[extropy-chat] Atheism in Decline

[Brian Lee]

Atheism, like most religion/belief sets, has a hard time getting a solid 
definition pinned down. As a result you cannot say that anyone who is not a 
theist is an atheist. For example, Mike says he's "agnostic", so he is not 
an atheist in the sense that he does not believe that no god exists.

It's been argued around a lot, but believing (realizing, logically deducing, 
etc) that there is no valid belief system is still a belief system/ life 
philosophy/ religion / whatever.

BAL

>From: Jeff Medina <analyticphilosophy at gmail.com>
>To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
>Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] Atheism in Decline
>Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 16:03:56 -0500
>
>Hate to break it to you, Mike, but you're an atheist. Atheism is lack
>of theism, no more, no less. You're not a theist, so you're an
>atheist. So sayeth the Grand High Council of the Godless.
>
>
>On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 10:41:41 -0800 (PST), Mike Lorrey <mlorrey at yahoo.com> 
>wrote:
> >
> > --- Samantha Atkins <sjatkins at mac.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > On Mar 6, 2005, at 10:43 AM, Mike Lorrey wrote:
> > >
> > > > Tolerable treatment includes a lack of mockery, disparagement and
> > > > insults.
> > > >
> > >
> > > You mean unlike the disparagement of and insults towards atheists you
> > > keep cycling on of late?  Is intellectual consistency and integrity a
> > > virtue in your system of values?
> >
> > Consistency includes giving as gotten. I also believe you are ignoring
> > my equally critical evaluation of the quality of many theist arguments.
> > So I'm not asking for tolerance of myself, as an agnostic (since until
> > I have the knowledge to answer the questions of the Simulation
> > Argument, I shall not have gnosis one way or the other), but of the
> > atheist for the equally valid/invalid position of the theist as the
> > theist should have for the equally valid/invalid position of the
> > atheist.
> >
> > I hear the atheists here crying all the time about the theist
> > majority's political actions with absolutely no attempts being made to
> > understand their position (such as the valid moral position of not
> > being forced by government to pay for medical procedures the individual
> > taxpayer believes are heinously wrong, which is just as wrong and the
> > same moral stance as opposing the forcing of atheists to pay taxes that
> > would go to support private religious education of other people's
> > kids). You can't have your cake and eat it too.
> >
> > Now, you generally don't like to be called on this and act very
> > vehemently when I have used your own hypocrisy to justify other
> > policies you oppose. When are YOU going to show some moral consistency?
> >
> > Mike Lorrey
> > Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
> > "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
> > It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
> >                                       -William Pitt (1759-1806)
> > Blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com
> >
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