onewheeldave Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 the world ain't perfect-neither are dictionaries. However that definition is not a problem really it still means no belief in any god! also if they are an atheist they are one, they don't need to worry about the definition they just need to not believe in a god. Yes, it does mean a disbelief in any god, but it also says more atheism n belief that there is no God -ist n it means an active belief- that there is not a God It's a definition that is rejected by the majority of vocal atheists, who say atheism is an absence of belief (in God/gods). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llamatron Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Yes, it does mean a disbelief in any god, but it also says more atheism n belief that there is no God -ist n it means an active belief- that there is not a God It's a definition that is rejected by the majority of vocal atheists, who say atheism is an absence of belief (in God/gods). so you agree that the majority of atheists say it is an absence of belief-hurrah! There is very little difference between the definitions but I reckon atheists know they are atheists and that is all that matters. An active belief that there is no god is just not quite general enough but it isn't wrong. A belief that there is no god is not wrong but it does have odd wording that makes it seem like it was written by a christian. Dictionaries are written by people, and may at times not be entirely accurate however as you say most atheists (along with the etymology) define it as an absence of belief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chorba Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 .......................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 How about A belief that there are no gods. or A lack of a belief in any god or gods. The only problem with the latter is that it could conceivably mean that you don't believe in any god or gods you've been told about so far, but are still open to the idea of some sort of prime mover. Which doesn't accurately describe atheism IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Why don't atheists say "we know there is no god" instead of "we don't believe in god"? Because they're stating an opinion. "I believe in gravity" Would you object to that statement of opinion as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewheeldave Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 so you agree that the majority of atheists say it is an absence of belief-hurrah! There is very little difference between the definitions but I reckon atheists know they are atheists and that is all that matters. An active belief that there is no god is just not quite general enough but it isn't wrong. Why don't atheists say "we know there is no god" instead of "we don't believe in god"? How about A belief that there are no gods. or A lack of a belief in any god or gods. The only problem with the latter is that it could conceivably mean that you don't believe in any god or gods you've been told about so far, but are still open to the idea of some sort of prime mover. Which doesn't accurately describe atheism IMO. Guys, I'd suggest you take it up with one the atheists on this thread who do most definitely object strongly to the defintion of atheism as ' a belief that there is no God' and who insist that, in fact, atheists have no beliefs about God. Because it's not something I'm going to get into any more than what I've said above- I've personally been pulled up, and indeed, put down, earlier in the thread for pointing out that there are 2 definitions in public usage. And, the atheists concerned, while trying to straighten out the above, may make a note of the large amount of confusion around the definition of 'atheist' amongst the public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingjimmy Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Why don't atheists say "we know there is no god" instead of "we don't believe in god"? Because we don't know there's no god anymore than we know there is no flying spaghetti monster. Seeing as there is 0 evidence for either of them we do not believe that they exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingjimmy Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 How about A belief that there are no gods. or A lack of a belief in any god or gods. The only problem with the latter is that it could conceivably mean that you don't believe in any god or gods you've been told about so far, but are still open to the idea of some sort of prime mover. Which doesn't accurately describe atheism IMO. It does to me. I don't believe in any gods, including some deistic kind of 'prime mover god'. I am open to any kind of god existing, be it a prime mover or an interventionist jealous meddler like the guy from the bible, and am willing to be convinced either by logical argument and/or evidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number Six Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Have we defined 'religion' yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chorba Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 ................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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