(January 23, 2019 at 3:41 pm)T0 Th3 M4X Wrote: We get a new definition of "atheism" all the time, so it just depends who you ask and what definition they're using.
You do understand that words do not have some sort of absolute definitions, right? Words change as usage changes. Fag means cigarette in England, and a derogatory term for homosexuals in the US. Boot means a cars trunk on England, and footwear that comes up high on the leg in the US.
Dictionaries do not have absolute definitions, they define word usage.
If you picked up a Webster's dictionary from the early 20th century, atheism was defined as "godlessness". It did not even define atheism in way that is agreeable to you.
I define atheism as, "not being convinced that a god or gods exist". Do you have any problems with that definition?
It covers the following: people that claim to know gods don't exist, people that believe no gods exist, people that disbelieve gods exist, people that claim not to know if gods exist or not, lack of belief, disbelief. All those examples have one thing in common, they are not convinced that gods exist.
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.
