RE: The meaning of Atheism.
September 25, 2010 at 12:12 pm
(This post was last modified: September 25, 2010 at 12:14 pm by leveni.)
Dear everybody who participated in the above debate.
Thanks.
And sorry for not returning sooner. I've been to about 5 atheist forums on the web, and some how I didn't get back to you guys. How unfortunate for me, because you guys certainly did thrash it out.
Anyway, I think the problem was, I had made up my mind in regards to what atheism was at the age of 12, and since then I had never given atheism a second thought. I just assumed people who called themselves atheists had the same notion as I do.
Just in case anyone is interested, I'm going to preserve my concept. Maybe I'm not an atheist. I'm definitely not a theist. For me, at the age of 12, it was a time when I decided to take a 'stance' against those that wished to impose their own personal beliefs on me. I no longer feel such a need, but I will continue with my 'stance' for the sake of nostalgia.
In regards to the meaning of words though: Who has control over them? Is it those that consider themselves educated and knowledgeable in regards to the meaning of words? or is it those that have no understanding of words and so use them as they wish, disregarding their 'true' meaning.
Some interesting words are:
awful, tart, gay: if we look at their etymology they once had different meanings.
ain't: for some people ain't is perfectly acceptable but for others not aint
kangaroo: from the Guugu Yimithirr language meaning a large black macropod. But many Australians, due to their ignorance, believe it means "I don't know" in 'Aboriginal'.
So, are the so called young and ignorant among us in control over the popular meaning of words or are the so called intelligentsia in control over the popular meaning of words?
Again thanks for the input, and sorry for responding so late.
Thanks.
And sorry for not returning sooner. I've been to about 5 atheist forums on the web, and some how I didn't get back to you guys. How unfortunate for me, because you guys certainly did thrash it out.
Anyway, I think the problem was, I had made up my mind in regards to what atheism was at the age of 12, and since then I had never given atheism a second thought. I just assumed people who called themselves atheists had the same notion as I do.
Just in case anyone is interested, I'm going to preserve my concept. Maybe I'm not an atheist. I'm definitely not a theist. For me, at the age of 12, it was a time when I decided to take a 'stance' against those that wished to impose their own personal beliefs on me. I no longer feel such a need, but I will continue with my 'stance' for the sake of nostalgia.
In regards to the meaning of words though: Who has control over them? Is it those that consider themselves educated and knowledgeable in regards to the meaning of words? or is it those that have no understanding of words and so use them as they wish, disregarding their 'true' meaning.
Some interesting words are:
awful, tart, gay: if we look at their etymology they once had different meanings.
ain't: for some people ain't is perfectly acceptable but for others not aint
kangaroo: from the Guugu Yimithirr language meaning a large black macropod. But many Australians, due to their ignorance, believe it means "I don't know" in 'Aboriginal'.
So, are the so called young and ignorant among us in control over the popular meaning of words or are the so called intelligentsia in control over the popular meaning of words?
Again thanks for the input, and sorry for responding so late.
