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71What is Atheism?
To understand the meaning of atheism, we must first examine what is meant by theism. Theism refers to the belief that some sort of god or gods exist. That is, a theist is someone who makes a specific claim (i.e., that a god or gods exist). This is what I will refer to as the theistic belief claim because a theist is one who believes that this claim is true.
Atheism is nothing more than the absence of theistic belief. That is, an atheist is one who does not accept the theistic belief claim. Atheism is not a religion, a philosophy, a worldview, or anything similar. It is not the conviction that there are no gods, ghosts, angels, etc. It is simply a lack of belief that any sort of god(s) exist.
Some have attempted to derive subcategories of atheism (e.g., positive, strong, radical, etc.), but these are neither necessary nor particularly useful for understanding atheism. Atheism is nothing more than the lack of belief in a god or gods.
The importance of this definition is that it reminds us that the burden of proof rests solely on the theist. The theist is the one making the belief claim, and like any other belief claim, it is reasonable to expect evidence in support of such a claim. If the theist fails to make a reasonable case, atheism is the only sensible position. This is how knowledge works - the group advocating belief in something bears the burden of proof. Nobody expects you to prove that you do not have a fairy godmother, but if you claim that you do, we all (including theists) expect evidence. Belief without evidence is intellectually dishonest to say the least.
For more information see:
- Defining Atheism: The Advantage of Parsimony
- Atheism is Not a Religion, Philosophy, Ideology, or Belief System
Learn About Atheism
- Atheist Revolution
Atheist Revolution is a blog dedicated to breaking free from irrational belief and opposing Christian extremism in America. - Squidoo Atheism Lens
This is a collection of information for persons wishing to learn more about atheism. - Ask the Atheists
Do you have questions for atheists? Ask them here. - What is Atheism Really All About?
Description of atheism and answers to common questions by Richard Carrier.
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- Idiot of the Week: John Boehner
Ah, Saturday at last. Time for another Idiot of the Week award. Let's get to it. When I first heard that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was calling for her teabagging supporters to converge on the Capitol to intimidate anyone who might actually support affordable health care, I knew there would be some idiocy on display. Would I have to honor Bachmann yet again in this series? It certainly looked like it. But then someone else would step forward at the last minute to take the prize. Let me set the stage a bit more. Pictured here to the left is Greenman, a Philadelphia figure made famous by the hillarious TV show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX). If you haven't been watching it, you are missing out. I am convinced it is the best comedy on TV these days. The thing about Greenman is that he is supposed to be funny. When someone dons a Greenman costume, they are going to get attention and laughs. Nothing wrong with that at all. Why the hell am I bringing this up? Good question. I am doing so because I'd like to contrast the image of Greenman with another famous figure, one that is equally hillarious but also pathetic because he isn't meant to be funny. Ladies and gentlemen, I present this week's idiot - Orangeman. That's right, this Idiot of the Week award goes to Rep. John Boehner (R-OH). What did our winner do to deserve this award? As House Minority Leader, making him a prominent Republican leader in Congress, Rep. Boehner should have known better than to participate in Rep. Bachmann's embarrassing protest. She is well known for her crazy, but Boehner is supposed to be respectable and represent the GOP establishment rather than the fringe. By speaking at her teabagger rally on the Capitol steps, he wholeheartedly embraced her particular brand of crazy and signaled that this is the modern Republican party. Let him be known not just for his bad spray tan or tendency to sob like Glenn Beck but also for willingly associating himself with birther nutjobs comparing health care to Nazi concentration camps. And yet, this was not enough for Rep. Boehner. During his speech, he proudly displayed a copy of the U.S. Constitution and quoted from it. The problem was, it was not the Constitution he was quoting from but the Declaration of Independence. An honest mistake for you and me, but this is a powerful Congressman who is supposed to know something about our Constitution. This is the second time Rep. Boehner has been honored here. Something tells me it won't be the last. Subscribe to Atheist Revolution Copyright © 2008 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement.
- Christian Bigotry in Maine
Many people donated money in support of recent efforts to repeal civil rights in Maine, and they were successful in passing "Question 1." As Zack Ford points out after reviewing research by the National Institute on Money in State Politics,Of the donations supporting the anti-gay Yes on 1 measure in Maine, 89% ($3 million) came from churches, Christian organizations, and their employees. The Catholic Church alone directly contributed $553,608.27.Now that's some serious Christian bigotry! Subscribe to Atheist Revolution Tags: Christian, bigotry, Maine, civil rights Copyright © 2008 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement.
- Christian Extremism Alive and Well
I agree completely with Americans United for Separation of Church and State that there are important lessons in the recent elections in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the abolition of civil rights in Maine. Christian extremism is alive and well. According to Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of AU,I wish I could say the Religious Right is dead, but this election shows that reports of its demise are inaccurate. The pundits who announced the Religious Right's demise in 2008 were simply wrong.He's right. While nobody is saying that the outcome of these elections was solely based on Christian extremist influence, nobody should deny that there was an influence....Americans need to know that this movement's leaders are still influential in American politics. They haven't given up on their crusade to impose their fundamentalist beliefs on everyone through government action.Our work is not finished. Not by a long shot. Subscribe to Atheist Revolution Tags: Americans United, Barry Lynn, Christian extremism, Virginia, New Jersey, Maine Copyright © 2008 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement.
- Left Wing Hate Speech
Image by Getty Images via DaylifeCourtesy of Fox "News" and a plethora of right-wing talk radio personalities, the airwaves are filled with right-wing hate. The influence of these pervasive messages is undeniable. But what about left-wing hate speech? Few would deny that the left harbors it's fair share of idiocy, but I have trouble finding much that could be considered left-wing hate speech. So many voices on the right complain about it regularly, but where is it? We should examine some recent high-profile left-wing flubs, focusing on those that seem to elicit the most outrage from the right. Take Rep. Alan Grayson's (D-FL) use of the word "holocaust" when pointing out how many Americans die simply because they do not have health insurance. You've heard the outrage from the right, and you've seen how Rep. Grayson has been accused of trivializing the Holocaust. I agree with those on the right that this was a poor choice of words, just as I agree with those on the left that Christian extremists' recurrent use of the holocaust label when discussing abortion is a poor choice of words. But while I might disagree with Rep. Grayson's word choice, I don't see this as anywhere close to hate speech. Unlike those issuing death threats against atheist bloggers or President Obama, Rep. Grayson was not calling for anyone to be killed. Unlike those hoping for military coups against Obama, Grayson was not calling for the Constitution to be abolished. Distasteful? Perhaps. Hate speech? Not even close. What else? Surely the left is guilty of disparaging Republicans. Rep. Grayson did so recently on Maddow, and Olbermann makes a nightly practice of it on his show. They often sound angry, resort to name calling, and could fairly be accused of lacking in civility in the tradition of GOP hero, Rep. Joe Wilson. I get all that. But hate speech? Maybe Olbermann regularly calls for the death of those with whom he disagrees - maybe he even prays for it, but if so, why is it that I always seem to miss those episodes? Maybe these aren't fair comparisons because the extreme right is currently out of power. Maybe I need to focus on the left-wing rage directed at Bush and Cheney. I remember hearing (and writing) all sorts of negative stuff about them. I continue to believe that the Bush regime committed war crimes and should be tried as war criminals. But this isn't hate speech anymore than Republican calls for the impeachment and criminal trial of President Clinton were hate speech. When right-wing extremists call President Obama a fascist or a Communist, it simply indicates that they do not know what those terms mean. But when they call for his death or not-so-subtly suggest that he should be overthrown, we're witnessing something else entirely. And it is something that I don't recall seeing from the left. Subscribe to Atheist Revolution Tags: right-wing, hate, politics Copyright © 2008 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement.
- Coming Out Atheist: Is Losing Your Relationship Worth It?
You are in an intimate relationship, and you'd just as soon remain that way. The problem is, s/he is religious while you have come to doubt your faith. After some deep reflection, you have come to the conclusion that you just don't believe all this god stuff anymore. But you are worried that telling your partner about this may irreparably damage your relationship. What do you do? I can't decide what is right for you in such a case, but I will offer my thoughts on the matter for you to consider. I'll start by saying that I think the situation I have described, difficult as it is, tends to be far easier than a similar scenario involving one's family. After all, most people will have many more intimate partners during the course of their lives than they will have families. The central question I would want to ask myself in such a predicament is as follows:How important is it that my partner loves me for being me rather than for being something that want me to be that I am not?If I do not believe in gods, I would not want to pretend that I did. I would have a hard time remaining in a relationship with someone around whom I did not feel like I could be myself. I would want to give my partner an opportunity to know the real me. It is fairly common for people in a relationship to be as attracted to the potential of someone rather than to the actual person. And yet, it has been my experience that such relationships are often doomed if they do not quickly progress beyond this point. If I am in love with what I want someone to be rather than what they really are, I'm resigning myself to being perpetually disappointed and unhappy. One could reasonably argue that this wouldn't be a relationship at all but merely a form of narcissism. It is difficult to imagine it working in the long run. Of course, one may decide that maintaining this particular relationship is worthwhile, even if it means concealing one's true self. This wouldn't be my choice, but it is not my place to fault you if it is yours. Being an atheist can be lonely, and there is little point in denying that. Subscribe to Atheist Revolution Tags: atheist, relationship, faith, family, love Copyright © 2008 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement.
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Here are acouple of blogs in response to your "Call For Posts On Atheism." If you like these and are intested in more, please email me. Both of these blogs stimulated a lot of discussion so the comment section is worth checking out.
<a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog. Sam Harris and Paul Kurtz both get it wrong?</a>
<a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog. Of Dogma: The First Atheist Billboard</a>
My apologies, I just relized you wanted my above comment posted on your blog.
religion is good,how else would you keep weak minded people in line.think about it if they knew there was no god what reason would they have to be good.
atheism is a great topic for discussion.
if atheism is true, how do you define what's moral and what's not? also, if you're an atheist, than you believe in natural selection, survival of the fitest. that means if you kill someone, that just means you're more fit to live than the other person and eventually, the type of person that you killed will evolve away.
also, have you heard of pascal's wager? it's statistically better for you to believe in God than not.
David C, you have such old arguments, they have been refuted in every way possible. Thats why i am only gonna give you a short version.
Morality has nothing to do with religion. Why? Simple, as a herding type of animal, i have everything to gain by not hurnting you. If i dont hurt you, you dont hurt me and well, we can work as a team to survive.
Even so, if religion provided such perfect morals, why are there still murders?
Pascal's wager go's for xians two. Do you know how many gods there are, so how do you know you are whorshipping the right one? Pascal's wager is just a logical phalacy.
THE MEANING OF LIFE 1. THE PURPOSE OF MAN’S EXISTENCE Who we are? Why are we in this world? Where are we going? Have you ever asked yourself why this questions and what the meaning of the human life is? No matter what type of person you are or what your profession is, there are a few things which you, like most people, would agree with, that is: Money cannot satisfy man; neither can education satisfies man, nor can Pleasure do not satisfy man, Nor can success satisfy man. WHY? Because you have not yet realized:
2. GOD’S PLAN God has a plan. Which is to deposit his life into man his plan has everything to do with man? In the bible there are tree different words in Greek to designated the word “life”
1. Bios referring to the biological life our body 2. Psycho referring to the soul logical means study. The word Psychology means the study of the soul, emotions, mind and will. 3. There is another word for life that is Zoe the highest life. Whenever the bible speaks of eternal life speak of Zoe. In a Greek dictionary you will find the distinction. This is the reason why, Gods plan with the man he created, in first place is not to bring him to heaven, neither to save Him from hell. But to receive the life that was not created. God’s life. His plan with man is complete, from creation, while living in earth, and the future. This is the reason why God created man different than the rest of his creation
1. MAN HAS GOD’S IMAGE Please read the following verse: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness....”Genesis 1:26a God’s creation of man is different from His creation of all other things. He created man in His own image. A glove is created according to the likeness of a hand with the purpose of containing the hand.Likewise, man was created in the image of God with the purpose of containing God. 2. MAN IS A VESSEL Now read the next verse: God “should make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy...even us.”Romans 9:23-24 We are vessels of God. God wants to be our content. As bottles are made to contain water, we are made to contain God. It is no wonder that knowledge, wealth, pleasure, and accomplishment can never satisfy you, for you were created to contain God! 3. THE PARTS OF MAN Please continue by reading the next verse: “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete?”1 Thessalonians 5:23 Man is God’s vessel. The Bible divides this vessel into three parts—the spirit, the soul, and the body. See diagram below: The BODY is simply the physical body, belonging to the physiological level, contacting the things of the material realm, and is the most superficial part. The SOUL is the mental faculty, belonging to the psychological level, contacting the things of the mental realm, and is a deeper part. The SPIRIT is the deepest part of man, belonging to the spiritual level, and contacts the things of God. For problems of the body one may see a doctor. For problems of the mind one may visit a psychiatrist. Yet only God can solve the problems of the spirit.
4. THE MEANING OF LIFE God wants to enter into man’s spirit, to become his content and his satisfaction. This is the purpose of human existence! You are not merely created to contain food in your stomach, or to contain knowledge in your mind, but you are created to contain God in your spirit.
1. THE TWO NATURES OF MAN
Since man was made in the image of God, he possesses a good nature that matches God’s nature, with virtues such as truthfulness, goodness, loveliness, wisdom, kindness, and valor. However, there is also an evil nature in man which wars against his good nature. The Chinese met physicists refer to this war as a battle between reason and lust. Throughout history, both in the East and West, those who understand human nature acknowledge the existence of this evil nature which the Bible calls: 2. SIN
Because sin is in man, he is unable to carry out his good intentions.No one likes to be greedy, jealous, or murderous. No one likes to be boastful, arrogant, or deceitful. No one likes to be irritable, licentious, or lustful. No one likes to murmur, complain, or curse. Nevertheless, man cannot escape his evil nature. Please read the following verses: “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to do the good is not.”Romans 7:18 “But if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that do it but sin that dwells in me.”Romans 7:20 This is a portrait of man.
3. THE FALL OF MAN Sin entered into man and caused him to fall. See diagram below: (1) Sin caused man’s spirit to be deadened: “And you, being dead in your offenses and sins.”Ephesians 2:1 (2) Sin caused man’s mind to rebel: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by evil works.”Colossians 1:21 (3) Sin caused man’s body to sin: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to obey its lusts.”Romans 6:12 The fallen man is like: A damaged and untunable radio which cannot receive and play music, but rather meaningless noise. He is also like:A cup that has fallen into the gutter still having its original fine form but now covered with mud.
4. MAN CANNOT SAVE HIMSELF Throughout history, man has tried every possible way to escape sin, but he has found that: Good works cannot save him from sin. Education cannot save him from sin. Ethics cannot save him from sin. Chanting cannot save him from sin.Religion cannot save him from sin. This picture of man simply depicts the battle between his good nature and his evil nature.
1. WHO IS CHRIST? Christ is the Savior sent from God to the world to solve the problems of human life. He is the embodiment of the Triune God. “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”Colossians 2:9 He is also God incarnated: “The Word was God...the Word became flesh and tabernacle among us...full of grace and reality.”John 1:1, 14 Therefore, He is both the complete God and the perfect man. See the following diagram: He is more than a good man! He is more than a great man! He is more than moral man! He is more than a holy man! He is the God-man!
2. THE DEATH OF THE GOD-MAN This God-man was nailed to the cross to accomplish the work of redemption. He died with three statuses: (1) As the Lamb of God, He died to take away man’s sin. “...the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”John 1:29 (2) As the brass serpent that had been lifted up, He died to crush the old serpent, Satan, and to deal with the serpent’s poison within man—his sinful nature. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”John 3:14 (3) As a grain of wheat, He died to release the divine life. “...a grain of wheat...dies, it bears much fruit.”John 12:24 NOW: His death has taken away the sin which man has but should not have!His death imparts into man the life which he needs but does not have!
1. THE TWO BECOMINGS OF CHRIST
God became flesh, born as a man called Jesus. Please read the following verse: “The Word became flesh and tabernacle among us.”John 1:14 The Lord became the Spirit called the life-giving Spirit by His resurrection from the dead. Read the following verse: “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.”1 Corinthians 15:45 Since this Spirit is the life-giving Spirit, He dispenses God with His life into His believers. Hence, the Bible says: “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”1 John 5:12
2. REGENERATING MAN In his first birth, man obtains a physical life. When man receives God’s life through Christ, he experiences a second birth, which the Bible calls regeneration. “God...has regenerated us...through the resurrection of Jes
Dear rafael: this is a hub on ATHEISM where you can post a comment whether you agree or not. It is not a place for you to write a 3 page dissertation on your level of understanding of "the lamb". If you want to learn more about why religion is obsolete, and yet another explanation of how the mind works and why we can do well enough without superstition, please read my hub: http://hubpages.com/hub/A-Kingdom-of-One.
I hope it will help you with your struggle. VJACK, keep up the great work, I am also an avid supporter of Pat Condell.
Thanks for this hub. I've been feeling a bit outnumbered in several discussions on this site. This is refreshing. It's nice to know there are other thinking minds out there. I've written a few hubs directly opposing the Christian faith. Check them out if you're interested.
Let God speak for himself. If he exist. I'm taking the first road that is credible whether it be evolution or whatever. Freedom before slavery.
There is no way a Christian will ever tolerate an atheist. Have you ever been to a church? Christian's are non excepting to non conformist who happen to be Christian's. Christian's would not get along with me very easy. God may exist and if he does that is good but Christian really suck. These Hubs are kind of lame with Christian's looking for some special attention acting knowledgeable about everything. I can't imagine a person can actually talk about God and be scientifically credible even if God does exist. God would not had made faith if he wanted you to prove something. That is what it is all about is faith,. God made faith not knowing mandatory. I have read thee bible a lot. Either in ecclesiastics or one of the books of Solomon it says.,"Be educated in nothing at all, but just trust in the Lord." Yes it is actually there I just can not reference it by the verse. So for true believers it's nothing more than a powerful God, not the original sin of knowledge.
I will make the following comments:
Evolution based on the scientific evidence should be a LAW not a THEORY when considering the standards of evaluation say for Newtons Laws.
I'm an atheist who's spent plenty of time in church and I've also never persecuted GOD's people does that make me a goat?
I am sick of listening to people who call themselves Christians without understanding Jesus' teachings - which admittedly have been adulterated by the 'church' over the years.
I'm bored (and scared) by the small mined people in this world.
Why does faith deserve respect?
Matt Sunderland says:
2 years ago
Nice definition! The term should be more inclusive; labeling people as "not real atheists" is silly. Though I'm not quite sure having the voluntary ability to distinguish yourself as a "strong atheist" is not useful.
It might be hard to capture this definition is a formal debate though, because the consequence is capturing the supperrogative, something usually only "agnostics" get.