According to the above given definition, then Christians and all adherents of monotheistic religions are atheists for they don’t believe in gods :rolleyes:
isn’t ironic that not to believe in something, is also a belief ?
Strictly speaking, atheists should be called “non-theists.” True “atheists” would be the people who don’t really care whether there is a god . . . whom I call “shrugnostics.”
how can you be against something you deny its existence ?
there many meanings of the word ‘atheist’ so it is always better to ask an ‘atheist’ for his position or ‘belief’
I wish the terminology was clearer, for sure.
I’m not sure if this helps though.
If “non-theist” just means lack of belief in god, then virtually all shrugnostics are also non-theists.
Conversely if it means an explicit belief that there is not a god then many current atheists are neither non-theists (I don’t claim to know there is no god, I just feel the same about god as I do about invisible pink unicorns) nor shrugnostics.
I’m an atheist, and an antitheist, and if deities exist, I’d be a misotheist.
As for why? I think Pratchett had it right - humans have a design flaw. It’s our tendency to bend at the knees. It’s a flaw I try and overcome. “Last priest, last prince”, that’s the world I want to live in.
“Apatheists” is the term I like for them.
As for my vote, I absolutely do not wish there were a god. If only because this universe seems to be working, if a bit off kilter, and I wouldn’t want to change a basic underlying principle just in order to see (or not, if things went South… :eek:**) how it works out.
When I was younger, I occasionally thought it would be nice if one existed. But after learning more about religion and human nature I don’t.
For a time I did try the UU church but, at least the ones I met, were on the extreme liberal side of the spectrum. I believe the pastor (is that what they’re called?) had a picture of Lenin in his office. I felt about as comfortable there as I would at a uber conservative evangelical church.
Some handsome dude started a thread on the subject not too long ago. The consensus was “On the contrary, I’m glad that there is no evidence for the proposition.”, but it wasn’t quite as cut-and-dried as I was anticipating.
I wish there was a god all the time. Probably at least every day. I used to be a devout Christian as a teen, and there was a sense of safety, a sense of “everything’s going to be okay,” that helped me through the hardest times. And when I suffered, I suffered for a higher purpose.
I find the very concept of existence rather terrifying. It kills me that as humans we are so vulnerable to pain and suffering, that my world can be flipped upside-down on a dime. That I can die slowly of cancer, or lose my husband, or be tortured to death, horrifies me beyond my ability to explain. To have no meaning to justify the suffering is the hardest part. I used to be very existential about all this, very “Well I’ll create my own meaning, then,” but lately that isn’t doing it for me. I just don’t see the point in existence.
So yeah, God would help. But not the Christian god. I’ve learned all too well what a double-edged sword that is.
Not a a god in the Big Capital G God, but…ghosts, maybe. Something. Actually, I wished I believed in an afterlife.
I don’t want to have to worship any god, regardless of any promised benefits.
What if “worship” is not required?
What if “acknowledgement” would do?
What if he actually was the proverbial all-loving god who would take you to heaven/whatever even if you never admitted he existed?
What a useless god that would be.
I didn’t think anyone would vote “Yes” flat out.
If it was a god who helped out once in a while, then yeah, sure, that would be cool. Beats this layabout we’ve got now. The biggest miracles I’ve heard of Him doing in the past century involve leukemia remissions (which seem to happen every once in a while regardless of religion) or Mike Eruzione.
All the so-called “Gods” I’ve read about are assholes–not unlike the people who created them.
It depends. A world where gods, demons, angels and spirits were real would be interesting. It would also be infinitely more terrifying no doubt. OTHOH, I’d make a kickass supernatural critter hunter.
No… I don’t wish there is a God, or a dragon, or a fairy. Mythical creatures are… well… mythical for a reason.
Who wouldn’t like to live forever in bliss? I sure would. But I don’t know how to believe that there is any god, though. People tell me I chose not to believe in a god but they are wrong, but they won’t listen. They believe I chose to be an atheist. But I didn’t.
Who wouldn’t want to live forever in bliss? I sure would. But I don’t know how to believe that there is any god, though. People tell me I chose not to believe in a god but they are wrong, but they won’t listen. They believe I chose to be an atheist. But I didn’t.