(July 6, 2012 at 11:38 pm)Selliedjoup Wrote: Atheists disbelieve in a god, and then assert it's rational to due so, but lack any validated means to disbelieve. It's as rational as saying a god does exist.
What 'validated means' do I need when I respond, " I don't believe your claim. Please provide me with demonstrable evidence, reasoned argument and valid logic to support it", when a theists claims a god exists?
Belief is a binary mental state. Either one has the active belief that a god exists, or they do not have that belief.
Atheism is simply not having the belief that a god exists. It is not necessarily the belief that a god does not 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.