Atheism and Anti-Theism same thing?

[Excited Penguin]

I can tell you, as a parent, that there are a great many good lies, lol.  I'm not a vulcan buddy, I like a little whimsy.  I like the world we live in if what you just described is the alternative.

So you are essentially saying you embrace irrationality and wouldn't like to live in a more rational world? Interesting. Can you now exalt irrationality for me without appealing to rationality in order to do so?

[The Grand Nudger]

You asked me to weigh between two candidates.  I prefer our world to your alternative where no one believes anything contrary to evidence, yes.   The rest of it....you're sort of losing your shit, so.....?

[Excited Penguin]

You asked me to weigh between two candidates.  I prefer our world to your alternative where no one believes anything contrary to evidence, yes.   The rest of it....you're sort of losing your shit, so.....?

Yes, you made that choice, and I just argued how irrational it is of you to do so.

[The Grand Nudger]

I think that you'd have to know more than just my preference, but also my reason to make any argument to that effect....but it would probably be pointless in the context of our conversation...don't you think? I like this though, because right here we disagree on something, and we're both antitheists, apparently. So you can see how people who are perhaps more broadly aligned can disagree on an issue? Yeah...that's exactly how atheists can disagree with us.

[Aegon]

1. Morally bad? Majority of Christians do not care that the OT has sexism, slavery, etc. They care about the overarching message of Jesus and the New Testament. "Red-Letter Christianity" is a thing for a reason.

And what is this message? Cursing the trees? Beating the shit of merchants? Necessity of hating one family to be disciple of Jesus (Luke 14:26)? Or maybe it's fragment about sword - Jesus must have been quite peaceful dude judging by Matthew 10:34 - Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For many people, religion actually helps them be better people, be more charitable, etc.

It does? How do you know?

The nicest people I ever met were at my local church. I still like to volunteer there when I have time, despite being an atheist.

Nicest people I ever met were atheists at my University. But neither you experience nor mine prove anything.

They're not beating their wives because the Bible says it's okay.

So they have other reason for beating their wives?

3. Oooooooo they spend an hour in a building with other people once a week and get free circular pieces of bread. And you know what? I also heard that sometimes they will spend 5 minutes before bed thanking this imaginary thing and being grateful for their lives! What slaves! FREE THEM FROM THEIR ANTI-INTELLECTUAL PRISON!!!

I'm afraid they start to like their prison and tries of freeing them would be met only with aggression.

1. Yes. That's what your average Christian gets from the Bible. The justification for beating up merchants.  

2. You're not familiar with Christian charities and nonprofits? Soup kitchens run by churches? "Meals on Wheels" type businesses run by churches? etc.

3. Fair enough. But also no reason to say they're bad for being religious

4. Ha ha. You know what I meant. But actually...yes, they probably do, if they beat them at all.

5. Rightfully so, to be honest.

[Ivan Denisovich]

1. Yes. That's what your average Christian gets from the Bible. The justification for beating up merchants.  

If he is inspired by long haired hippie example then who knows. Other examples also weren't cool. So what with this cool Jesus message? It isn;t so cool when one looks at it closely it seems.

2. You're not familiar with Christian charities and nonprofits? Soup kitchens run by churches? "Meals on Wheels" type businesses run by churches? etc.

I familiar with church sucking money from the state and claiming that it do charity.

5. Rightfully so, to be honest.

Rightfully? So another generation will be indoctrinated, cause no one showed parents wonder of thinking for themselves?

[God of Mr. Hanky]

a = without  thus atheism without god.
anti = against thus anti-theist against god.

In common usage atheism just means without a belief in god.  Anti-theism is against theism.  It's possible to be either, neither, or both.

I am anti-theist, but I am not against any god, because I don't believe there are any. Sorry, but the cum-pumping canard "oh, he's just angry with god" is used way too easily by theists that I can just let this go - I am not against what I don't believe exists, but I am against the teaching of stupid ideas as if they were true, therefore I am against the teaching of theism.

[God of Mr. Hanky]

Can an atheist identify as an anti-theist?

Sure he can, but not necessarily. If you are an atheist and you believe that tolerance of religious activity and the teaching of unfalsifiable ideas is better than campaigning to replace religious ideas with an interest in critical reasoning and inspiration through scientific achievement, then you aren't an anti-theist. Having been raised religious by some of the dumbest people on the planet, I understand first-hand the problems of the "live and let others fuck childrens' minds" mindset.

[God of Mr. Hanky]

All that means to me is that you are a good person and not afraid to show it.

What about hating religion makes someone a good person?

Anyway, I'm an atheist but I'm not an anti-theist. I am not against religion unless it leads to very harmful practices (ex: Sharia law.) People saying grace before they eat and attending church every Sunday aren't harming anybody and I have no reason to oppose what makes them happy.

There's nothing innocuous about talking to some imaginary patriarch which displaces the responsibility of the actual head of household for his own actions, especially when it involves children. What involves children implies child indoctrination of nonsense, and all nonsense ideas are potentially dangerous. The same when you take them to church, sit them down in front of some grisly crucifixion scene, make them sit through songs and tales told of the strange, the morbid, and the irrational.

If you were one of these children who later came to be liberated from the forced intellectual stagnation of religion, then you would understand just how right Hitchens was - religion poisons everything!

[Mister Agenda]

What is the difference between atheism and anti-theism. I have seen some people use these terms as synonyms, are they the same?

Atheism
Antitheism
Are they basically the same thing or is there a difference?

Atheist: I'm not a theist.
Antitheist: You shouldn't be a theist.