(July 12, 2015 at 5:21 am)robvalue Wrote: Anti-theist would literally mean being against theism, not just religion.
Yes.
(July 12, 2015 at 5:21 am)robvalue Wrote: But I don't think that's how it is used, is it?
Sometimes, yes, but obviously sometimes people are likely to misuse a word.
(July 12, 2015 at 5:21 am)robvalue Wrote: Would anyone really be anti-deist or anti-"some higher power" in the same way they'd be anti-Christianity? Sure, you may think deism is silly, but is anyone actually strongly against it?
You don't have to be against something in the same way as something else to be against it, and you con't have to be as strongly against something as something else to still be against it.
I am an anti-thiest. I oppose theism. Theism is silly, ridiculous, and unfounded. It is irrational to be a theist, and I am against irrationality.
Now, one can pile on more irrationality and stupidity, and then I will be even more against it. But it is fundamentally the same problem, believing stupid shit for no good reason. So in my case, I am against it in the same way as religion generally, and for basically the same main reasons.
(July 12, 2015 at 5:21 am)robvalue Wrote: It seems like the wrong word, or rather it's picked up a narrower meaning, unless I'm mistaken.
It is the right word for me. If you are in favor of people believing a bit of stupid shit for no reason, but not other stupid shit for no reason, then it may not describe you, while still being anti-religion or anti-whatever-it-is-that-you-are-against.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
