Is an Anti-Intellectual Atmosphere Killing America? (middle east, economic, visa, support)

[lkb0714]

Originally Posted by Ford Beebe

It isn't a "lack of belief," it's a belief that God does not exist. Your analogy is poor.

Lets look at the actual word shall we?

"A" means without
a-, an=
(Greek: prefix; no, absence of, without, lack of, not)

a-, an- - Word Information


"theism" means belief in god.
theism "belief in a deity," 1670s; see theist. Meaning "belief in one god" (as opposed to polytheism) is recorded from 1711.


Put them together and you get.....


Lack of belief in deity

[Beatles4evr]

Originally Posted by Ford Beebe

It isn't a "lack of belief," it's a belief that God does not exist. Your analogy is poor.

Sorry, but it is wrong. We don't operate at the evideceless "belief" level, we leave that to the skydaddy crowd,

For example, do you belive in gravity? Is accepting the reality of gravity a "belief"? Of course not.

Please don't paint us with the same sky-daddy paint you paint yourself with - we aren't interested in deceiving ourselves.

[wade52]

Originally Posted by Ford Beebe

You are incorrect.

You're welcome to keep your misconception.

You are claiming God, or a God-like being does not exist, but you cannot prove it. It's a matter of personal philosophy, in other words, a BELIEF.

I make no god-claims. I simply reject the supernatural unsubstantiated claims of those who insist they know a god.

As previously stated in this thread, the believers claim there's a god. We nonbelievers (as in "not believing") reject that claim.

Since there is no standard definition of God, as worshipped by all religions, there are several levels of belief in play.

Except in the case of us infidels, who simply reject all of those beliefs based on the absolute, complete lack of substantiation in any form.

There is More in Heaven and Earth Horatio, Than is Dreamt of in Your Philospohy.

-Hamlet

Prove it.

[Ford Beebe]

Originally Posted by lkb0714

Lets look at the actual word shall we?

"A" means without
a-, an=
(Greek: prefix; no, absence of, without, lack of, not)

a-, an- - Word Information


"theism" means belief in god.
theism "belief in a deity," 1670s; see theist. Meaning "belief in one god" (as opposed to polytheism) is recorded from 1711.


Put them together and you get.....


Lack of belief in deity

Lack of a belief in a deity is also to believe one does not exist.

Did I say that already?

[Ford Beebe]

Originally Posted by Beatles4evr

Sorry, but it is wrong. We don't operate at the evideceless "belief" level, we leave that to the skydaddy crowd,

For example, do you belive in gravity? Is accepting the reality of gravity a "belief"? Of course not.

Please don't paint us with the same sky-daddy paint you paint yourself with - we aren't interested in deceiving ourselves.

Gravity is a scientific principle, not a belief. Another poor analogy.

[Ford Beebe]

Originally Posted by wade52

You're welcome to keep your misconception.



I make no god-claims. I simply reject the supernatural unsubstantiated claims of those who insist they know a god.

As previously stated in this thread, the believers claim there's a god. We nonbelievers (as in "not believing") reject that claim.



Except in the case of us infidels, who simply reject all of those beliefs based on the absolute, complete lack of substantiation in any form.



Prove it.

But you do not have access to all the evidence wrt to the proof or lack thereof of what is generally understood to be God, thus, it is a belief.

I don't have to prove a Shakespeare quote, he was the Man!

[Ford Beebe]

Look, for the record, I don't believe in a "God" either, but I also recognize that I do not have enough evidence to classify my philosophy as anything more than a belief, precisely because of this lack of evidence.

Interesting discussion.

[Beatles4evr]

Originally Posted by Ford Beebe

It isn't a "lack of belief," it's a belief that God does not exist. Your analogy is poor.

No, it is a conclusion based on factual evidence (including a complete lack thereof). That is NOT a belief, as beliefs are factless holdings of what is true and what is false.

[lkb0714]

Originally Posted by Ford Beebe

Lack of a belief in a deity is also to believe one does not exist.

Yawn.

I understand that for some people nuances are hard to get.

I have no opinion on the existence of a deity. I do not believe there is one, I do not believe there is not one, I am an atheist. Because I lack belief.

The reason I lack belief is because I do BELIEVE that it is fundamentally impossible to know if there is or is not a god.

You have faith there is god right? Ok I do not have that faith. I also do not have faith that there is not a god.

Hence the hair analogy. Being blonde, brunette, red headed, etc are the different belief systems. Blonde is christian, brunette is buddhist so on... But atheists are bald. We lack hair color because we dont have hair.

[LML]

I find it amazing that so many seem to equate being an intellectual with being an athiest. My brother is a Harvard graduate with a Phd. My sister and I are both college graduates (though from colleges less prestigious than Harvard) We are also all devoted Christians. My brother and I are both elders in our churches and my sister is a deacon in her church. In my church at least 2/3s of the members have a college degree. Where did this belief begin that if you are educated you lose your faith in God? It is a false notion and, quite frankly, one I find insulting.