[split] Agnostic atheism is the only intellectually honest position

[Rhizomorph13]

Hey SN,

Here is an interesting site I found about the proper use of dictionaries:

http://www.radicalacademy.com/adlerdictionary.htm

There is no more irritating fellow than the man(sic) who tries to settle an argument about communism, or justice, or liberty, by quoting from Webster. Webster and all his fellow lexicographers may be respected as authorities on word-usage, but they are not the ultimate founts of wisdom. They are no Supreme Court to which we can appeal for a decision of those fundamental controversies which, despite the warnings of semanticists, get us involved with abstract words. It is well to remember that the dictionary's authority can, for obvious reasons, be surer in the field of concrete words, and even in the field of the abstract technical words of science, than it ever can be with respect to philosophical words. Yet these words are indispensable if we are going to talk, read, or write about the things that matter most.

I think the above paragraph applies even more to the idea of god/God/ or gods.

In short, don't forget that the dictionary is a book about words, not about things. It can tell you how men(sic) have used words, but it does not define the nature of the things the words name.

(bolding mine)

I agree with Void; you can't argue against a dictionary meaning and expect it to apply to the general idea of god/God/or gods. The goalposts will shift and theists will alter their definition of the ontology of god/God/ or gods. Burn straw men if you must, and you will probably impress more than a few simple-minded atheists; but the fact remains that the sweet smell of a god concept destroyed, is simply the smell of the opium burning in the pipe you are smoking.


Rhizo