Atheism is a Religion . . . . but a good one

[ThePrimeSingularity]

The bottom line is that if you are an Atheist and you state that you don’t belive in God; that is absolutely and perfectly fine. However, if you state, as a matter of fact, that there is no God, you are taking a Leap of Faith and crossing over into the world of Religious Dogma. If you state that a God-belief is stupid, you are a religious fanatic.

If the Question of God or the Nature of God is unknowable, then why do I believe in God ? Well, for me, God is not something I believe in, God is a Supreme Being that my Consciousness is aware of. Of course, what I think I am aware of is not Scientific Proof. So, as a Rationalist, I am willing to place this ‘Awareness’ down as a Belief and put it down in the category of Faith.

I think these last two paragraphs are the crux of what you're saying. And you're right... If an atheist is minding their "p's & q's" they should never say "There is no God". A better statement would be "There is no credible evidence for for the existence of a God or Gods". Even saying "I don't believe in God" still leaves the door open for someone to present credible evidence. I think that when most atheists say God doesn't exist they are really just being a little lazy rather than asserting that they have proven a negative. (Which is a bitch...)

The statement: "Atheism is a Religion" is NOT correct. And since we're quoting Bill Mahar... "Atheism is precisely NOT that!"