Theory on Atheism as a word.

[Ad Initium]

Atheism does NOT equal not believing in god. Theists THINK that has to do with the brain ... but they are wrong.

A =/= NOT(G)

Atheism is not a believe. So when you say "I believe in God" ... and I say that I am an Atheist, does not make us opponents!

I am an Atheist because I think "believe" is a psychological evolutionary process within a well knit social developing community, that constricts the thinking freedom of the individual for the greater good of community, resulting in a deity forming community doctrines, culture, laws and rules. The individual will follow the social inprinted deity, either due to social pressure or ignorance caused by indoctrination.

Lacking believing in a God has got nothing to do with me thinking Atheism is right. Lack of Theist evidence has.

As an Atheist, I do not have to proof he exists, because I already know he does not.
It is the same logic as a theist saying:
I am a theist, I do not have to disproof he exists, because I already know he does. (creasionist do this all the time!)

This blue marked theory may need improvement, so if you know something for me to add to improve it, itll be welcome.

 

[kittehprimo]

Atheism does NOT equal not believing in god. Theists THINK that has to do with the brain ... but they are wrong.

A =/= NOT(G)

Atheism is not a believe. So when you say "I believe in God" ... and I say that I am an Atheist, does not make us opponents!

I am an Atheist because I think "believe" is a psychological evolutionary process within a well knit social developing community, that constricts the thinking freedom of the individual for the greater good of community, resulting in a deity forming community doctrines, culture, laws and rules. The individual will follow the social inprinted deity, either due to social pressure or ignorance caused by indoctrination.

Lacking believing in a God has got nothing to do with me thinking Atheism is right. Lack of Theist evidence has.

As an Atheist, I do not have to proof he exists, because I already know he does not.
It is the same logic as a theist saying:
I am a theist, I do not have to disproof he exists, because I already know he does. (creasionist do this all the time!)

This blue marked theory may need improvement, so if you know something for me to add to improve it, itll be welcome.

Im not really getting what you're saying. Atheism, by definition, is the a-theism: the lack of a belief in any gods. it has nothing to do with the reasons behind that belief. Put simply, while theists think that there is a god, atheists think that they are mistaken because they lack any evidence to substantiate their belief.
you are right to say that atheism is not a belief. if atheism is a belief, not collecting stamps is a hobby.

as for what atheists think about theists, your statement would better read:
I am an atheist because I think belief in the supernatural is a psychological state induced by upbringing in a community with no basis in fact. It constricts freedom of individuality and thought, to the detriment of the greater human community. It enforces doctrines, laws and rules that run contrary to evidence and fly in the face of logic. Because of these factors, I have chosen to abandon my faith, which was chosen for me by my society and enforced through peer pressure and indoctrination.

if that aint an atheist creed, i don't know what is.

 

[RedYellow]

A: Without.

Theism: Belief in one or more deities.

Atheism: Without belief in deities.

Never thought it was hard to understand. Atheism only tells you what particular view of the world you are free of, not what you do believe.

 

[CosmicJoghurt]

A: Without.

Theism: Belief in one or more deities.

Atheism: Without belief in deities.

Never thought it was hard to understand. Atheism only tells you what particular view of the world you are free of, not what you do believe.

And then there's strong atheism, which is the denial of God's existence, not only the lack of belief.

 

[AdmiralPeacock]

A: Without.

Theism: Belief in one or more deities.

Atheism: Without belief in deities.

Never thought it was hard to understand. Atheism only tells you what particular view of the world you are free of, not what you do believe.

And then there's strong atheism, which is the denial of God's existence, not only the lack of belief.

That isn't the same as atheism, despite the use of the word - Strong Atheism is a philosophical position and by definition you need to be an atheist to hold it, atheism is basically what CosmicJoghurt said. I would prefer if Strong Atheists would just go with the more precise name, Antitheist.

 

[Darkchilde]

Let's look at the etymology of words:

theism comes from the word theos (θεός) which in greek means god. Then theism (θεϊσμός) means literally "with god" so its actual meaning becomes "belief in god". Now when you add the "A" or alpha before a word in greek, you change its meaning to "without". in greek we call that a, στερητικό άλφα, steritiko alpha, which means the a that deprives. So atheism (αθεϊσμός) literally means "without god", so its actual intended meaning becomes "without belief in god".

 

[scorpion9]

firstly...atheism is not really an ism, and its not a belief either.

since atheism has no content it cant really be a belief, nor dogmatic.


the way i see it, atheism = not buying into the claims theists have made.

I dont think you have to dismiss all possibilities of higher intelligence to be an atheist.....or that there is some kind of a creator.
i dont have to claim that there is no creator/god, i can keep that option "on hold" and once evidence is provided, i can believe it.

 

[Dragan Glas]

Greetings,

I think part of the problem with it is, not so much the word itself, but the meaning which Americans put on it.

Atheism = Without God [ => God-less => Godless (amoral).]

This is why I prefer to remind people that Theology is a sub-set of Philosophy.

Think of the human eye:

You have the iris = Non-Theistic Philosophy, and you have the pupil = Theistic Philosophy.

It helps people to get away from interpreting "Atheism" as "Amoral".

Kindest regards,

James

 

[Prolescum]

Isn't this the 43rd thread discussing this?

The only thing that truly pisses me off is using a capital A as if it's a proper noun.

I think part of the problem with it is, not so much the word itself, but the meaning which Americans put on it.

Indeed.

 

[RigelKentaurusA]

The only thing that truly pisses me off is using a capital A as if it's a proper noun.

I usually do that. I hadn't really thought about it. I don't capitalise "theist" so... I guess I've no reason to capitalise "atheist."

 

[Prolescum]

The only thing that truly pisses me off is using a capital A as if it's a proper noun.

I usually do that. I hadn't really thought about it. I don't capitalise "theist" so... I guess I've no reason to capitalise "atheist."

It is common. Arf.

 

[BrainBlow]

A: Without.

Theism: Belief in one or more deities.

Atheism: Without belief in deities.

Never thought it was hard to understand. Atheism only tells you what particular view of the world you are free of, not what you do believe.

And then there's strong atheism, which is the denial of God's existence, not only the lack of belief.

Creationist myth. You just have people being more "loud" with their rejection of theist claims.

 

[kittehprimo]

And then there's strong atheism, which is the denial of God's existence, not only the lack of belief.

Creationist myth. You just have people being more "loud" with their rejection of theist claims.

this is incorrect. there are indeed 3 possible claims you can make about the existence of a god:

Theistic- I know a god exists
Weak atheistic- a god could conceptually exist but I will not believe in its existence without further evidence
Strong atheistic- no gods exist; this argument usually taken from the nature and construction of the natural universe.

cf:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism#Positive_vs._negative

 

[nasher168]

Creationist myth. You just have people being more "loud" with their rejection of theist claims.

I have come across people who claimed to have absolute certainty in the non-existence of a god. An individual I actually spoke to about this maintained that their position was positively backed and was scientific.

 

[CosmicJoghurt]

Creationist myth. You just have people being more "loud" with their rejection of theist claims.

Wrong. Rejecting theist claims is not believing in God. In other words, not accepting their theory as the most likely one. Strong atheism is the denial of the existence of God. Not rejecting the idea, but going even further: claiming his non-existence. I find this position to be the one I relate to most, but I'm insecure at the moment, the Kirk Cameron argument of "you need absolute knowledge to deny His existence", while not that great, kinda affected me. I'm still pondering on this issue...

 

[Dragan Glas]

Greetings,

The issue is "undecidable".

Philosophers (including theologians) can not prove the existence of God; Science can not disprove the existence of God.

If either side says they can, then they're making a fallacious assertion.

Kindest regards,

James

 

[lrkun]

I am an Atheist because I think "believe" is a psychological evolutionary process within a well knit social developing community, that constricts the thinking freedom of the individual for the greater good of community, resulting in a deity forming community doctrines, culture, laws and rules. The individual will follow the social inprinted deity, either due to social pressure or ignorance caused by indoctrination.

I have a question, do you consider "think", in this case, the alternative for "believe"?

Let me rephrase what you wrote so you'll see what I meant.

I am an atheist because I believe the word "believe" is a psychological evolutionary process... etc., etc.

 

[Balstrome]

As I understand it, if you think something then you can or should be able to show your workings, while if you believe something, evidence is not required

 

[lrkun]

As I understand it, if you think something then you can or should be able to show your workings, while if you believe something, evidence is not required

I see. What if I believe in gravity, then demonstrates it through science, what does that mean? or if I believe in the scientific method, then demonstrate the usefullness of the method, what does that mean? Do you think, in those hypothetical instances, I used the word believe in the wrong way?

 

[RigelKentaurusA]

I think "faith" is the accepting of something without evidence.
"Belief" is the accepting of something with evidence, or because a reasonable argument is made for it.
"I know" is the realm of creationists and mathematicians.