What is an atheist

[fr0d0]

What spurious claim am I making lol?

Your spurious claim was "The vast majority of atheist rial at the notion that they believe anything" and that's just demonstrable nonsense with the deliberate purpose of misrepresenting atheists with a fallacious generalisation. And well you know it.

If it's a fallacious generalisation then you are accusing the rank and file atheists here of it. It's not me that says it.

tell you what... You make an intro thread as a Christian and ask atheists why they believe what they do. Tell me when you do so that I can get my tin hat on

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I declared no position

I didn't say you specifically you turnip

[Ben Davis]

If it's a fallacious generalisation then you are accusing the rank and file atheists here of it. It's not me that says it.

O RLY... Well, I'm yet to see someone on this board claim that 'they have no beliefs'. Please can you provide an example?

tell you what... You make an intro thread as a Christian and ask atheists why they believe what they do.

No need. I've seen a quite a few of those threads. I seem to recall them being full of atheists telling christians why they believe what they believe. [/tautology]

Tell me when you do so that I can get my tin hat on

I quite think you forgot to take it off quite a while ago.

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I didn't say you specifically you turnip

...are the questions that you invite declaring that position

Yup you did.

[fr0d0]

If it's a fallacious generalisation then you are accusing the rank and file atheists here of it. It's not me that says it.

O RLY... Well, I'm yet to see someone on this board claim that 'they have no beliefs'. Please can you provide an example?

Nice goal movement

We're not talking about people claiming that they have no beliefs. What we're talking about is atheists stating that atheism isn't a belief. "It's a lack of belief". Sound familiar?

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Yup you did.

No I didn't turnip

[Ben Davis]

Nice goal movement

We're not talking about people claiming that they have no beliefs. What we're talking about is atheists stating that atheism isn't a belief. "It's a lack of belief". Sound familiar?

So you didn't write this?

The problem with that is, you will get endless objections, as is evident here on AF, with atheists demanding that they have no beliefs.

POINT! Love:15

No I didn't turnip

I already quoted you on that one.
OUT! Love:30

[Mister Agenda]

All the above

There is a subtle difference. My cat does not believe in God, but he does not believe that God does not exist. One is a positive, the other is a negative.

Still, a person holding either view would be an atheist. I would say the first includes the latter, so is the more inclusive definition.

I was once a 'cats are atheists' guy, but close examination of the word made me realize that the suffix 'ist' implies a person.

[Foxaèr]

Unlike most atheists, I believe that god does not exist as opposed to simply not believing in his existence.

[Mister Agenda]

Anti-theists are a subset of atheists so sometimes 2. can be used as a definition of 1. (commonly when certain people are trying to misrepresent 'atheists') however 2. is not necessarily a component of 1. therefore in strict usage, the definitions should be kept separate.

One could believe God doesn't exist without being an anti-theist. Such a person would be a strong atheist, but would not be opposed to theism. They could even be pro-theism, such as thinking the masses need religion to keep them from running wild. Antitheism is literally being against anyone believing in any God or gods. And one could be an antitheist while being a weak atheist, for that matter. It's logically possible to be a theist and also an antitheist, but I would be surprised to actually encounter such a beast. I'm not disagreeing, more like expanding on your thoughts.

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Yes you can.
Do you believe in god? Yes. Theist. No. Atheist.

The problem with that is, you will get endless objections, as is evident here on AF, with atheists demanding that they have no beliefs. That atheism is to theism as off is a TV channel.. etc ad infinitum.

Yet, no such objections have appeared. How would any of those apply to tor's definition? Saying the answer is 'no' is functionally equivalent to saying 'I don't have a belief in any God or gods'.

The vast majority of atheist rial at the notion that they believe anything, let alone that God doesn't exist. No doubt you have yet to consider the consequences of that stance.

It seems to me that you've misread tor's stance. And I challenge the contention that the 'vast majority' of atheists get riled at the notion that they believe anything. Just because you can always get a rise out of one or two of us on those grounds doesn't mean they're a vast majority. I believe that children are our future, etc. 'Believe' has become a dirty word for some of us, but if you think it's that prevalent, I would need at least a poll before I could believe it.

What is an atheist? I was thinking more along the lines of "wrong".

That is exactly as clever as 'What is a theist? I was thinking more along the lines of wrong' coming from an atheist would be.

Your spurious claim was "The vast majority of atheist rial at the notion that they believe anything" and that's just demonstrable nonsense with the deliberate purpose of misrepresenting atheists with a fallacious generalisation. And well you know it.

If it's a fallacious generalisation then you are accusing the rank and file atheists here of it. It's not me that says it.

By saying it's a fallacious generalization he is 'accusing' the rank and file of atheists here of not getting riled at the notion that they have beliefs. Sounds more like a pretty reasonable statement than an accusation. Who else says it, by the way?

Did you think that statement made sense when you wrote it or are you clowning around?

tell you what... You make an intro thread as a Christian and ask atheists why they believe what they do. Tell me when you do so that I can get my tin hat on

Or one of you can do a poll instead of basing your conclusion on the sample of atheists who choose to respond. Or for a truer representation of your claim that the vast majority of atheists get riled at the notion that they have any beliefs that can be conducted by just asking a question, the question could be 'Do you believe most kittens are cute?'.

If it's a fallacious generalisation then you are accusing the rank and file atheists here of it. It's not me that says it.

O RLY... Well, I'm yet to see someone on this board claim that 'they have no beliefs'. Please can you provide an example?

I've seen it myself. Some atheists consider 'belief' a dirty word and assert they don't have any. It's an incredible leap to conclude they comprise a simple, let alone vast majority of atheists, though. I'd go with 'tiny minority'.

[fr0d0]

I challenge the contention that the 'vast majority' of atheists get riled at the notion that they believe anything. Just because you can always get a rise out of one or two of us on those grounds doesn't mean they're a vast majority. I believe that children are our future, etc. 'Believe' has become a dirty word for some of us, but if you think it's that prevalent, I would need at least a poll before I could believe it.

Poll created... see my new thread. So far it looks 100% conclusive.

[The Valkyrie]

All the above

There is a subtle difference. My cat does not believe in God, but he does not believe that God does not exist. One is a positive, the other is a negative.

My cats KNOW they're gods

[fr0d0]

Did you think that statement made sense when you wrote it or are you clowning around?

I thought it made sense and the poll is so far confirming it to be true

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I've seen it myself. Some atheists consider 'belief' a dirty word and assert they don't have any. It's an incredible leap to conclude they comprise a simple, let alone vast majority of atheists, though. I'd go with 'tiny minority'.

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