Annoying Atheist Arguments

[Confused Ape]

4. "Atheism is not a belief/position, it is the absence of one."

Whether or not you accept or reject a claim, you have taken a position regarding it. Whether you believe it or not, both come under the category of beliefs. Saying "I don't believe god exists" is the same as saying "I believe god doesn't exist". Whether or not you are required to justify those beliefs or what justification would be acceptable is another question altogether.

I think this could relate to the spectrum of theistic probability

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrum_of...robability

6: De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. "I don't know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there."

7: Strong atheist. "I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung knows there is one."

Dawkins argues that while there appear to be plenty of individuals that would place themselves as "1" due to the strictness of religious doctrine against doubt, most atheists do not consider themselves "7" because atheism arises from a lack of evidence and evidence can always change a thinking person's mind. In print, Dawkins self-identified as a '6', though when interviewed by Bill Maher[3] and later by Anthony Kenny,[4] he suggested '6.9' to be more accurate.

Atheists who place themselves somewhere in the 6 category will say "I don't believe God exists" and mean that they don't believe because of lack of evidence. They aren't claiming that God doesn't exist as such just in case any evidence turns up in the future.

Atheists who place themselves as a 7 claim to know that God doesn't exist as a concrete scientific fact. When they say "I don't believe God exists" they mean "I don't believe God exists because God doesn't exist." People can find out what these 7's actually mean by what they say in their arguments against God's existence.

When it comes to not listening to what a theist is saying, I agree. If I'm going to discuss religion with a theist I find it helps to know what the theist actually believes in. After all, there's no point in asking a Jehovah's Witness why they think that the Pope is infallible. I also like to find out why a theist believes in God. If they say something like "I felt God's presence in church" I consider the possibility that their brain produced a subjective experience which they interpreted as God. (My own brain produces odd, subjective experiences which I interpret as something causing my brain to have a hiccup.)