(October 8, 2013 at 4:43 pm)John V Wrote:(October 8, 2013 at 2:09 am)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: Here is the most important reason anyone (well most) is a atheist. Our default stance is to disbelief in something until it meet the burden of proofHold on there, cowboy. The fact that religion is widespread across time and cultures shows that it meets the evidential standard determined by convention or community. This definition goes against your position.
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Now religion has a heavy burden because of the extraordinary claims made, and the reason we disbelief is because no evidence that is properly verifiable has been offered to to date.
That is called argument ad populum and is a logical fallacy, so you begin your argument based on a fallacy. Furthermore religion varies wildly across time and places, and there are atheistic religions that predate Christianity and were very widespread, in fact Buddhism and communism still are.
Also the one religion stance that is the oldest and appears in every culture is atheism.
In fact here is a list of atheistic schools of thought from many cultures that predate Christianity and in some cases monotheism
Buddhism
Cārvāka
The Sophists
Epicurean-ism
Taoism
Pythagoreans
Confucianism
Primitive atheism (such as recorded in "don't sleep there are snakes" by Daniel Everett.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
