If you spend an unhealthy amount of time on YouTube, particularly on atheist videos, you may have come across videos answering a user who asks for "proof and evedidence that atheism is accurate and correct."
The most common response is that atheism is a lack of belief in a god and therefore cannot be proven, there is no reason to believe in a god and so the burden of proof is on the theist.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, however, defines atheism as "...the negation of theism, the denial of the existence of God." The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines it as "the critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or spiritual beings." It goes on to say:
"An atheist denies the existence of God. As it is frequently said, atheists believe that it is false that God exists, or that God’s existence is a speculative hypothesis of an extremely low order of probability."
So, how do we define atheism? Is it a belief that there is no god? a lack of belief in a god?
The most common response is that atheism is a lack of belief in a god and therefore cannot be proven, there is no reason to believe in a god and so the burden of proof is on the theist.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, however, defines atheism as "...the negation of theism, the denial of the existence of God." The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines it as "the critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or spiritual beings." It goes on to say:
"An atheist denies the existence of God. As it is frequently said, atheists believe that it is false that God exists, or that God’s existence is a speculative hypothesis of an extremely low order of probability."
So, how do we define atheism? Is it a belief that there is no god? a lack of belief in a god?
