A funny thing happened... when I asked why people who believe babies are born atheists?

Question

I asked people why they believe babies are born atheist and to produce their proof. An atheist sends me a quote from the Bible. Apparently, he believes in the words of the Bible. A perfect example of an oxymoron (i.e.the rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combines) He quotes Job 8:8-10 "Ask the former generations of what their fathers learned for we were born yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?" Well...to you other atheist who seem to always send quotes from the Bible (which I will never understand seeing that you don't believe in God to begin with) I say this. When I was born, did I not know the existence of numbers and letters? Of colors and shapes? of Mountains and hills? Of heavenly bodies out in space? etc, etc, etc. They must NOT exist then because we had no afore knowledge of it's existence at the time of our birth.

Answer 1

Maybe he figured YOU believe the Bible. Apparently, you don't, if you don't consider words from it to be proof. Hmm.

Please look up the definition of the word "oxymoron". You clearly don't understand how to recognize one.

Answer 2

Are you being intentionally obtuse? The point is that when one is born, one has no beliefs, therefore a newborn cannot have a god belief, therefore, by definition, we are all born atheists: without belief in a god or gods.

This says nothing about whether a god or gods exist. Merely about the lack of a belief in a god or gods.

The reason many atheists quote the christian bible to christians is to show that some christians don't seem aware of what the book they supposedly believe is the word of their god says on a particular subject. If I quote a passage from a Winnie the Pooh book, it doesn't mean that I believe that Winnie actually exists or existed.

Answer 3

The problem is one of semantics.

As an example, most people use the word 'evolution' to mean macroevolution. But then there is also microevolution. If I say I reject evolution (and I mean macroevolution), many people will tell me that they can prove evolution (meaning microevolution is verifiable upon which they EXTRAPOLATE macroevolution - but they do not tell me that it's an extrapolation).

Along the same line, how does one define 'atheism'? Based on the definition, a baby may or may NOT be an atheist. Wikipedia has the following to say about the definition of atheism:

"Implicit vs. explicit

Main article: Implicit and explicit atheism
There are multiple demarcations concerning the degree to which theism is not accepted. Minimally, atheism may be seen as the absence of belief in one or more gods. It has been contended that this broad definition includes newborns and other people who have not been exposed to theistic ideas. As far back as 1772, d'Holbach said that "All children are born Atheists; they have no idea of God".[28] George H. Smith (1979) suggested that: "The man who is unacquainted with theism is an atheist because he does not believe in a god. This category would also include the child with the conceptual capacity to grasp the issues involved, but who is still unaware of those issues. The fact that this child does not believe in god qualifies him as an atheist."[29] Smith coined the term implicit atheism to refer to "the absence of theistic belief without a conscious rejection of it" and explicit atheism to refer to the more common definition of conscious disbelief."

So, if you ask, "Are babies atheists ?" and you mean explicit atheists, the answer is no but someone else might think you mean implicit atheist and so he will answer yes.

Semantics !!!

Answer 4

Atheist means without god: a child, never being told about the concept of god by anyone cannot develop it by himself. The general theory is that ancient men developped the concept of soul from dreams (it is actually rather complicated, not enought space to discuss it here). separating Wild tribes often show a "less evolved" concept of divinity, such as animism, attributing to everithing a "soul" that could be asked for assistance.

Since god is a social construct, or a "meme", a child cannot be born with this idea, just as he cannot be born wit political ideologies or language skills.
Saying "we are born with the idea of a god is a little bit like saying that we are born with the tooth fairy fable in mind.

PS: people cite the bible to you because it's generally the only thing christians listen. Sadly true.

Answer 5

So why can't I quote from the bible despite atheism? It is a book after all, a resource. Theists seem to quote from books detailing evolution anyway, so why not the reverse?

Quoting simply supports an arguement, it doesn't neccessarily require total belief of it, in fact quoting from the opposing side is the best way of getting your point across, that their own sources maybe erroneous.

We are born with internal knowledge, we know how to breathe, how to suckle, to cry for attention, to investigate objects by touch, sight and taste. These are traits for survival.

Answer 6

No actually, you did not know of the existence of numbers or letters, these are things presented to us by other people around us. You would not even be able to talk if it were not for learning from the people already on the earth. this is proven through research into feral children (ie children who are found to have been brought up in the wild). the same goes for religion, you would have absolutely no knowledge of it if it were not for what your parents etc tell u about it.
so i dont really get what u are trying to say.

Answer 7

Just because an atheist sends you a quote from the christian bible does not mean he or she believes in it, that is just a twist you decided to put on it. Many atheists were christians ~before~ becoming atheists and know the christian bible well as a result.

I am an agnostic, raised a baptist, know the bible but I do not believe in it. Perhaps you should revisit your assumptions.

Answer 8

Babies are born with knowledge of "The Father"...they are closer to Him at the moment of birth, than they may be at any other point if they don't make their way back to the creator.

Proof?
Babies first efforts at forming words..."Da" for daddy, dada, father...not the Earthly father, but the heavenly one!

Answer 9

Well if anything that quote proves that babies are born as Agnostics and not Atheists as one can't believe in something that they have no knowledge of.

Answer 10

Religion is a learned behavior from the parents. Thus religion is not in anyones direct control because it is always pressed upon them before they are freethinking. Henceforth people are innately atheist, but then they are forced to believe what their parents do.