Is this an Accurate and Easily understood definition of Atheism?

[Tcg]

.
I recently heard this definition of atheism:

"Atheism is the condition of not believing that a God or deity exists."

I think it is clearer than the one I usually espouse which is that atheism is the lack of belief in god/gods. The only issue I have with is its singular nature. Perhaps, Atheism is the condition of not believing that any gods or deities exist, would be better.

Is this a good definition?


Tcg

[TRANSPONDER]

A = Tunnel of Birth
B = First Steps
C = Decision made on the question of GOD
D = Non - Theism
E = Other
F = Theism
G = Tunnel of Death

Non theism is ok. Nobody said it wasn't. So long as it is understood that it means the same as atheism. Dennett wanted to make "Brights" a specious synonym for atheism. It would have meant the same thing. That ought to resolve your confusion, but I suspect it won't.

The confusion is claiming a middle way 'other'. There may be, some sort of fence -sitter who doesn't know whether they beleive in a god or not. Largely though the logic (of agnosticism) is that nobody knows and the logically mandated defaulyt is non -belief. or atheism. People who do not know but believe are illogical. .

That is the simple and logically solid position. But of course people are people and there is the factor of the sliding scale of persuasive evidence or the understanding ot it. Those are mitigating fac tors and human factors, but they do not alter the valid logical structure nor the terms used to denote the elements of it. 'Other' is a postulated middle way that forms no part of the logical structure. It is arguable that it exists even in human nature.

look at it another way - God belief requires understanding of the concept to have it. Thus anything short of that buy - in to god belief is non theism (atheism). Logically, there is no 'other'.

[oldbadger]

Atheism is as cool as the Webb telescope (in both senses ) I'll leave it to others to have mental meltdowns.

We can only pray that Big-G doesn't pop a really big meteor through it.
(Sorry......... I'm being daft).

[TRANSPONDER]

We like a bit of daft as relief from the intensity of the real serious ongoing debate, which can really take it out of one. I found that I had to cultivate a Mindset or Attitude to debate - one of which is have fun, because if you can't do that it can become a real chore, and nobody is paying us.

[William]

[Replying to TRANSPONDER in post #451]

[TRANSPONDER]

Before we are born? We don't exist. After it? We are 'atheist' until we are taught a religion. Whichever one is the national flag in wherever we live.

Was that your point? It would be handy if you told us rather than leaving us to guess.

[Tcg]

Before we are born? We don't exist. After it? We are 'atheist' until we are taught a religion. Whichever one is the national flag in wherever we live.

Was that your point? It would be handy if you told us rather than leaving us to guess.

I suspect we'll be left to guess. Wasn't it Mark Twain who said something like I didn't mind not existing before I was born, and I won't mind not existing after I'm dead. Death is only a problem for the living. The dead don't worry about it or anything else at all for that matter. They're dead after all.


Tcg

[Inquirer]

Before we are born? We don't exist. After it? We are 'atheist' until we are taught a religion. Whichever one is the national flag in wherever we live.

Was that your point? It would be handy if you told us rather than leaving us to guess.

I suspect we'll be left to guess. Wasn't it Mark Twain who said something like I didn't mind not existing before I was born, and I won't mind not existing after I'm dead. Death is only a problem for the living. The dead don't worry about it or anything else at all for that matter. They're dead after all.

Perhaps you're thinking of Woody Allen who said "I'm not afraid of dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens".

[TRANSPONDER]

Before we are born? We don't exist. After it? We are 'atheist' until we are taught a religion. Whichever one is the national flag in wherever we live.

Was that your point? It would be handy if you told us rather than leaving us to guess.

I suspect we'll be left to guess. Wasn't it Mark Twain who said something like I didn't mind not existing before I was born, and I won't mind not existing after I'm dead. Death is only a problem for the living. The dead don't worry about it or anything else at all for that matter. They're dead after all.

Perhaps you're thinking of Woody Allen who said "I'm not afraid of dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens".

Not quite that, not if it means someone else going through it while we just switch off. We are responsible persons, after all, But it has a point - non existing isn't a problem. The process of dying may not always be pleasant.

[oldbadger]

I suspect we'll be left to guess. Wasn't it Mark Twain who said something like I didn't mind not existing before I was born, and I won't mind not existing after I'm dead. Death is only a problem for the living. The dead don't worry about it or anything else at all for that matter. They're dead after all.
Tcg

I was dead for countless billions of years and it was alright.
After this life I will be dead for countless billions of years and it will be alright.

Oh, come with old Khayyam and leave the Wise,
To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies;
One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown forever dies.

[TRANSPONDER]

Or to paraphrase a meme, "The wise discover stuff, so we don't have to." That is, Khayyam and the rest can drink and be lazy all their lives, and that's fine. But their lives don't matter. Those ones that satisfy human curiosity (which for me is what makes us human) - the Wise, do us a service and the ones who take what they want and flip off the rest (the virtue -signalling Luddism of what I think of as the Tolkien fallacy) do not. Not unless they put aside the wine and take the pains to write poetry.

But that wasn't your point, it was that Life is finite, and it needs to be, dying though it might not be pleasant, is something that happens and certainly can't be used to frighten atheists into religion. Meltdown about dying is something that seems to bother the religious more. Aside that our posting pal's point was that we can't be in control of our lives (rather than leaving it all to Jesus - which the believers don't do; they order their lives as much as any theist, but claim it's all down to Jesus) because we die at the end of it. As some genius (I mean clever guy) posted here - "No point in eating dinner because we'll die one day". It's no valid argument and is just more equivication -based misdirection by the theist apologists.

It's remarkable how often they try to tangle, complicate and obfuscate ideas and results - something we used to cause 'water muddying'. While at the same time over simplifying things that do have many possibilities - like appeal to unknowns. There they see it as God is the only possibility lurking in the unknown. Anything else is simply ignored. That is of course the failure of Pascal's wager - it assumes there is only One god to bet on. But this has always been the fallacy at the heart of Theisthink, and one that makes it irrational from start to finish.

And I'd better end there before I drive everyone from the pub.