danot Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Wouldn't it conflict with the very essence of what an atheist is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karis Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Nah. Depends on what you think a ghost is. If it's the essence of a Christian soul then maybe, but a person could believe ghosts are a lot of things (aliens, time travellers, tears in reality, etc.). There's loads of speculation I suppose about what ghosts are... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quisquose Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Wouldn't it conflict with the very essence of what an atheist is? Atheism is disbelief in gods, and that's it, so no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcrust Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Wouldn't it conflict with the very essence of what an atheist is? Not at all. The sole requirement for atheism is the belief that God doesn't exist. However, I think it's likely that most atheists would also reject the idea of ghosts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattricia Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Wouldn't it conflict with the very essence of what an atheist is? I dont think it would danot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melthebell Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 im an athiest BUT ive seen a ghost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura16 Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Ghosts aren't god therefore there is no reason that atheists shouldn't believe in them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danot Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 My definition of a ghost would be- the spirit of a dead person that is unable or unwilling to leave this world. Which is the general definition I believe. This would imply that the atheist believes there's an afterlife wouldn't it? Why would an atheist believe in an afterlife? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Innit Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Not necessarily. But I agree it is unlikely that an atheist would believe in ghosts. Probably the same thing that makes an atheist disbelieve in god (i.e. lack of evidence) would make them also disbelieve in ghosts, trolls, fairies, santa, the easter bunny, and all sorts of other mythical things. The main reasons I can think of for an atheist believing in ghosts are: 1. they see ghosts as being part of the natural world and not connected with any particular god. 2. they haven't really thought it through and would disbelieve in ghosts if they did. 3. they don't believe in the god of 'x' religion, but do believe in something else. 4. they had a strong personal experience of something they thought was a ghost, and this is clouding their judgement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcrust Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 My definition of a ghost would be- the spirit of a dead person that is unable or unwilling to leave this world. Which is the general definition I believe. This would imply that the atheist believes there's an afterlife wouldn't it? Why would an atheist believe in an afterlife? First off, there are many other explanations as to what ghosts might be. I don't see why you need to believe in a God to believe in an afterlife. Beliefs don't need to be logical or to make sense. Check out one of truthlogic's threads for evidence of this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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