Question for Atheists

[Mister Agenda]

My beagle lacks a belief in God. He's an atheist.

So's my rock

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Not for me, I believe no gods exist and that's a gnostic claim, not an anti-theist one, I am not against belief in god simply because I believe he doesn't exist - Let's imagine I was like our former fellow Mozart Link and thought religion brought lots of benefits, therefore I'd incentive it - Is this anti-theism? It looks the opposite to me.

*risks the derail

The only discrete definition of atheism is 'absence of theism'. In no accurate use is atheism a 'belief in the non-existence of god/s'. In fact, that misdefinition is commonly used by theists in order to misrepresent the position of most atheists, often for nefarious purposes. As soon as you start adding values (e.g. belief in the non-existence of god/s), you need to start looking for different words. Since 'belief in the non-existence of god/s' is a position which is in direct opposition to theism, it is, by definition, 'anti-theistic'. That's only one of the possible definitions of anti-theism but it is an accurate one; as we've discussed before, 'opposition to religion/religious organisation' is another (and your default definition, I assume from your use). Remember that anti-theism is a term which can be applied to specific context, depending on the definition being used.

I know you prefer the term 'gnostic atheist' and I think I've explained to you why I prefer to use 'anti-theist'. Both are accurate.

I'm afraid I can't agree. Both have very specific meanings, and they aren't the same. Anti-theism is literially 'against theism', that is, 'against belief in God'. An anti-theist opposes belief in God, probably because he or she thinks the cons of belief outweigh the pros. But, just like an atheist can be pro-theism, a theist can be anti-theist: someone who thinks theism is ill-advised but can't help the fact that they believe. Like a communist party member who can't get over their god-belief, as much as they would like to.

Using 'anti-theist' as a synonym for 'gnostic atheist' is relatively new, and in my opinion, confuses the issue.

Minimalist (I apoogize in advance Min, for assuming you won't mind being used as an example) is an anti-theistic atheist, beyond doubt. However, I cannot then assume that Minimalist's epistemic position on God is that he or she is positive that God does not exist, there's no contradiction involved if Minimalist is an agnostic atheist and an anti-theist. I personally don't know whether Minimalist's atheism is agnostic or gnostic, and knowing Minimalist is an anti-theist does not resolve my ignorance on the matter.

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Ahem... as per our other discussions: no, that's anti-theism

My beagle lacks a belief in God. He's an atheist.

I guess I'm in nitpicking mode, please don't take it personally, I realize you don't intend to be entirely serious here. Once upon a time I would have agreed with you, but then I realized the suffix 'ist' in 'atheist' denotes 'a person holding the position of atheism'. The etymology is athe-ist, not a-theist. If it were a-theist, it would mean 'not a theist' and beagles and rocks aren't theists, so they would be atheists. However, since the derivation is from athe-ist, an atheist is a person who does not believe in deities; and a theist is a person who does. In my opinion, this also disqualifies babies from being atheists or theists, any more than they can be elitists or Calvinists.