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Really, what does Atheism mean to you because I'm honestly starting to think some Christians have a short circuit somewhere that prevents them from understand a dictionary.

So what does Atheist mean to you?

2006-12-15 12:31:56 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

Thumb, its not about denial, it's about not believing. Period.

2006-12-15 12:36:55 · update #1

God's Child, wrong. It means belief in no god.

2006-12-15 12:37:29 · update #2

Captain, again, it's not about denial. Its about not believing. AT ALL. You need to learn what the dictionary says. Your bad education is showing.

2006-12-15 12:38:16 · update #3

charmaine, why would an Atheist hate something they don't believe exists?

Do you hate the magic fairies that steal babies in the night? Or do you not believe they exist?

2006-12-15 12:39:24 · update #4

lovely, read your dictionary again.

2006-12-15 12:39:48 · update #5

WellTraveledProg, very well said.

2006-12-15 12:47:29 · update #6

Psychic, I agree. Christians are just trying to find excuses to be as nasty as they possibly can. And then they wonder why it isn't accepted.

2006-12-15 13:26:20 · update #7

Awakening, I put it in the exact forum it needed to be in. Atheists and Christians argue on the religion forum, not the mythology forum.

:) Have a nice day.

2006-12-16 08:43:13 · update #8

18 answers

The definition of the word means someone that denies or does not believe in the existence of god. Notice both possibilities there -- and they *are* different things -- disbelieve OR deny.
The disbelieve part can mean passive (as in they've never been taught about god, or they know about the teachings but just don't care), or active (they actively do not believe because of lack of evidence or other reasons).

About the christian brain short-circuit: well, yes, their brains do have something wrong with them. But there are really 3 reasons they misuse words so badly and so often:
1 -- they are ignorant, and do not know the real meanings of words
2 -- they don't care what the real meaning is, they're going to use it however they want to
3 -- they're making a conscious choice to use a word differently from its actual meaning in an attempt to obfuscate, coerce, or mislead...

I've seen all three of those reasons for misusing words in effect here on Answers. I'd say the first is the most common, the third the second most common.

Peace.

2006-12-15 12:41:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5 0

Very simply, a person who doesn't believe in the existence of a god, or gods. Period. They aren't nicer or nastier, (as often defined to be not "nice.") The dictionary is of no use to some who believe--that is--have "faith" in the concept that we are BORN sinners, & unless we "repent" we're all going to hell in a handbasket. & that doesn't mean just Atheists, but everyone who hasn't accepted Jesus as their savior. I may have said this somewhere before, that "God" seems to be lost in the shuffle of copious Jesus quotes from the bible. I respect any religion, but I do not "appreciate" the preaching. I'm not a little lamb who is lost in the wood, & I don't need any "help," thank you very much. Logic & religion are like oil & water. So forget logic, & for goodness sake, forget the dictionary! Hmm. Where did this quote come from--There are none so blind as those who will not see? Something like that. This can also be interpreted in any way one chooses to argue their "case." This is getting a bit tiring....but, good question.

Edit: VERY good question indeed. What a disparity of answers that say so much about this "conflict." I didn't want to get into a diatribe defining "type 1" or "type 2" etc. when the GENERAL MEANING IS SIMPLY AS I STATED IT.

Edit2: Your responses to answers are great; I kept this on my watch list. PSYCHOLOGICALLY, Christians cannot accept that Atheists SIMPLY DON'T BELIEVE. They are compelled to use "deny" & "denial" i.e., to deny something is a state of "refusal" or ignorance, because to deny implies the thing denied exists. To disown, to refuse to acknowledge. I'm not sure they'r even consciously aware they're doing this; it's a mind set. As I said, logic & religion are like oil & water. I don't CARE what they choose to believe. I also don't CARE to scroll through pages of bible quotes that tell me what a sinner I am, & then end with a one liner that they just want to"save" me. They don't even see the contradictions--the evil & hatred, & then "But I want you to accept the saviour so you won't go to hell." (That's supposed to indicate "love.") GOOD GRIEF.

2006-12-15 12:53:35 · answer #2 · answered by Psychic Cat 6 · 2 0

Atheism has three meanings, as shown by the quote below for wikipedia :

"Types and typologies of atheism
Many writers have disagreed on how best to define atheism, and much of the literature on the subject is erroneous or confusing. There are many discrepancies in the use of terminology between proponents and opponents of atheism, and even divergent definitions among those who share near-identical beliefs.

Throughout its history, opponents of atheism have frequently associated atheism with immorality and evil, often characterizing it as a willful and malicious repudiation of God or gods. This, in fact, is the original definition and sense of the word, but changing sensibilities and the normalization of non-religious viewpoints have caused the term to lose most of its pejorative connotations in general parlance.

Among proponents of atheism and neutral parties, there are three major traditions in defining atheism and its subdivisions. The first tradition understands atheism very broadly, as including both those who believe that gods don't exist (strong atheism) and those who are simply not theists (weak atheism). George H. Smith, Michael Martin, and Antony Flew fall into this tradition, though they do not use the same terminology. The second tradition understands atheism more narrowly, as the conscious rejection of theism, and does not consider absence of theistic belief or suspension of judgment concerning theism to be forms of atheism. Ernest Nagel, Paul Edwards and Kai Nielsen are prominent members of this camp. Using this definition of atheism, "implicit atheism", an absence of theism without the conscious rejection of it, may not be regarded as atheistic at all, and the umbrella term non-theism may be used in its place.

A third tradition, more common among people who are not atheists themselves, understands atheism even more narrowly than that. Here, atheism is defined in the strongest possible terms, as the positive belief that there are no deities. Under this definition, all weak atheism, whether implicit or explicit, may be considered non-atheistic. However, this definition is used by some atheists, such as philosopher Theodore Drange.[20]"

As a Christian, I use the term to denote the last type, namely, a positive belief that there are no deities.

I hope YOU learn something from the above quote so that next time, you wouldn't accuse us Christians of having a short circuit.

2006-12-15 12:49:05 · answer #3 · answered by flandargo 5 · 1 2

The phrase Amen (Tiberian Hebrew ????? ’?m?n "So be it; real", Standard Hebrew ??? Amen, Arabic ???? ’?m?n, Ge'ez' ??? ’?m?n) is a statement of confirmation observed within the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and within the Qur'an. It has constantly been in use inside Judaism and Islam. It has been on the whole followed in Christian worship as a concluding system for prayers and hymns. In Islam, it's the ordinary finishing to suras. Common English translations of the phrase amen comprise: "Verily", "Truly", "So be it", and "Let it's".

2016-09-03 16:38:21 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

Moirae, as you felt the need to post on my question, I thought I would reciprocate. Why don't you ask your Atheist question in the forum it belongs in. If you had problems with the forum category I chose, please explain to me why you posted yours here, when Atheists do not have a religion nor a spirituality, by definition.
Again, just returning the favor. However I won't pout "you're reported" , nor will I report you.

2006-12-15 22:52:27 · answer #5 · answered by Peace 4 · 0 1

No short circuit here. It means NO belief in God's existence..or denial there of....

Edit...okay denial of existence. check a dictionary. "a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being"

Why the test by the way?

2006-12-15 12:35:03 · answer #6 · answered by <><><> 6 · 1 2

i am an atheist, of which there are two types.
WEAK ATHEISTS: (me) DOUBT the existence of god(s), but are willing to admit that they may exist
STRONG ATHEISTS: believe there are no god(s), end of discussion

MOST ATHEISTS DO NOT EVEN KNOW THERE ARE 2 TYPES!
And before someones says "then a weak atheist is just an agnostic", let me clarify that the difference is in the DOUBT. Agnostics do not lean one way or the other.


hmmmm, the first two answers (which are correct answers) have already received 5 thumbs down inside of 2 minutes, there must be some narrow minded christians going around giving people thumbs down because they do not like them, instead of actually caring about the answers they give.....WHAT A SHOCK! lol

2006-12-15 12:33:41 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 8 3

Atheism is a doctrine that states that nothing exists but natural phenomena (matter), that thought is a property or function of matter, and that death irreversibly and totally terminates individual organic units.

Meaning that there are no forces, phenomena, or entities which exist outside of or apart from physical nature, or which transcend nature, or are “super” natural, nor can there be. Humankind is on its own.

2006-12-15 12:46:13 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 4 0

Hey, God's Child! I don't believe there's a pink squirrel making its nest in your left nostril!
_

2006-12-15 12:40:18 · answer #9 · answered by Bad Liberal 7 · 3 0

An Atheist does not believe that there is a G-d. Period. That is it.

2006-12-15 12:35:49 · answer #10 · answered by Shossi 6 · 6 0

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