Comment by gumgumpost
15 hours ago
>You have a mistaken understanding of what atheism is. It is not a belief in anything, but an absence of belief in a deity.
I consider that to also be a wrongly held position, because you'd need proof either way. So atheists are just making a bet. I think agnostic is the most valid position as far as I am concerned, lacking proof of one or the other. I do not know. We can get into technicalities as well. What exactly do we mean by God? What if some religious God does exist but it's wrongly interpreted by believers? What if there's some highly technologically advanced entity that meets the criteria as far as the more primitive religious perspective is concerned? Do we have proof such thing exists? Do we have proof such entity cannot exist in our universe? I find both perspectives shortsighted.
Having certainty something that can be perceived as God by believers cannot exist in our universe is in the end a belief, with no proof.
Are you agnostic about unicorns?
> I consider that to also be a wrongly held position, because you'd need proof either way.
Proof that something doesn't exist? Ever heard of Russel's teapot?
The burden of proof is on the claimer.
> What exactly do we mean by God?
Absurd question. Pick up any holy book, or ask any believer. An atheist is simply a person who doesn't hold those beliefs.
A famous Dawkins quote is apt in this discussion:
> We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.
> Having certainty something that can be perceived as God by believers cannot exist in our universe is in the end a belief, with no proof.
Again, you're mistaking what atheism is. It's not being certain that a deity cannot exist—it's not having any reason to think that it does.
People who claim certainty in either direction are equally delusional. The problem is when a belief crosses into realms of reality, defines the identity and culture of people, and influences the rest of society. Based on history and personal experience, theists are far more prone to this than atheists.