Definition of atheism.?

Question

Would a true atheist say

"I don't believe in God(s) or some other kind of divine being"

or

"I simply don't know, I just believe what I see"

What would be correct?Like, can a state of belief be defined by what one does not believe , or what they do believe?
I consider the 2nd statement to be valid thus this should challenge any religionists.So as I see it, religionists are the ones starting the fight.
I myself am a religious person, I'm Jewish but there's one thing that clearly separates us from most other religions.We do not state that our religion is perfect or the one true religion, we just say, our religion is perfect for US.
I do not hold hate for any Christian or Muslim or any other religion that encourages missionary activity, up to the point when it poses me a threat.In Israel we have an anti-missionary law and this helps keep some level of peace between the people of different faiths.
But enough about myself for I have stranded from the subject.
Do you atheists really want religionists to believe as do you?Or you simply do not want to be imposed upon or having a person insisting that his nonsense gibberish is correct and that you should believe as him/her?

Answer 1

Revan! You raise some good points. I agree with you that atheism should try to define and explain itself in positive terms, and it can be done. However, atheist, which means "one without belief in god," it is difficult to give up the name which summarizes our main belief. If we called ourselves "Klunkites," would that tell others what we believe any more than "Presbyterian (governed by presbyters, or elders)" tells us anything much about what Presbyterians believe?



I don't hate Christians, although I marvel that people could waste so much mental, physical and emotional energy on something that is not true. What irritates me are the evangelical/fundamentalist Christians who feel their spouted, one-size-fits-all beliefs are so superior to everyone else's that they must impose them on the rest of us at every opportunity and worm them into our government.



I am rather abrupt in answering them because they are so unwilling to consider anything else but what little has been brainwashed into them. They have probably never read anything that challenges their beliefs. They probably have never read anything but the bible, and not much of that, only the few verses that seem to support their anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-evolution theme songs. And you know they never read anything about textual criticism and how the bible came into being.



I don't insist that everyone think the same way I do. Atheists do not seek converts. I just like to challenge the arrogant assertions of the "one way" people and perhaps stimulate them into reading and thinking a little.

Answer 2

You seem confused about basic dictionary definitions!!



AGNOSTIC – Does not believe anything can be know about or proved about a god. Thus they can still believe a god exists. This description obviously fits a lot of Christians!!!



Thus they would say "I simply don't know, I just believe what I see" as you put it!!



ATHEIST - someone who does not believe in a God – any God – not just the Christian one. But that does not mean they do not hold strong moral or religious beliefs! They can follow any religion that does not have a god and there are a lot of those!!



So they would not say what you say - "I don't believe in God(s) or some other kind of divine being"



They would say they KNOW there is no such thing as gods and would not falter from that!!



But of course you will have noticed that they can believe in any religion without a god and therefore as long as the divine being is not a god they can believe in it!!

Answer 3

Atheists don't believe in a god - whether it be Zeus, Ra, Thor, or the Christian god.



Someone who doesn't know, or who claims it's impossible to know would be considered agnostic. That's not to say that atheists say they "know" there isn't a god, just that they don't believe in one.



I've never really considered whether I want everyone else to believe as I do or not. I guess there are a number of people who actually need that security and the moral compass religion can provide. But I think it would be much better if the important and/or influential people of the world would move away from religion. I always feel uncomfortable when I hear politicians invoking god; I guess I dread the types of legislation that try to impose religious values on everyone.

Answer 4

There are two types of atheism and two types of agnosticism.



Strong atheists make a claim: "There is no God."



Weak atheists make *no* claim. They do not say that they don't believe that God exists, but they do not say they don't believe he *doesn't* either. They simply lack a belief.



Then there are agnostics. Strong agnostics make a claim: they say that knowing whether or not there is a God is impossible. It's unknowable because it is outside of our capacity to know or not.



Weak agnostics simply say "I don't know". One way or the other. They don't say God does exist, or doesn't, or if it can be known, or if it can't.



Weak atheism is a subset of weak agnosticism. Babies, for example, have no concept of god, and so are weak atheists, until the time when they are aware of the concept of a god, at which point they can become a theist, an atheist, or remain a weak atheist and a weak agnostic by saying that they just don't know one way or the other; there isn't enough evidence to draw a conclusion.



Most people you'll encounter who lack a belief in deities will be weak atheists, like myself. I don't claim God doesn't exist, but I lack a believe that he does, simply because of the lack of evidence. So, I am both a weak atheist, and a weak agnostic; I don't claim to know whether any god exists, and I also do not possess any belief that any god does (except with respect to any omnipotent/omniscient god, such as the one of the major monotheistic world religions, namely due to the fact that any infinite being can be logically disproven through mutual exclusion owing to the numerous paradoxes [such as the impossibility of the presence of nondeterministic matter/energy systems in a static temporal continuum] that would result from such a being's existence).

Answer 5

If there is a definition which society perceives that is any different to the real one it would be in thinking that atheism is always of the strong form. There's no need to make the definition of atheism any less inclusive than the current generally accepted weak definition of "a person who lacks a belief in a god or gods".

Answer 6

I lack a belief in gods. Or, alternatively, I have considered the evidence presented and found it lacking.



I don't "believe what I see" and don't know anybody who does, it would be an exceedingly simple world view. I can't see atoms but I know they are there.



"Do you atheists really want religionists to believe as do you?Or you simply do not want to be imposed upon or having a person insisting that his nonsense gibberish is correct and that you should believe as him/her?"



I'll do a little jig when bronze-age superstition disappears from this planet but I don't see it happening within the next 1000 years.

Answer 7

I believe that a god is different to a divine being. A god is the core of a "religion" or idea made by humans to comfort and/or delude them from the idea or chance of there being nothing after death.

Where-as a "divine being" would be something we fear. This is because we don't know what this "divine being" is. "Gods" are similar to divine beings as they are believed to be all knowing and possess the power to create anything and everything. We believe that "gods" are kind hearted beings that are merciful and understanding. But we call this "divine being" a "divine being" as we do not know what characteristics they may possess.

If you respond with "But if this divine being were evil and cruel he would make us suffer, would he not?"

How would you know whether or not you are truly suffering? Heartbreak is painful, the loss of someone you love is also painful, is it not?

For the something to exist, the opposite must also.

Emotions, such as happiness and sadness:

If there were no sadness, how would you feel happyness?

Cold and Hot, Black or White. Life and Death.

Answer 8

Atheists do not believe in any sort of deity. the second quote is reminiscent of an Agnostic, who admits there may be some sort of higher power but disagrees with existing religious institutes.



Many atheists see religion as not only wrong, but as corrupting and destructive. A prime example would be the Crusades, causing innumerable deaths for the sake of a mere idea. More vocative positions may be taken as religiously inclined individuals defend themselves, often times overzealously. Arguments escalate over who is right and wrong.



Personally, as an atheist I will argue against hypocrisy seen in religions, however I see also that religion plays a benevolent role in society: religiously based charities dedicated to helping the unfortunate as an example. I realize that some people need their religion as something to attach to, something to comfort them, as a child would a favored stuffed animal.

Answer 9

I cannot say 'I only believe only what I see' because I have never seen, for example, a black hole, yet I trust the experts on that subject who have strong evidence that black holes exist.



Santa Claus could be real. Really, he could. He's superhuman. Invisible to radar. His house in the North Pole is cloaked in an invisibility shield. He has no real contact with humans. He can't be photographed or videotaped. If you can stomach that and take seriously someone who believes in Santa Claus, then I don't see a big difference with god.



The point is that it's impossible to prove that something supernatural does not exist. That does not mean that we should believe in it. Logic and rational thought tells us that it is unlikely that any creature like god exists or has ever existed.



I 100% agree with the person who said "I really don't care what you believe, as long as your beliefs do not effect society, education and the legal system. Granted, I'm not excited about people deluding themselves, but that is their right."

Answer 10

The first would be correct. Because, you know, atheists could technically believe in spirits, ghosts, aliens and all sorts of other things and still be atheists.



Dude above me, please, enough with the analogies. Christians just don't seem to be very good with them.



And to the asker's last question, a person's belief or lack of belief will not determine the true character of the person, imo. However, yes, it would be nice if societies were run by logic, not by the words of a two-thousand year old text.

Answer 11

I lack belief in any gods.



Actually, I haven't really seen a good definition of what a god is supposed to be, other than some kind of sentient superbeing. The gods listed in the various religion are obviously myths. Many of their myths can be traced back to previous myths.



Because of the increasing harm that religion is doing to society, I do wish there were more atheists. However, I will not impose my beliefs on others, except in appropriate forums such as this one.

Answer 12

I realised in mid-teenage, about 40 years ago, that faith was based upon nothing but itself, that science explained nature satisfactorily without needing supernatural beings, and that religious beliefs were no different to those of ancient beliefs in gods and goddesses. I denied faith as an experiment, and the world still made sense, so I saw no reason to get back into it.



Since then, my mind has been freed to accept more plausible explanations about the universe that take us as near to the truth as we can get, and that are not set in stone. I'm happy that way (I was when I was religious, but more so this way).

Answer 13

Atheism is a belief that there is no God, as is there is not proof of God. So an atheist would go with your first quote. Agnosticism is a belief that God cannot be proven, but he also cannot be disproved, so they are neutral in the matter until proven otherwise. They would go with your second quote.

Answer 14

The definition of atheism is the lack of belief in any gods - simple. It is not a belief.



I really don't care what you believe, as long as your beliefs do not effect society, education and the legal system. Granted, I'm not excited about people deluding themselves, but that is their right.

Answer 15

Both statements could equally apply. If you believe you believe if you don't you don't of course if it makes you happier they could always pretend they did I suppose. It's also just as valid to say you simply don't know. I don't know if the big bang is the correct theory but I believe it is.

Answer 16

Your first definition is correct, the second describes agnosticism.



Can`t you just feel the love coming from the goddist answers ?

Who on Earth would actually want to be like that ?

Answer 17

I think it would be the first definition. The second is 'agnostic'. Many atheists actually swing between these two views

Answer 18

an atheist would say that while existence of some god or other can neither be proved or disproved, rational evaluation of evidence indicates that it is overwhelming there is no such god and hence strong reason to disbelieve

Answer 19

An atheist doesn't believe there is a god. That's the definition.

Answer 20

"I don't believe in God(s) or some other kind of divine being"===Atheist







"I simply don't know, I just believe what I see" ==Agnostic

Answer 21

If that's true, all people are Atheists until they believe in God, and I was once an Atheist. But don't Atheists believe in love (agape)? We cannot see love (agape). God is love (agape). Can we see light? We see with light, but we don't see light itself. God is light. We see with God. Can we see heat? No. Like heat from a stove, draw near to God and He'll draw near to you. Likewise, we cannot see cold, but we can flee from it and go near the wood stove. Flee from Satan and he'll flee from you.

Answer 22

An atheist doesn't believe in any God. An agnostic isn't convinced there is or isn't one.

Answer 23

atheism

- noun disbelief in the existence of a god or gods.



DERIVATIVES

atheist noun

atheistic adjective

atheistical adjective



ORIGIN

C16: from French athéisme, from Greek atheos, from a- 'without' + theos 'god'.

Answer 24

"Like, DUDE, " all we want is to get away from egomaniacs who wish to have their own point of view come across as the only correct one. Know anyone like this?

Answer 25

"I don't believe in God(s) or some other kind of divine being"



The other is for the agnostics

Answer 26

Atheism is the first definition. Agnosticism is the second.

Answer 27

A strong atheist -



"I believe that there is no God"



A weak atheist -



"I do not believe in a God".

Answer 28

You're describing agnosticism.



Atheism is a rebellion against religion, not a lack of belief.

Answer 29

Atheism is like catch-22. I'm not trying to be mean or anything but! To believe in the non belief is kind of contradictory. I'm not trying to be all mean or anything. I really dunno. I am christian.

P.S. No hate to those who believe in atheism I would really like to learn more about it.

Answer 30

The first definition is correct.



The second definition is not Atheism, it is Agnosticism.

Answer 31

The first, because the latter would be an agnostic.

Answer 32

One that does not believe in the existence of deities/deity

Answer 33

"Atheist" is an unnecessary word. "Rational" suffices to describe someone who doesn't believe things without evidence.

Answer 34

We will all know the truth when we are dead....but how will we tell the others????? Hmmmmmmmm

Answer 35

I think it's both actually.

Answer 36

Psalm 14:1 pure and simple!

Answer 37

Perhaps they think "universe is a coincidence".

Answer 38

Spiritually blind.

Answer 39

a dumb *** person who does not believe in the bible, religous holidays jesus or god. there for that person goes 2 hell

Answer 40

they do not belive in GOD but they are sure scared of them

Answer 41

bhg