RE: Is atheism a belief?
February 26, 2019 at 12:46 am
(This post was last modified: February 26, 2019 at 12:50 am by bennyboy.)
(February 25, 2019 at 9:19 pm)fredd bear Wrote: " I'd say in response to specific enough god claims, most atheists are positive-- "
Based on what evidence exactly? That is not my experience, nor my position as an atheist.
My position and experience is that most atheists avoid making claims, as to do so attracts the burden of proof. Instead , I and others say only that "I do not believe". This a statement of position, not of belief .
Of course I realise that your direct experience with atheists may well be far in excess of mine. I would be grateful if you could let me know the factual basis for your generalisation.
A specific enough god claim would be "God is the Creator God as defined perfectly in the books of the Bible." I believe most atheists would say that such a god cannot exist, due to problems with omni-3, for example, or for other logical reasons. My evidence is mostly circumstantial, though-- it's the sense I get from the particular atheists in these forums.
If an atheist says there is no such thing as God, under any definition, then he's going to have to carry an impossible burden of proof. If he says, "Your definition of God, Skydaddy who gave teens strong sexual instincts but will punish them with eternal hellfire if they masturbate-- I find those ideas to be logically exclusive," then this isn't really a "claim," and doesn't really require proof.
Remember, in the end the burden goes to the one who wishes to change another's view-- you have to provide a compelling reason for that change.
