[extropy-chat] Atheists launch inquisition...

[BillK]

On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 16:36:54 -0600, Damien Broderick wrote:
> At 01:04 PM 11/28/2004 -0800, Mike misses the point yet again:
> 
> >  it is now proven that
> >atheism is based upon a belief in an impossible proof, ergo it is a
> >religion.
> 
> Rubbish. Keep reading what Gennady posted by Kai E. Nielsen, and try to
> address the hard parts:
> 

Mike, your hangup on disbelief is specifically addressed in Atheism 101.
See:-
<http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/ath/blathq_atheism101.htm>

Specifically:-
<http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/ath/blathq_disbelief.htm>

Belief vs. Disbelief
Believing, Not Believing, and Denying Gods

Question:
Isn't not believing in any gods the same as believing there are no gods? 

Short answer - No.
Long answer - Read the article and the 101.

Quote:-
Logically speaking, mere disbelief in the truth of a proposition
cannot be treated as equivalent to the belief that the proposition is
false and that the opposite is true. If you make a claim and I
disbelieve it, I am not necessarily saying that your claim is false. I
may not understand it well enough to say one way or the other. Or I
may lack enough information to test your claim. Or I may simply not
care enough to think about it.

Summary:
As we can see, not only are disbelief and denial different things, but
there are different levels to disbelief, just as there are to belief.
If you are interested in learning in what sense a particular atheist
"disbelieves" in a god, you will have to ask. Different atheists
disbelieve in different ways and for different reasons.


BillK