How can we deny something that doesn't exist? Don't want to make a big deal out of this...
2007-11-26 10:26:58 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hey, I'm just wondering
2007-11-26 10:30:44 · update #1
"How can we deny something that doesn't exist? "
Er, how could you not?
Why in the world would you write that? Are you suggesting that we should only deny things that DO exist? Does that make any sense to you?
2007-11-26 10:34:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yeah; it's a bit weird when you look at the implications of the words.
THAT definition implies that it's common knowledge that there IS a god but it's just that atheists want to be obtuse or contrary.
Of course the definition depends on WHERE you look it up.
In the two on-line dictionaries I see the definition is: a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
In the Oxford dictionary the definition of atheism is: the belief that God does not exist.
The Oxford is much less judgmental and narrow-minded, isn't it?
It all depends on the agenda of the definers and the culture in which they work and who their masters are that they must satisfy – in the case of the former it is the churches and their slaves.
In the case of the latter it is the honesty of the language itself and its nuances.
.
2007-11-26 11:30:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you sure the definition isn't someone who denies the existence of a god? That seems to make more sense.
If there's a dictionary that defines atheist as someone who denies god, then I have a problem with the dictionary.
2007-11-26 10:33:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. People who create dictionaries labor under tremendous constraints and conflicts, so you have to judge the finished product in light of that.
You could think of any dictionary definition as not a summary of the word's usage and meaning, but rather an introduction, a starting point.
2007-11-26 11:36:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't like that it's set up as a negative, as in, someone who does NOT believe this, this, and this. This makes it seem as if RELIGION has to exist so that the atheist can deny its claims, when in reality, atheism is the first and natural belief.
I don't know that there should even BE a definition. There's none for "one who does NOT believe in invisble tye-dye leprechauns".
2007-11-26 22:12:18 · answer #5 · answered by Elizabeth J 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not sure what dictionary you are using but I've looked at several and none of them give that definition of atheist.
Atheism, as a philosophical view, is the position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods[1] or rejects theism.[2] When defined more broadly, atheism is the absence of belief in deities,[
2007-11-26 10:43:56 · answer #6 · answered by ndmagicman 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it's fine to say you deny god. Just like it's fine to say you deny unicorns or fairies. Perhaps it would be better to say you deny the existence of them but it pretty much means the same thing.
2007-11-26 10:33:29 · answer #7 · answered by jenny84 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try again:
Dictionary.Com
a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
Would you believe a NAZI's definition of Jewish?
2007-11-26 12:27:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope, that's pretty true. Although I'd go a little further and say: one who denies the existence of GODS. But, it's all the same to me really.
2007-11-26 10:31:03 · answer #9 · answered by I, Sapient 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
They deny "the existence" of God, not the concept of it as culturally understood.
2007-11-26 10:35:09 · answer #10 · answered by Aspurtaime Dog Sneeze 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋