(February 1, 2015 at 3:23 pm)Blackout Wrote:(February 1, 2015 at 12:31 pm)Mr.wizard Wrote: That is not the definition of atheism, because its a response to a claim.
For me it is. Saying atheism is just a lack of belief in gods is begging the minimal standards. However, being a strong atheist doesn't make me more or less of an atheist, I'm still an atheist - It's not another position, it's not a different sect of beliefs or a religion; it's as simple as having different opinions on what being an atheist means.
I am not saying that you can't be an atheist if you just lack belief in gods, but that's not the definition everyone uses - In my case, being an atheist means positively rejecting the existence of gods (and the supernatural). You can say that you are an atheist because you lack positive belief in gods, but you shouldn't define atheism as being just a lack of belief since not everyone else shares that standard
So no, it is not a response, it is my position, my state of mind.
If you reply "I don't believe in your god" to a theist, you don't need to prove anything, but if you make positive or negative claims like "Your god is a false hypothesis" or "Your religion is unfounded" you need to provide evidence - You can't just toss the argument and wait for it to pass; you need to be consistent with your reasoning.
I hold the opinion that atheists shouldn't just ask for evidence that proves god exist - Atheists just positively engage in debates, public or private ones, and dismiss theism; we should make the world know why atheism is the most rational and reasonable position (a good example of doing this are atheist activists - Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, etc.)
I also hold a different opinion on proof - For me, absence of evidence is evidence of absence - Therefore, absence of evidence of god, is evidence for god's absence, which means god doesn't exist.
It is a response to a specific claim, atheism by definition is a lack of belief in gods or god claims. Anything you attempt to pile on top of that is something you are adding to atheism. Atheism is not a state of mind, that is completely ridiculous.