quisquose Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Just execute the search yourself, I told you exactly what the search was "define:atheism" it's right at the top of the page when you've done the search, you can't miss it! Call yourself what you like, redefine the words, that doesn't stop it being contradictory due to what the words actually mean. I see, so you only accept the first thing that Google chucks out as the valid definition. What about the link below that states: More info »Wikipedia - Dictionary.com - Answers.com - Merriam-Webster Are those links invalid attempts to redefine the word? How about the 19th century dictionary that I have here which has a one line definition? atheism A'THEISM, n. The disbelief of the existence of a God, or Supreme intelligent being. The only redefining that has occurred has been done by those that have used the word in the much narrow sense of denial, possibly to shift the burden of proof. I'm sure there are many atheists that do deny the existence of gods, but I don't know any. Besides, I would still maintain* that one could simultaneously deny the existence of something whilst not knowing for certain and be without contradiction. I merely lack belief in the claims made for deities, as per the (orgininal?) definition in most older dictionaries that I have seen. I'm an agnostic atheist. * You do know what I mean by "maintain" in this context I assume? Only when I typed "define:maintain" into Google the definition I was using didn't appear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janie48 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I don't want to 'convert' you. Any more than I'd want to convert you away from a belief that father christmas was real. I do however see the two beliefs as equivalent, and it's difficult to have much respect for adults who still believe in father christmas. Father Christmas might not be a myth though but a mixture of fact and myth .Not that i'm still expecting him to come to my home on Xmas eve delivering presents, my mind has developed a bit since the age of 7:hihi: The point i'm making is that aside from the so called miracles,who can be certain that there isn't some truth in the legend of St Nicholas, who the figure Santa Clause is modelled on. No Cyclone i realise you are not trying to convert me, and if you were, you would never succeed in doing so unless you could prove that everything written in the new testament were lies passed down only to deceive everyone,and that some of the first apostles of christ were not executed in Rome. If anyone can prove to me that all of it was false and totally historically inaccurate, then i may re-consider the christian beliefs i hold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janie48 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 No, here's an example of how that term is used. Its means you feel comforted and reassured. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/warm-and-fuzzy I get it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 . If anyone can prove to me that all of it was false and totally historically inaccurate, then i may re-consider the christian beliefs i hold. What if it could be proved that some of it was false? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxmaximus Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 unless you could prove that everything written in the new testament were lies passed down only to deceive everyone,and that some of the first apostles of christ were not executed in Rome. If anyone can prove to me that all of it was false and totally historically inaccurate, then i may re-consider the christian beliefs i hold. Proving it historically accurate wouldn’t be proof of God it would be just proof that the book is an accurate record of historical events and that Jesus existed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danot Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I'm an agnostic atheist, but lets not go over that ground again shall we ... Besides, my post was in response to doubts that an 11 year old could even claim to be an atheist, when clearly he/she can. I'm not quite sure I understand what a agnostic atheist is, but i'll take you at your word and accept that you are one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwhine Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 You can't be born an atheist, a baby has no ability to believe or not believe in something, you might as well claim that a cat or a tree or a rock is an atheist. Anyone who lacks belief in god/God/gods is an atheist. That is what the word atheist means. I don't know too many babies that have an active belief in any god. They are atheists by default. They need to be introduced to the concept of god (in whatever form their abusers choose) and accept the existence of a god in order to become the(god)ists(believers). You cannot be born a theist, therefore are a(without)the(god)ist(belief). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbonyBranch Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 No Cyclone i realise you are not trying to convert me, and if you were, you would never succeed in doing so unless you could prove thttp://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0684869136hat everything written in the new testament were lies passed down only to deceive everyone,and that some of the first apostles of christ were not executed in Rome. If anyone can prove to me that all of it was false and totally historically inaccurate, then i may re-consider the christian beliefs i hold. There are many scholarly sources that make just those points, but for a more accessible read on the subject (from a recognised biblical scholar who is an agnostic atheist, but firmly believes in a historical, non-magical Jesus) I'd recommend Bart Ehrman's series of New Testament scriptural criticism books, in particular Jesus Interrupted and Misquoting Jesus. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0060859512/ref=mp_sim_s_1?pi=SL500_SY125 I've read a number of his works,including God's Problem, which analyses the various. often contradictory biblical approaches to the problem of evil. If you're interested in the historicity of the Old Testament/Torah I'd recommend Israel Finklestein's study of how archeology contradicts the biblical account. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0684869136 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaliRichard Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Just execute the search yourself, I told you exactly what the search was "define:atheism" it's right at the top of the page when you've done the search, you can't miss it! Call yourself what you like, redefine the words, that doesn't stop it being contradictory due to what the words actually mean. It's not. There are generally two 'meanings' for the word Atheist, they all depend where you are looking and none has authority over the other. That majority of atheists don't 'believe' there is no God, those that do follow this interpretation usually find themselves in hot water rather quickly when asked to provide evidence for that belief. The majority of atheists (and I would include myself) simply lack belief in a God, if evidence came along to the contrary we would accept it, be we don't hold the positive position that we believe there is no God. We are born atheist in my, roots, quis etc's definition but couldn't be born atheist using the definition you give. In everyday use their is little difference, but philosophically they are far different things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danot Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I used to believe in both God and Father Christmas along with many other fantasy being, at the point I stopped believing in the existence of God I became an atheist, before that I must have been a thiest.But to be theist you must have believed that gods exist, whether that was due to someone having convinced you that they do exist only you know, but you were most definately atheist before you began to believe in the existance of gods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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