juggalo420
01-14-2005, 05:17 AM
i read this on another post and found this the most dis-honest or just dumb use of logic against atheism i ever read, i just had to make a post debunking it.
Originally Posted by GooseBear
atheist don't believe in God that is what I'm hearing
there is no proff that there is a God is what your saying
but then if there wasn't a God why would the atheists say they don't believe in him
cuzz technically he had to be there before people said they didn't think that he was real??? (end quote)
that is such a bullshit use of logic i barely know where to begin.
The average theologian uses 'atheist' to mean a person who denies the existence of a God. However, most atheists would stongly dispute the adequacy of this definition. Rather, they would hold that an atheist is a person without a belief in God. The distiniction is small but important. Denying something means that you have knowledge of what it is that you are being asked to affirm, but that you have rejected that particular concept. To be without a belief in God merely means that yhe term 'god' has no importance or possibly no meaning to you. Belief in God is not a factor in your life. Surely this is quite different from denying the existence of God. Atheism is not a belief as such. It is the lack of belief.
When we examine the components of the word 'atheism,' we can see this distinction more clearly. The word is made up of 'a-' and '-theism.' Theism, we will all agree, is a belief in a God or gods. The prefix 'a-' can mean 'not' (or 'no') or 'without.' If it means 'not,' then we have as an atheist someone who is not a theist (i.e., someone who does not have a belief in a God or gods). If it means 'without,' then an atheist is someone without theism, or without a belief in God.
Webster's 3rd New International Dictionary Unabridged
Here is Webster's definition of atheism:
atheism n 1 a: disbelief in the existence of God or any other deity b: the doctrine that there is neither god nor any other deity--compare AGNOSTICISM 2: godlessness esp. in conduct
disbelief n: the act of disbelieving : mental refusal to accept (as a statement or proposition) as true
disbelieve vb vt : to hold not to be true or real : reject or withold belief in vi : to withold or reject belief
Heres something i could say using goosebears logic, i dont believe in santa clause therefore he must exsist in order for me to deny he exists.
i used some material from infidels.org
Originally Posted by GooseBear
atheist don't believe in God that is what I'm hearing
there is no proff that there is a God is what your saying
but then if there wasn't a God why would the atheists say they don't believe in him
cuzz technically he had to be there before people said they didn't think that he was real??? (end quote)
that is such a bullshit use of logic i barely know where to begin.
The average theologian uses 'atheist' to mean a person who denies the existence of a God. However, most atheists would stongly dispute the adequacy of this definition. Rather, they would hold that an atheist is a person without a belief in God. The distiniction is small but important. Denying something means that you have knowledge of what it is that you are being asked to affirm, but that you have rejected that particular concept. To be without a belief in God merely means that yhe term 'god' has no importance or possibly no meaning to you. Belief in God is not a factor in your life. Surely this is quite different from denying the existence of God. Atheism is not a belief as such. It is the lack of belief.
When we examine the components of the word 'atheism,' we can see this distinction more clearly. The word is made up of 'a-' and '-theism.' Theism, we will all agree, is a belief in a God or gods. The prefix 'a-' can mean 'not' (or 'no') or 'without.' If it means 'not,' then we have as an atheist someone who is not a theist (i.e., someone who does not have a belief in a God or gods). If it means 'without,' then an atheist is someone without theism, or without a belief in God.
Webster's 3rd New International Dictionary Unabridged
Here is Webster's definition of atheism:
atheism n 1 a: disbelief in the existence of God or any other deity b: the doctrine that there is neither god nor any other deity--compare AGNOSTICISM 2: godlessness esp. in conduct
disbelief n: the act of disbelieving : mental refusal to accept (as a statement or proposition) as true
disbelieve vb vt : to hold not to be true or real : reject or withold belief in vi : to withold or reject belief
Heres something i could say using goosebears logic, i dont believe in santa clause therefore he must exsist in order for me to deny he exists.
i used some material from infidels.org