Is atheism a belief?

[Bucky Ball]

Yeah I know dear ... the dog ate your homework. What a loser. You're so pathetically obvious. 
Just define a god, or STFU.

Right, but I'm not allowed to use literature apparently.  No encyclopedias, dictionaries, journals, or whatever else.  Isn't that what the rule is?

No dog ate my homework, but they might try if I still had to do school work at home.  Anyway, you might want to get some rest.  The school bus comes rather early in the morning.

So ... still no definition, still your lame attempts at evasion. 
YOU have to explain the problem that was defined above, with a coherent definition. 
YOU seem to pray to something you can't even define. How idiotic is that. 
What's the problem ? 

No school bus tomorrow, dufus.

[T0 Th3 M4X]

Right, but I'm not allowed to use literature apparently.  No encyclopedias, dictionaries, journals, or whatever else.  Isn't that what the rule is?

No dog ate my homework, but they might try if I still had to do school work at home.  Anyway, you might want to get some rest.  The school bus comes rather early in the morning.

So ... still no definition, still your lame attempts at evasion. 
YOU have to explain the problem that was defined above, with a coherent definition. 
YOU seem to pray to something you can't even define. How idiotic is that. 
What's the problem ? 

No school bus tomorrow, dufus.

You keep making assumptions.

A. I don't have a problem with definitions.
B. I don't owe you anything.

You're really delusional if you think I'm interested in going around in circles with you.

[downbeatplumb]

No. 
There are a lot of contradictory or nebulous definitions of god out there.
I want what YOU think one is.

"Us" would be the wider readership here.

So what is a god? I have so far not seen a description that makes sense to me.

Well there is part of your problem.  You don't accept books that tell you these things and suggest ones like dictionaries and encyclopedias carry some bias.  If you won't listen to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, then you surely aren't going to accept my definition for something.  Heck, even I must concede that the dictionary holds an authority beyond that of myself to define things objectively.  Maybe some dictionaries and encyclopedias incorporate some bias, but we can generally tell which ones those are.  The ones that have been around for many years like Oxford and M-W are considered authorities in this area.

The ideas in the dictionaries are contradictory and in consistent.

That is why I am asking for your definition.

heres one.

Definition of god (Entry 1 of 2)
1
capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: such as
a
: the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe
b
Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind
2
: a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship
specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality
Greek gods of love and war
3
: a person or thing of supreme value
had photos of baseball's gods pinned to his bedroom wall
4
: a powerful ruler
Hollywood gods that control our movies' fates

Not very helpful is it.

Here is the Wikipedia definition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God

Read it, it is full of contradictions.

So when you say you believe in god I don't know what you mean.

[Angrboda]

Question for you, Max, even though you've got me on ignore.

The dictionary definition of death is the permanent cessation of life. Yet resurrection means to come back to life from the dead. If the dictionary is a reliable authority, then this reliable authority is inconsistent. Can something that is inconsistent really be an authority?

[Bucky Ball]

So ... still no definition, still your lame attempts at evasion. 
YOU have to explain the problem that was defined above, with a coherent definition. 
YOU seem to pray to something you can't even define. How idiotic is that. 
What's the problem ? 

No school bus tomorrow, dufus.

You keep making assumptions.

A. I don't have a problem with definitions.
B. I don't owe you anything.

You're really delusional if you think I'm interested in going around in circles with you.

You chose to engage in this discussion. 
You DO owe the discussion a coherent definition of a god, if you're going to continue to claim there is one. 
Since you can't produce one, we'll assume them you have none, and can't even define the entity you pray to. 
Very typical. 
I do get you don't want to go in circles. You must be very tired of that ... it's all you do. 

Cheers. Here's to another year of constant evasion tactics, and not even one convert. 
Poor you.

[T0 Th3 M4X]

Well there is part of your problem.  You don't accept books that tell you these things and suggest ones like dictionaries and encyclopedias carry some bias.  If you won't listen to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, then you surely aren't going to accept my definition for something.  Heck, even I must concede that the dictionary holds an authority beyond that of myself to define things objectively.  Maybe some dictionaries and encyclopedias incorporate some bias, but we can generally tell which ones those are.  The ones that have been around for many years like Oxford and M-W are considered authorities in this area.

The ideas in the dictionaries are contradictory and in consistent.

That is why I am asking for your definition.

heres one.

Definition of god (Entry 1 of 2)
1
capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: such as
a
: the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe
b
Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind
2
: a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship
specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality
Greek gods of love and war
3
: a person or thing of supreme value
had photos of baseball's gods pinned to his bedroom wall
4
: a powerful ruler
Hollywood gods that control our movies' fates

Not very helpful is it.

Here is the Wikipedia definition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God

Read it, it is full of contradictions.

So when you say you believe in god I don't know what you mean.

What contradictions are you suggesting?  At first glance, I would have to disagree, but I'll at least be fair and give you an opportunity to explain.

[MattB]

Hi Im new here. Im an agnostic with Christian values and Im here to try and understand some things.

Whenever I say that atheism is based on belief just like theism is I get a strong rejection from atheists. 
Some give me these twisted definitions while others claim that i cannot be agnostic without being an atheist.

So I want to start by getting the definition correct.
Am I right in saying atheists "believe there are no Gods" or "don't believe there are Gods"?
Am I right in saying atheism is based on belief? If yes then why do so many atheists reject this?
If not then Why? What is it then based on?


Do people agree with this?


Do people agree with this?
I don't because the only thing I believe in is knowledge. 
I don't lean either way on the question of God. I just don't know. 
There isn't sufficient evidence either way for me to decide.

I'd say the more militant atheist have a belief. Have seen some get as angry as a fundamentalist if you disagree with them. Want to see angry atheist go to the Usenet group "alt.atheism" I posted this def of agnostic from google and they really got mad said I was a theist for doing so.
"a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God."

Personally, I have seen no proof either way but will say most religion is IMO BS. So much hate for even the slightest disagreement and the more militant atheist are the same IMO.

Personally, I don't care if someone worships a rock and puts that rock in their front yard as long as they don't force it on me or others.

[downbeatplumb]

What contradictions are you suggesting?  At first glance, I would have to disagree, but I'll at least be fair and give you an opportunity to explain.

Here are a few contradions plucked from the Wikipage

1: god is either personal or impersonal.
2: god either creates and sustains the universe or just creates it.


Under general conceptions it says there is no clear concensus on the nature of god.

There is no clear consensus on the nature or the existence of God.[30] The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God. The dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic. Many polytheistic religions share the idea of a creator deity, although having a name other than "God" and without all of the other roles attributed to a singular God by monotheistic religions. Jainism is polytheistic and non-creationist. Depending on one's interpretation and tradition, Buddhism can be conceived as being either atheistic, non-theistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, or . 


God's omniscience may seem to imply that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, their ostensible free will might be illusory, or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient.[120] 

So what I want is your definition.

Let me know what you believe a god is.
It is a simple question, after all they are your beliefs and each believer seems to believe something different.

[T0 Th3 M4X]

What contradictions are you suggesting?  At first glance, I would have to disagree, but I'll at least be fair and give you an opportunity to explain.

Here are a few contradions plucked from the Wikipage

1: god is either personal or impersonal.
2: god either creates and sustains the universe or just creates it.


Under general conceptions it says there is no clear concensus on the nature of god.

There is no clear consensus on the nature or the existence of God.[30] The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God. The dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic. Many polytheistic religions share the idea of a creator deity, although having a name other than "God" and without all of the other roles attributed to a singular God by monotheistic religions. Jainism is polytheistic and non-creationist. Depending on one's interpretation and tradition, Buddhism can be conceived as being either atheistic, non-theistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, or . 


God's omniscience may seem to imply that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, their ostensible free will might be illusory, or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient.[120] 

So what I want is your definition.

Let me know what you believe a god is.
It is a simple question, after all they are your beliefs and each believer seems to believe something different.

You asked for a definition and I gave you a definition.  As defined there are no inconsistencies.  You seem to want to use a different definition, so maybe that's the problem you're having.  Wiki sites can be valuable, but they're not always reliable since anybody with an Internet connection can create one. M-W on the other hand, they're well accepted and trusted as a source of information.

[Amarok]

So your just going to ignore his objections