(September 5, 2013 at 1:27 pm)rexbeccarox Wrote: Wait... what? That is the definition of "atheist".
Whether one likes the word or not, if he or she lacks a belief in deities, he or she is an atheist.
Correct.
This is not rocket surgery.
If one does not currently have an active belief that gods exist, they are an atheist. If they start believing a god or gods exist sometime in the future, they will then be a theist.
They can avoid the word all they want, doesn't change a thing.
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.
