RE: What is Your Approach?
August 8, 2013 at 10:44 am
(This post was last modified: August 8, 2013 at 10:57 am by The Reality Salesman01.)
Locke,
First off, welcome! I hope to have some productive exchanges with you in the future. To me, theists make this place more fun than it would be without them! That being said let me offer a couple of things to keep in mind when talking to some of us.
First, saying things like "evidence for Atheism" is an incoherent statement. It is completely nonsensical. A lack in belief of a god (Atheism) is not something that can be proven. It's the inherent, opposite position. It is the product of Theism. There are TONS of threads on here explaining it to death. It would be greatly appreciated if you would take a moment to sift through one to make sure you have the right interpretation of an individual’s position so as not to come across as though you think your interpretation of Atheism is the one in question. Just as there seem to be countless brands of Christianity, there are different versions of Atheism. Atheism, to me, and many others, is nothing more than a negative position. Theists believe in at least one God. An Atheist does not hold a belief in any God(s). I don't make the claim that Gods don't exist. To do so, would suggest that I have some knowledge of God(s), and that I can show that they don't exist. To me, that does not appear to be possible.
To say that I am agnostic toward the possibility of a God(s) existence denotes my lack of knowledge pertaining to such things. I don't qualify my lack of belief in God with terms such as Agnostic, which denote KNOWLEDGE. I feel like that part goes without saying. After all, if I had knowledge of Gods at all, it would be quite absurd to say that I'm an Atheist. I am an Atheist that understands that there is much I don't know, however, with regards to the things I hold as true, the existence of God(s) is not among the list. You are an Atheist when it comes to any number of the countless other Gods that mankind has conjured; we just go one God further than you. I won't ask you to disprove Shiva before recognizing your lack of belief in her, please give us the same courtesy with regards to our position towards the Christian God.
Secondly, saying that you have not heard any evidence to disprove your God, does not give it any more credence. To emphasize this point, consider the Shiva comparison above. One need not disprove something before they are justified in not adopting a belief in it. The lack of evidence in support of it is a perfectly acceptable reason not to believe it. It is you that holds the burden of proof pertaining to the validity of the God you affirm. It is not the other way around.
I hope you will consider this advice as it will make things run much easier. You can save yourself a lot of time by not telling Atheists what Atheism is, and just skip forward to defending your claims. Again, Welcome to AF!!! See ya around.
First off, welcome! I hope to have some productive exchanges with you in the future. To me, theists make this place more fun than it would be without them! That being said let me offer a couple of things to keep in mind when talking to some of us.
First, saying things like "evidence for Atheism" is an incoherent statement. It is completely nonsensical. A lack in belief of a god (Atheism) is not something that can be proven. It's the inherent, opposite position. It is the product of Theism. There are TONS of threads on here explaining it to death. It would be greatly appreciated if you would take a moment to sift through one to make sure you have the right interpretation of an individual’s position so as not to come across as though you think your interpretation of Atheism is the one in question. Just as there seem to be countless brands of Christianity, there are different versions of Atheism. Atheism, to me, and many others, is nothing more than a negative position. Theists believe in at least one God. An Atheist does not hold a belief in any God(s). I don't make the claim that Gods don't exist. To do so, would suggest that I have some knowledge of God(s), and that I can show that they don't exist. To me, that does not appear to be possible.
To say that I am agnostic toward the possibility of a God(s) existence denotes my lack of knowledge pertaining to such things. I don't qualify my lack of belief in God with terms such as Agnostic, which denote KNOWLEDGE. I feel like that part goes without saying. After all, if I had knowledge of Gods at all, it would be quite absurd to say that I'm an Atheist. I am an Atheist that understands that there is much I don't know, however, with regards to the things I hold as true, the existence of God(s) is not among the list. You are an Atheist when it comes to any number of the countless other Gods that mankind has conjured; we just go one God further than you. I won't ask you to disprove Shiva before recognizing your lack of belief in her, please give us the same courtesy with regards to our position towards the Christian God.
Secondly, saying that you have not heard any evidence to disprove your God, does not give it any more credence. To emphasize this point, consider the Shiva comparison above. One need not disprove something before they are justified in not adopting a belief in it. The lack of evidence in support of it is a perfectly acceptable reason not to believe it. It is you that holds the burden of proof pertaining to the validity of the God you affirm. It is not the other way around.
I hope you will consider this advice as it will make things run much easier. You can save yourself a lot of time by not telling Atheists what Atheism is, and just skip forward to defending your claims. Again, Welcome to AF!!! See ya around.
