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RE: What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:43 pm
Secular humanist? Although you can be a secular theist. It just means you believe in god, but you don't want to live in a theocracy. Or a humanist theist, who still thinks we should all treat each other well despite also being a theist who thinks people who don't follow a certain set of rules aren't going to get the happy ending in the afterlife.
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RE: What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:45 pm
(October 2, 2015 at 1:30 pm)lkingpinl Wrote: What I find is that unlike religious ideologies where there are core beliefs and subsequent beliefs which delineates the sect of the core belief, Atheism spouses one belief and one only: There is no God or Gods.
They let you get away with that? I am disappoint.
No capital A, and no, atheism is a lack of belief, not a positive claim. I know this may be confusing for you theist types ![Big Grin Big Grin](https://atheistforums.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif) but it generally translates into "I have no opinion on non-existent things until someone makes a positive claim about non-existent things, because then I lack that belief."
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RE: What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:45 pm
(October 2, 2015 at 1:42 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Dammit king...you're going to give theists a bad name!
I know Min, I think I'm one of those theists that other theists hate.
We are not made happy by what we acquire but by what we appreciate.
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What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:47 pm
(October 2, 2015 at 1:41 pm)KevinM1 Wrote: I kinda like 'apostate' since I did consider myself Catholic for a time.
I had this Christian cunt come up to me at the gas station a few months ago preaching her crap. I told her that I am an Atheist. Well that didn't stop her I guess she thought she had a chance to convert me. I had to clarify that I am actually an apostate and I'm not going back to that garbage.
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RE: What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:47 pm
(October 2, 2015 at 1:45 pm)lkingpinl Wrote: (October 2, 2015 at 1:42 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Dammit king...you're going to give theists a bad name!
I know Min, I think I'm one of those theists that other theists hate.
They're gonna kick you out of the theist clubhouse, you keep it up.
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RE: What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:50 pm
(October 2, 2015 at 1:30 pm)lkingpinl Wrote: Bambi,
I appreciate you asking the question, I think it's a good one. What I find is that unlike religious ideologies where there are core beliefs and subsequent beliefs which delineates the sect of the core belief, Atheism spouses one belief and one only: There is no God or Gods. Out of that there are no subsequent beliefs. Evolution is separate and there are atheists who accept evolution and atheists who think it has serious issues, but it has nothing to do with their atheism. I honestly think Atheist has no sect, nor needs one. They are not espousing a belief in anything requiring sub-categorization, they are only espousing a single statement about a specific topic. No God.
At best, you will get agnostic atheist or gnostic atheist. There are some that are not comfortable with the logic of making a definitive statement about something unknowable, others are fine with it.
You have selected one of the two common definitions of "atheism," but you have selected the one that is not the most popular here. I have started a thread about this before; here is the first post from it:
(April 4, 2015 at 12:41 am)Pyrrho Wrote: There seems to be quite a lot of time wasted on the question of the meaning of the term "atheism." I think I can explain why people talk past each other on this. Quite simply, there is more than one standard meaning of the English term "atheism."
Take a look at:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheism?s=t
There you will see (unless, of course, they change it between when I quote it and when you look at it):
atheism
noun
1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.
Notice, the two common and proper definitions are not the same. They are, as is common with words, related in their meaning, but they are not the same.
People commonly insist that the word "atheism" means one of these, but the simple fact is, in English, either meaning is right and proper. Notice, one of these is a lack of belief, and the other is a belief.
So, when someone uses the term with one of these meanings, and you want to use the other, the best thing to do is to explain which of the standard meanings you intend. It is of no use to tell people that they are wrong to use a term in accordance with a standard meaning of the term; being a standard meaning, they are right to use it in accordance with that meaning, but one is wrong to insist it must mean only one of the standard meanings of the term.
The same idea applies to other words. Most words have more than one meaning in a dictionary, and it is ridiculous to believe that everyone else uses one and only one of the meanings contained therein. If there were only one right meaning of the term, there would only be one definition in standard dictionaries.
Sometimes, with the word "atheism," both senses are given as if they were one definition in a dictionary. As in this case:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/atheism
a·the·ism
(ā′thē-ĭz′əm)
n.
Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.
Notice, in this case, two different ideas are presented as if they were one definition, and not two separate and distinct ideas. Still, if you pay attention, "disbelief" and "denial" are not the same thing. One is not believing something, and the other is believing that something is false. One is a lack of belief, and the other is a belief. One minor point. "Spouses" is the wrong word for what you should be saying. The correct word is "espouses."
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
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RE: What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:50 pm
Not going to pigeon hole myself because that hole is often to restrictive.
Being told you're delusional does not necessarily mean you're mental.
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RE: What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:50 pm
What houseofcantor said. It's Atheist. I take it to mean that "I see no evidence that convinces me of the existence of any Deity."
And, unlike most faith-based individuals, if that evidence is presented (have God come 'round and say "hi") we'll willingly change our minds.
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
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RE: What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:52 pm
(October 2, 2015 at 1:47 pm)houseofcantor Wrote: (October 2, 2015 at 1:45 pm)lkingpinl Wrote: I know Min, I think I'm one of those theists that other theists hate.
They're gonna kick you out of the theist clubhouse, you keep it up. ![Tongue Tongue](https://atheistforums.org/images/smilies/tongue.gif)
I built my own. All are welcome.
Vic will be providing a waffle cart and Min will check for guns and bibles at the door
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RE: What is the name for modern atheists?
October 2, 2015 at 1:54 pm
(October 2, 2015 at 1:50 pm)Pyrrho Wrote: (October 2, 2015 at 1:30 pm)lkingpinl Wrote: Bambi,
I appreciate you asking the question, I think it's a good one. What I find is that unlike religious ideologies where there are core beliefs and subsequent beliefs which delineates the sect of the core belief, Atheism spouses one belief and one only: There is no God or Gods. Out of that there are no subsequent beliefs. Evolution is separate and there are atheists who accept evolution and atheists who think it has serious issues, but it has nothing to do with their atheism. I honestly think Atheist has no sect, nor needs one. They are not espousing a belief in anything requiring sub-categorization, they are only espousing a single statement about a specific topic. No God.
At best, you will get agnostic atheist or gnostic atheist. There are some that are not comfortable with the logic of making a definitive statement about something unknowable, others are fine with it.
You have selected one of the two common definitions of "atheism," but you have selected the one that is not the most popular here. I have started a thread about this before; here is the first post from it:
(April 4, 2015 at 12:41 am)Pyrrho Wrote: There seems to be quite a lot of time wasted on the question of the meaning of the term "atheism." I think I can explain why people talk past each other on this. Quite simply, there is more than one standard meaning of the English term "atheism."
Take a look at:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheism?s=t
There you will see (unless, of course, they change it between when I quote it and when you look at it):
atheism
noun
1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.
Notice, the two common and proper definitions are not the same. They are, as is common with words, related in their meaning, but they are not the same.
People commonly insist that the word "atheism" means one of these, but the simple fact is, in English, either meaning is right and proper. Notice, one of these is a lack of belief, and the other is a belief.
So, when someone uses the term with one of these meanings, and you want to use the other, the best thing to do is to explain which of the standard meanings you intend. It is of no use to tell people that they are wrong to use a term in accordance with a standard meaning of the term; being a standard meaning, they are right to use it in accordance with that meaning, but one is wrong to insist it must mean only one of the standard meanings of the term.
The same idea applies to other words. Most words have more than one meaning in a dictionary, and it is ridiculous to believe that everyone else uses one and only one of the meanings contained therein. If there were only one right meaning of the term, there would only be one definition in standard dictionaries.
Sometimes, with the word "atheism," both senses are given as if they were one definition in a dictionary. As in this case:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/atheism
a·the·ism
(ā′thē-ĭz′əm)
n.
Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.
Notice, in this case, two different ideas are presented as if they were one definition, and not two separate and distinct ideas. Still, if you pay attention, "disbelief" and "denial" are not the same thing. One is not believing something, and the other is believing that something is false. One is a lack of belief, and the other is a belief. One minor point. "Spouses" is the wrong word for what you should be saying. The correct word is "espouses."
Yeah I actually clarified this in a later post you will see. And yes the term is espouses, apparently my fingers were moving too fast.
We are not made happy by what we acquire but by what we appreciate.
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