidence for the claim, and extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Do you believe in the sun god Ra? If not, why not? When you understand why you don't believe in Ra (or any of the other thousands of gods that aren't Jehovah), you'll understand why I don't believe in Jehovah either.
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ReplyDeleteIf you're going to use the word "god" to refer to a way of thinking, you're redefining it to the point of uselessness. And then you say it's the basis for political, social, moral and scientific views as if you've proved something interesting.
ReplyDeleteLet's reserve the words "god" or "God" or "gods" to refer to supernatural, interventionist deities. Calling a belief in the scientific method a belief in "god" and thus science (or atheism) a "religion" adds nothing useful to the discussion, and only serves to create confusion and ill-will.
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ReplyDeleteYour continued assertion that atheism is a religion suggests to me that you're not interested in a serious discussion. Please see the Rules of Debate link in the upper-right part of the sidebar.
ReplyDeleteI agree that atheism is a view about religion; it rejects it. This does not make it a religious view. A religious view is one based on faith and fiction. An atheist simply says that this is insufficient; evidence is required, and religion offers none (that would be contrary to faith).
Continuing to claim that atheism is a religion suggests that you don't know what atheism is, or what religion is. You continue to present definitions of your terms that filter out the core of the meanings, so that perhaps we can agree on what's left, and then you can smugly conclude the premise that I'm rejecting. Stop it.
Atheism is not a belief system. Atheism is the absence of belief. If I had to identify with a belief system, I would identify with Humanism. But belief system != religion, and this equivocation is not constructive to understanding or dialogue.
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ReplyDeleteRedefining "religion" to be any system of thought (even non-religious systems), and redefining "god" to refer to "an admired or influential person" when that's obviously not what we're talking about so you can conclude your premise that atheism is a religion that worships gods, is a dishonest tactic. I am being clear on my use of terms, and you're not participating in the discussion honestly.
ReplyDeleteGood riddance.
If, however, you decide that "god" and "religion" and other terms mean what they are generally understood to mean and want to have a meaningful conversation about the posts on this blog, you are welcome to return.