Regarding Atheism
Of some of the first of these , I'm concerned that the arguments may degenerate into ad hominem and cease to have credibility or validity. We'll have to see. Regardless, we must regard atheism as a system of belief--a religion (it's claims are no more "provable" than those of religion) and as a system of belief subject to the same abuses and delusional behaviors one sees in some of the fringe elements of any religion. One must attack the inconsistency in thought and argument--never the person.
atheistdelusion.net
Investigating Atheism
Science and Religion Aren't Friends
Walls of Mush: Science and Religion Aren't Friends:rebuttal
atheistdelusion.net
Investigating Atheism
Science and Religion Aren't Friends
Walls of Mush: Science and Religion Aren't Friends:rebuttal
Explain how atheism is a system of belief. I can see how secular humanism is, which many aggressive atheist tend to be, but not atheism as a whole.
ReplyDeleteDear Dontonberry,
ReplyDeleteJust as theism is a system of belief positing at its central tenet an unprovable proposition--that a God exists, atheism has as its main and central prop an unprovable proposition--God does not exist.
That makes both theism and atheism a system of belief. There are certainly innumerable subsystems. But the taxonomy has as its highest element--call it the Domain--Theism and Atheism--both systems of thinking that rely upon a faith proposition in a (pardon the pun) crucial position with respect to any other proposition.
shalom,
Steven
"Just as theism is a system of belief positing at its central tenet an unprovable proposition--that a God exists, atheism has as its main and central prop an unprovable proposition--God does not exist."
ReplyDeleteHi Steven, it's impossible to demonstrate the non-existence of X. Which is why a philosophically mature "atheist," I'm reluctant to even use the term, is content to show that the arguments used to demonstrate the existence of God don't work.
In other words, an "atheist" is someone who denies the "thesis" that God exists.
That's all.
Cheers,
Kevin
Atheism encompasses those that positively assert god does not exist, and those who think it is just unlikely. But for that to be a "system of belief", in of itself, makes an incredibly simplistic system when compared to theistic positions. I could also refer to deism as a belief system, but still a rather simple one compared to the many theistic positions. Theism not only claims god exists, but also to have knowledge of that god and how he interacts with the world.
ReplyDeleteI still do not understand why theist claim it is good to have faith in god, but also want to claim atheist have to have faith to not believe in god. It really undermines everything I was ever taught as to what it means to have faith. And further, if atheism is a religion that all atheist are a part of, then theism necessarily is a religion that all people who believe in god(s) are a part of. It is fallacious, for the sake of argument, to consider atheism a religion of its own. Such deductions of the words religion and faith only serve to weaken your argument.