(January 8, 2014 at 9:54 pm)Sejanus Wrote: Around the forum from time to time, I've seen posts about how atheism is only the rejection of the god(s) claim. In such posts, people have said that it is possible to be an atheist and still be spiritual.
Atheism is only the disbelief in gods, or rejection of the claim that gods exist.
Anything else that someone believes or disbelieves in is outside the purview of atheism.
Quote:Atheism, in my understanding, is the lack of belief in god(s), due to the fact that there is no evidence for them.
There is nothing in the definition of atheism that specifies how or why someone disbelieves in gods. Only that one disbelieves.
Quote:My question is this: are there any atheists on the forum who believe in anything for which there is no evidence? because if you do, I hope you can see how this is intellectually dishonest.
It is only intellectually dishonest if the person claims to be a skeptic. It is not intellectually dishonest if their only stated position is that they disbelieve in gods.
My atheism is the product of my skepticism. I arrived at it using the correct application of critical thinking and logic when applied to the god claim.
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.
