Is Atheism a belief?

Neuropedia said:
religious beliefs are like math, and the 'a' prefix is like a negative sign

let theism = t, where t can not equal 0 (obvs)
therefore, athiesm is -t

therefore atheism is a belief
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except there's no distinct variable there for belief. If belief = religion then belief = t how would it follow that -t = t? And even if you were right, this is why I maintain that atheism is a misnomer since the word was constructed back when religion was the only explanation and thus the default position. Religion is no longer the default position so maybe we need a new word for it since atheism is filled with so many different and contradicting definitions.

Galileo said:
I maintain that anything you can claim to believe is a belief.

Anything that involves your convixion that something is thus is a belief, even if it's insane or outlandish, even if you have no proof.
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So you didn't read anything I wrote since I just said there's no conviction involved. The only belief I maintain are those required for the basic functions of science as well as a belief in a reason and evidenced based system of understanding the universe and its properties. All assertions that I would accept as true (and potentially as beliefs) must fall within those parameters. God claims, having failed to meet its burden of proof do not fall within the scope of my beliefs and I therefore have no belief in them.

To say that I believe I don't believe is a kindergarten level 'self-refuting idea' so I'm not sure how you'd explain that away.
 
Why does everything have to be so confusing lol. Wouldn't the only "non-belief" be for those who don't know? You wouldn't say that's a belief.. unless it's a belief in confusion. But if you choose not to believe in a deity.. isnt that a belief? Or you can choose to say that that isn't a belief? See I'm confused.. subjective reality war on my brain.
 
atheism is the belief in dis-belief
yeah that sounds stupid, hassle me if you must but atheism is dis-belief that a god exists, but i call it a belief in dis-belief because its almost as fashionable as hating george bush when he was president. atheism has become a big group of one sided closed-minded people who all think the same way and believe the same thing, virtually. thats why i think its a belief
 
Royal said:
You believe there is no God, so yes it's a belief.
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Welcome to the 'I only read the title and maybe the first couple posts of this thread' club. I haven't seen this reply on this thread yet (except the half dozen other people who said the same thing but who actually reads those?).

neverhood said:
atheism is the belief in dis-belief
yeah that sounds stupid, hassle me if you must but atheism is dis-belief that a god exists, but i call it a belief in dis-belief because its almost as fashionable as hating george bush when he was president. atheism has become a big group of one sided closed-minded people who all think the same way and believe the same thing, virtually. thats why i think its a belief
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Wtf is fashionable atheism? How is it a group of like-minded people? How do you have gatherings with people to discuss your shared non-belief? Do you think there are acryptozoologists who have meetings to talk about how they all don't believe in bigfoot or something? That opinion is about as well thought-out as people who try to organize anarchists. Anarchists unite is a punchline, not an actual slogan! Derp.

I guess you think cause some kids in your high school are all about reading The God Delusion it must mean the whole thing is just a fad. I'm sure they'll all go away in five years since atheism hasn't been around just as long as theism or anything. I'm sure there aren't any intelligent people who don't have rational, intelligent arguments to give or anything. I'm sure they all just reject religion on its face and have never studied it or anything. No, it's just a bunch of militant jerks looking for a minority group to bully. You realize the irony of how you're describing atheism, right?
 
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bickelz said:
Why not agnostic atheism? Agnostic just means indifferent. And many of these people believe in science.
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Because if it's agnostic it's not really a belief, I think the same thing about agnostic theism and I am one. Wouldn't say I believe in a god but I would say I think there probably is one, agnostic atheism works the same way.
 
ding ding ding, we have a wrong-er. YOU ARE INCORRECT, SIR. Agnosticisms IS a belief.
 
Oh this is good, let's ignore all the points already made in this thread and start over from the beginning only replacing the original thoughts and well thought out posts with just two or three people going 'nuh-uh' and 'yuh-huh!' over and over again without any context or evidence until one of you passes out first. First one to get carpal tunnel loses!

Fight!
 
Kierkagaard said:
Oh this is good, let's ignore all the points already made in this thread and start over from the beginning only replacing the original thoughts and well thought out posts with just two or three people going 'nuh-uh' and 'yuh-huh!' over and over again without any context or evidence until one of you passes out first. First one to get carpal tunnel loses!

Fight!
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Meh, I've already said what I think. it's all a matter of semantics anyway :D
 
"Belief" is just a word. Even if someone handed me the "perfect" definition of it (and "atheism" for that matter) I would gain nothing by knowing whether atheism is a belief. The label isn't what matters. What's in my head is what matters.
That said, as an atheist, I don't have to believe in atheism. To me, it is reality. Similarly a religious person might not have to believe in God, or heaven. They just know it's true - there's no sense trying to justify it to them.
 
Kierkagaard said:
Welcome to the 'I only read the title and maybe the first couple posts of this thread' club. I haven't seen this reply on this thread yet (except the half dozen other people who said the same thing but who actually reads those?).
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Did you forget your hot chocolate this morning? :)
I did read the thread. I agree with the half-dozen people who said the same thing. So I gave my opinion. Woohoo.
 
And with such a well-reasoned opinion with multiple interesting and researched point I'm sure it will be a fine addition to the discussion.
 
Gosh, I apologize, but I'm unable to read 6 pages of intellectual discourse now. I'm tired it's midnight here. : D

But I have my opinion. Long story short I think it's a belief.

What could confuse most people could be the thing that it is *not* *for* something, but rather *against* something. I. e. against the fact that there's a superior power and stuff. But it's equal to the belief *for* the non-existence of it so problem solved.

Okay, worst English sentence of mine ever.

:D
 
^ :P

There are two orientations: agnostic (i dunno) and gnostic (I do know)

As you can see, "I dunno" and "I do know" are pronounced so similarly that this may explain why they are often confused with each other.

Both theism and atheism can be either agnostic or gnostic.

Agnostic atheism: I don't have a belief in a god or gods, but ultimately, I don't know whether or not a god or gods exist.
Gnostic atheism: I know that there is no such thing as a god!

Agnostic theism: I have a belief in a god/gods, but ultimately, I can't know for sure.
Gnostic theism: I know that god/s exist!

Indifferent agnosticism: I don't know, nor do I care.


Atheism is a lack of a particular belief. "I have a belief in god." (theism) vs "I don't have a belief in god." (atheism)

"I have a red truck." (truckism) vs "I don't have a red truck." (atruckism)

Is atruckism the ownership of a red truck? :o

If a belief is gnostic, it is accompanied with a knowledge claim. In any case, this is quite irrational, considering that knowledge is particularly impossible to come by, these days.

That said, it's possible to hold pretty much any belief and still be agnostic. "I believe this, but I don't know for sure."


Agapooka
 
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