Many Christians like to say, "Atheists believe there is no God." But atheism is not a belief there is no God because to have a belief is to hold a proposition. There are thousands of other things that Christians, like atheists, do not have a belief in, from Sasquatch to elves. If the mechanism is correct that the non-existence of God is a proposition held by atheists, then both Christians and atheists must also have matching propositions for the non-existence of all other imaginary things, which clearly we do not, since we can only name a few.
So for the record:
Christians believe in the existence of Yahweh and they do not believe in the existence of Zeus.
Atheists do not believe in the existence of Yahweh and they also do not believe in the existence of Zeus.
Perhaps the underlying motivation for some Christians to say atheists believe there is no God is a suspicion they have that believing in something is inferior to understanding something. And perhaps it is enabled by the same sloppy reasoning that results in some Christians saying evolution is “only a theory� as if that were a bad thing.
"Atheists believe there is no God"
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Re: "Atheists believe there is no God"
Post #311That is blatantly a falsehood, foist that sort of horse pucky off on your coreligionists, but please, drop the pretense with those of us who know better, it is downright insulting.paarsurrey1 wrote: [Replying to post 299 by DrNoGods]
So, sorry, I believe that one even did not read the teachings of Jesus as one thinks that Islam/Quran/Muhammad and the Pauline-Christianity are one and the same. One's generalization is wrong.DrNoGods
it is realized that it is based on belief in a supernatural god being similar to Christianity
But then there is no compulsion for one to see the things closely and intently. There is nothing like "supernatural" in Quran/Islam/Muhammad, please.
Regards
Re: "Atheists believe there is no God"
Post #312You seem to having trouble with your English, so let me be clearer: it is from direct observation, it is falsifiable, it is reproducible, so it may legitimately be called science.paarsurrey1 wrote: [Replying to post 305 by H.sapiens]
H.sapiens
Atheism is the default mode. We are all born atheists and later in life a religion is indoctrinated into some of us.paarsurrey1
Is it from:
~science or
~from a Revealed Religion or
~just one's conjecture, please?
Kindly make us all wise in the regards, please.
Regardsguess and science!!!???H.sapiens
It is from direct observation, I guess one could call that science ... atheism is the state that in which we are all born.
Regards
Re: "Atheists believe there is no God"
Post #313Would that I could. Wisdom requires, at least, a slightly open mind. There are many English sayings about having an open mind, here are a few for you to ponder:
Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
If you don't go through life with an open mind, you will find a lot of closed doors.
Many a person thinks he or she has an open mind, when it is merely vacant.
A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.
An open mind is better than a clenched fist.
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.
Open your mind before your mouth.
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Re: "Atheists believe there is no God"
Post #314[Replying to post 295 by paarsurrey1]
The default position is unquestionably a lack of knowledge and hence a lack of belief in any gods. The geographical distribution of different religions strongly points to childhood indoctrination as the source of all knowledge and belief in particular gods. It's good to see that the internet has broken the tyranny of distance allowing people from anywhere to examine and question religious beliefs more closely in the safety of their homes. The outcome appears to be the gradual shedding of this lingering superstitious nonsense.
If that was true everyone in the world would begin life with the same belief in the same god. That is not the case. People have invented and worshipped countless gods throughout human history. Your god is actually a relatively new kid on the block.Belief in the One-True-God is the default position
The default position is unquestionably a lack of knowledge and hence a lack of belief in any gods. The geographical distribution of different religions strongly points to childhood indoctrination as the source of all knowledge and belief in particular gods. It's good to see that the internet has broken the tyranny of distance allowing people from anywhere to examine and question religious beliefs more closely in the safety of their homes. The outcome appears to be the gradual shedding of this lingering superstitious nonsense.
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Re: "Atheists believe there is no God"
Post #315[Replying to post 307 by paarsurrey1]
Are you claiming that Christianity and Islam do not worship the same "God of Abraham" (forget Jesus and his purported role as it is clear various Abrahamic religions do not agree on those details)? Or that this god is not a supernatural entity of some sort?
In the Quran there's the Biblical story of Jacob asking his sons whom they'll worship after his death. "Jacob's sons replied, 'We will worship the God of your fathers' — Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac. He is the God." Is this not the same god that muslims worship today?
The Quran also asserts that the Torah and the Gospel are inspired scripture and that Jews and Christians are people of the Book. The Quran tells Muslims to say to them, “our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender� (29.46).
There are obviously differences in interpretation of exactly how this god works among the various Abrahamic religions, but I don't think you can legitimately claim that Christians and Muslims (and Jews) do not worship the same basic God of Abraham, or that this god is not a supernatural entity of some sort ... unless you practice some unusual form of Islam.
So, sorry, I believe that one even did not read the teachings of Jesus as one thinks that Islam/Quran/Muhammad and the Pauline-Christianity are one and the same. One's generalization is wrong.
But then there is no compulsion for one to see the things closely and intently. There is nothing like "supernatural" in Quran/Islam/Muhammad, please.
Are you claiming that Christianity and Islam do not worship the same "God of Abraham" (forget Jesus and his purported role as it is clear various Abrahamic religions do not agree on those details)? Or that this god is not a supernatural entity of some sort?
In the Quran there's the Biblical story of Jacob asking his sons whom they'll worship after his death. "Jacob's sons replied, 'We will worship the God of your fathers' — Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac. He is the God." Is this not the same god that muslims worship today?
The Quran also asserts that the Torah and the Gospel are inspired scripture and that Jews and Christians are people of the Book. The Quran tells Muslims to say to them, “our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender� (29.46).
There are obviously differences in interpretation of exactly how this god works among the various Abrahamic religions, but I don't think you can legitimately claim that Christians and Muslims (and Jews) do not worship the same basic God of Abraham, or that this god is not a supernatural entity of some sort ... unless you practice some unusual form of Islam.
In human affairs the sources of success are ever to be found in the fountains of quick resolve and swift stroke; and it seems to be a law, inflexible and inexorable, that he who will not risk cannot win.
John Paul Jones, 1779
The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.
Mark Twain
John Paul Jones, 1779
The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.
Mark Twain
Re: "Atheists believe there is no God"
Post #316You are entitled to defend your belief system, though sometimes it seems you fight against a hurricane. It may be that you are taking an unusual interpretation of "supernatural" but it is commonly accepted that strange invisible beings that do us mischief belong to the supernatural. Islam has these in the form of djinn.paarsurrey1 wrote:
There is nothing like "supernatural" in Quran/Islam/Muhammad, please.