Isn't it true in today's verbiage that "atheism" is not used exactly as the definition in the dictionary which states, "the belief that there is no God, or the denial that God or gods exist"--but as anti-God as in Christian God. Never met atheists who cared much to oppose Hinduism or Islam, as anti-Shiva or anti-Allah.
Thus is atheism a backlash against Christianity then? Take Russell or Freud, both anti-Christian atheists. Right?
2006-12-01 19:55:14 · 14 answers · asked by summation 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Not necessarily. I myself am an athiest, since I don't believe in any real gods.
What you experience is mainly because most athiests were raised in Christian settings. This could be because athiests in Muslim countries don't fare so well.
When a person begins to deny that there is a god, they normally go through a stage of attacking the religion that they were either raised in, or their community was based in. Some people get over this rather quickly, and move on, and some stay in that phase for the rest of their lives.
Now, an athiest that has progressed will become either a passive athiest, or an aggressive atheist. Passive athiests simply lead the lives of normal folks, without missing the game on Sunday or the bar on Friday for the formely Jewish.
Aggressive athiests carry the cause of athiesm, raising awareness, and generally spreading the good news (at least the best of the do, many simply ignore this and go to step two) of a world without restrictions or sin, and secondly, fighting what we percieve to be the mistakes (the more aggresive call it "deliberate lies") of religion.
I for one have no use for any religion or god, be it Shiva, or even Thor. Allah especially I don't really care for, being that he's behind a religion that seems to think it's okay to riot in the streets just because someone offends your taste in cartoon-art.
2006-12-01 21:02:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
No it's just as the dictionary says A as in atypical theist as in deity
no god for all . it's just that Christians seem to challenge it a lot where others are less inclined to be so combative .personally I
have a proclivity for Jesus but not as a god and often wonder if the depiction was not fabricated as many others have thought as well. hence maybe Christians are not really Christians at all.
there is no real proof either way so each to their own....and no Jung? I'm not anti god I don't believe god exists so there is nothing for me to be against other than the the very concept that I find impossible and fraught with contradictions and specious reason
2006-12-01 20:14:48 · answer #2 · answered by dogpatch USA 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You believe it to be Anti Christian based on your experiences and observations which are obviously Western experiences and observations. So as Christainity is the prodominate religion in the West, western atheism would seem anti-christian.
If you reread the defintion it says "gods" meaning all gods. Not just Yahweh or Jehovah ( the Christian god ) but Shiva and Allah as well.
What you percieve is actually your world view skewing your deductions as YOU perceive god as the christian God and therefore, do not see that Atheism denies the existance of all gods and higher powers.
PS I am NOT an Atheist.
2006-12-01 20:11:46 · answer #3 · answered by cybrrgeek 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the reason that atheists are not seen to oppose hinduism, etc, (although on principle they may), is because, purely semantically speaking, atheism is the opposite of theism. Theism posits a theos, one all powerful, all knowing god. this is close to the christian/islam/judaism gos but not quite so. Theism is the belief in the god of the philosophers, in other words, not in the god of the christians. anyway, to address the other prongs of the question, the god of islam is the god of christianity, or so close that, as an outsider, of course an atheist is going to be against islam, well against the god of islam. only a fundamentalist atheist would be against the religion itself, most reasonable people couldn't care less about christianity as long as its reasonable too and we can all get along
2006-12-01 20:05:11 · answer #4 · answered by the_supreme_father 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am an atheist because I do not believe in any higher power at all. I do not know the personal beliefs of other atheists in the U.S., as I don't care to discuss my private matters within a club-like atmosphere (such as internet chat rooms or so on), but I'll exlain my own philosophy on the atheist in America.
This country is considered to be a Christian nation, generally, so the dictionary's definition, or an atheist's own beliefs will usually reference Christianity. I have always lived in areas where Christianity is the main form of religion, but my system of disbelief encompasses all forms of ritualized religion.
I think most atheists tend to show their skepticism on what they are raised around without particular regard to other religions they have not experieced. In this country, although there are of course many diverse belief systems, most Americans have had the most exposure to Christianity (i.e., sunday church, christmas programs at their schools, and so on...) to base their personal view.
So there you have it. I hope this gets you thinking more on the subject.
2006-12-01 20:15:11 · answer #5 · answered by alderstat 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I suppose that's possible, however just as christianity is different for every person- so is atheism. Some of my friends, who are atheists, do not believe in any sort of supreme being. They do not believe in fate or coincidence. They believe in a moment to moment, non-controlled existence. And there are some of us who believe that it is possible for their to be gods in various religions, we just do not believe in worshipping those gods. And-the key to most atheists I know is that, unlike our christian counterparts, we will never say that we are right or that we know for sure. It is all a matter of personal belief. That, in my opinion, is the biggest difference and for most atheists I know the most important part of our 'atheism.'
2006-12-01 19:59:47 · answer #6 · answered by imhalf_the_sourgirl_iused_tobe 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Atheism is not a "backlash" against the "Christian God". Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same God in different ways and through different prophets and philosophies. Atheists simply do not believe there is a god at all. Also, they do not believe that we have a soul that moves on after our death.
2006-12-01 20:09:29 · answer #7 · answered by reacting 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If you haven't seen an atheist oppose Islam, you haven't looked very hard. Christopher Hitchens blistering condemnation of "Islamofascists" is well known, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali has written several bestsellers doing so.
2014-12-30 20:23:29 · answer #8 · answered by robin_lionheart 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No... it means "without belief in the existence of a god or gods".
"a-" is a prefix which, in this context, means "without".
"theism" is a noun which means "belief in the existence of a god or gods".
Put them together and... well... I'm sure you can deduce the rest.
But nooooooo, wait, you were making a broad generalization about atheists, weren't you? Awww, go on then, wouldn't want to spoil your fun. Aren't stereotypes thrilling?
2006-12-01 20:58:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The atheists are non-conformists and non-believers....... they prefer to struggle without believing ...... believing in a supreme power helps restore peace of mind quickly in troubled times..... atheists do not want to take this easy recourse to peace of mind...... they are thus unfortunate, perhaps due to bloated self-pride or ego.
However, your point that they are primarily anti-christian does not gel....... they negate all religions that teach and profess the existence of a supreme power called God. Christians have a great desire to make all others Christian too and therefore oppose the atheists more vehemently than people of other religions do ..... atheists merely react to their opposition.
2006-12-01 20:43:26 · answer #10 · answered by small 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋