RE: Is atheism a belief?
December 10, 2018 at 3:45 pm
(This post was last modified: December 10, 2018 at 3:49 pm by Simon Moon.)
SOME atheists may have the belief that no gods exist, but that is a minority position. All that is necessary to be an atheist, is to not be convinced that gods exist.
Specifically for me, I do not claim to KNOW if gods exist or not, therefore, I am agnostic.
I also am not convinced that gods exist, therefore, I am an atheist. This could be considered a disbelief in the existence of gods, but that is not the same as the belief that no gods exist.
Both these positions are provisional, not dogmatic. As long as the case for the existence of gods continues to not meet its burden of proof, I will continue to disbelieve in the existence of gods.
Specifically for me, I do not claim to KNOW if gods exist or not, therefore, I am agnostic.
I also am not convinced that gods exist, therefore, I am an atheist. This could be considered a disbelief in the existence of gods, but that is not the same as the belief that no gods exist.
Both these positions are provisional, not dogmatic. As long as the case for the existence of gods continues to not meet its burden of proof, I will continue to disbelieve in the existence of gods.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
