This is Eric Mortensen's blog. He works @ Blip and lives in Brooklyn.
You define athiesm as “To assume that you know with no amount of uncertainty how The Universe was created”. Atheism has nothing to do with that. Atheists simply say, “due to a complete lack of evidence, I do not believe in deities.” That’s it. Nothing more. There’s certainly nothing about atheism that asserts an understanding of how the universe was created. In fact, there’s nothing about atheism that involves having an opinion about the universe at all. However, it’s likely that most atheists do believe the latest scientific evidence of the creation of the universe.If someone was raised in the middle of nowhere and never encountered anyone who believed in god, he’d be an atheist simply by virtue of never having heard of the “guy”. This person is no different than I am, in that neither of us have seen evidence of god and therefor are not compelled to believe in its existence. That’s fact, not faith.
That is incorrect. There is a difference between believing in no God and not believing in God. I actively believe that there is no God. Someone who had never heard of God would not be an Atheist because they would not have an opinion on the matter.
I also take fault with your assertion that there is a complete lack of evidence for Theism as well. While I don’t think that the evidence is credible enough to sway my belief, there’s certainly no lack of it.
Faith does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. That’s what makes it faith. If you have evidence, you don’t require faith. If you have faith, you don’t require evidence.
The person who’d never heard of god would have an opinion if you suddenly showed up and asked him about it. And his answer would likely be identical to mine, being that neither of us have seen credible evidence of god’s existence.
If there was credible proof of god, religion would take more of a back seat role in life. God would take a seat right next to gravity, DNA and the Internet. The lack of evidence is what elevates it above everything else.
i would say that most atheists would probably hate to have their non-believing beliefs called “faith”, if only because...
I’m curious to hear this “evidence for Theism.” That sounds fascinating. Not a general “god concept,” but Theism?! Let’s...
Julia says, “Atheism is a religion like NOT collecting stamps is a hobby…. I don’t believe in agnostics…” I love it.
Faith does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. That’s what makes it faith. If you have evidence, you don’t...
I think there is a misasumption here - Not Believing In God and Believing There Is No God are not the same thing, though...
God botherers often accuse atheists of having “faith” that there is no god, demonstrating that they really don’t know...
Good stuff. Personally I’m agnostic. I’m not swayed by the arguments for or against the existence of God. I believe that...
I think the confusion here is that what Justin is arguing for is anti-theism, which does require a kind of belief....
I just don’t have it in me to get into this debate today, so I’ll leave it with a pithy - yet accurate - comment:...
incorrect. There...difference between believing in no God and
http://atheism.about.com/od/atheismmyths/a/faith.htm sums this up nicely, Dawkins also has a nice treatment of this, I...
worship the glitch:...as faith Key word “believe”. Debate 101: Don’t void your...
Huh? That’s completely backward. Nothing...irrefutable. By your definition, evolution
i have to call bullshit on...one. Don’t get me wrong - JD is one of few people who i...