[Serious] Atheist Dogma

[Belacqua]

But the term 'atheist' is properly applied to a current state of being - it says nothing about how one got to that state of being. 

That's true. 

If you agree that a newborn is an atheist by default, why can't lizards, bicycles, onions and the rest also be atheists by default?

As I said earlier tonight, and have said many times on this forum: If you want to use the word "atheist" to apply to things with no beliefs whatsoever, go ahead, it doesn't bother me. I'm not the definition boss.

However, a thinking person's atheism is not simply a "condition" or a default setting. A thinking person has heard religious claims and decided that they are unpersuasive. If he is a thinking person at all, he rejects claims based on criteria of judgment. If he has criteria of judgment, then he has beliefs concerning what constitutes persuasive evidence. 

If someone rejects claims with no criteria for doing so, then he is making up his mind for no reason. He is not thinking. He is going by prejudice, or force of habit. There may well be people who maintain their position on issues without thought or consideration. This is not something they should be proud of. 

I deny that my atheism is the same as that of a bicycle.