Difference between revisions of "Definition of atheism"
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[[File:Atheism.jpg|thumb|alt=atheism|right|190px|[[Paul-Henri Thiry]], Baron d'Holbach (1723 - 1789), was an early advocate of atheism in [[Europe]].]] | [[File:Atheism.jpg|thumb|alt=atheism|right|190px|[[Paul-Henri Thiry]], Baron d'Holbach (1723 - 1789), was an early advocate of atheism in [[Europe]].]] | ||
| − | [[Atheism]], as defined by the ''[[Stanford University|Stanford]] Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the ''[[Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'', and other [[philosophy]] reference works, is the denial of the existence of [[God]].<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism Stanford Encyclopedia of Philisophy - Atheism and Agnosticism]</ref><ref name="cw">[http://creation.com/atheism-is-more-rational Is Atheism More Rational?] by [[Creation Ministries International]]</ref><ref name="Divine">Day, Donn R. (2007). [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"].</ref><ref>[http://www.reasonablefaith.org/definition-of-atheism Definition of atheism] by [[William Lane Craig]]</ref> Beginning in the latter portion of the 20th century and continuing beyond, many [[agnosticism|agnostics]]/atheists have argued that the [[definition of atheism]] should be defined as a mere lack of belief in God or gods.<ref name="Divine">Day, Donn R. (2007). [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"].</ref><ref>[http://www.reasonablefaith.org/definition-of-atheism Definition of atheism] by [[William Lane Craig]]</ref> | + | [[Atheism]], as defined by the ''[[Stanford University|Stanford]] Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the ''[[Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'', and other [[philosophy]] reference works, is the denial of the existence of [[God]].<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism Stanford Encyclopedia of Philisophy - Atheism and Agnosticism]</ref><ref name="cw">[http://creation.com/atheism-is-more-rational Is Atheism More Rational?] by [[Creation Ministries International]]</ref><ref name="Divine">Day, Donn R. (2007). [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"].</ref><ref>[http://www.reasonablefaith.org/definition-of-atheism Definition of atheism] by [[William Lane Craig]]</ref> Beginning in the latter portion of the 20th century and continuing beyond, many [[agnosticism|agnostics]]/atheists have argued that the [[definition of atheism]] should be defined as a mere lack of belief in God or gods.<ref name="Divine">Day, Donn R. (2007). [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"].</ref><ref>[http://www.reasonablefaith.org/definition-of-atheism Definition of atheism] by [[William Lane Craig]]</ref><ref name="CRI">[http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/web/crj0131a.html Putting the Atheist on the Defensive] by Kenneth R. Samples, Christian Research Institute Journal, Fall 1991, and Winter 1992, page 7.</ref> |
== Historic roots of the word atheism == | == Historic roots of the word atheism == | ||
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*Atheism: all are coined words from the Greek atheos, denying the gods, a word introduced into the Latin by Cicero in the form; atheos, a-, negative, prefix, and theos, a god, (Etymological Dictionary of English Language-1958)<ref name="Divine"/>}} | *Atheism: all are coined words from the Greek atheos, denying the gods, a word introduced into the Latin by Cicero in the form; atheos, a-, negative, prefix, and theos, a god, (Etymological Dictionary of English Language-1958)<ref name="Divine"/>}} | ||
| − | == | + | == Advocacy of a broader definition of atheism: 19th century and contemporary efforts == |
[[File:Charles Bradlaugh.jpg|thumb|right|195px|[[Charles Bradlaugh]] ]] | [[File:Charles Bradlaugh.jpg|thumb|right|195px|[[Charles Bradlaugh]] ]] | ||
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*Another Christian belief is that other religions are distorted versions of the religion originally revealed by God. As such, they do not believe in different gods, but in the same God as the Christian; but only the Christian has an undistorted view of God, while the other religions are laboring under distorted ideas of His nature. It is like comparing a distorted rumour about a person to an accurate account; the accounts can be so different that they seem like different people, even though they are actually both about the same person (but one is accurate, the other highly inaccurate). So too may it be for the various religions and God. | *Another Christian belief is that other religions are distorted versions of the religion originally revealed by God. As such, they do not believe in different gods, but in the same God as the Christian; but only the Christian has an undistorted view of God, while the other religions are laboring under distorted ideas of His nature. It is like comparing a distorted rumour about a person to an accurate account; the accounts can be so different that they seem like different people, even though they are actually both about the same person (but one is accurate, the other highly inaccurate). So too may it be for the various religions and God. | ||
| − | == | + | == See also == |
| − | + | *[[Atheism is a religion]] | |
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*[[Atheist factions]] | *[[Atheist factions]] | ||
*[[Definitions of Atheist and Agnostic]] | *[[Definitions of Atheist and Agnostic]] | ||
*[[Essay: The question atheists fear|The question atheists fear]] | *[[Essay: The question atheists fear|The question atheists fear]] | ||
*[[Christian apologetics|Evidence for Christianity]] | *[[Christian apologetics|Evidence for Christianity]] | ||
| + | *[[Essay: True atheists and the danger of relying in self-identification|True atheists and the danger of relying in self-identification]] - humor | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
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| + | *[http://www.reasonablefaith.org/the-definition-that-will-not-die The Definition of Atheism That Will Not Die!] | ||
*[http://www.leaderu.com/truth/1truth11.html Why the Burden of Proof is on the Atheist] by Professor Ralph McInerny | *[http://www.leaderu.com/truth/1truth11.html Why the Burden of Proof is on the Atheist] by Professor Ralph McInerny | ||
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{{Nb Atheism}} | {{Nb Atheism}} | ||
Revision as of 06:39, October 27, 2015
Atheism, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and other philosophy reference works, is the denial of the existence of God.[1][2][3][4] Beginning in the latter portion of the 20th century and continuing beyond, many agnostics/atheists have argued that the definition of atheism should be defined as a mere lack of belief in God or gods.[3][5][6]
Contents
Historic roots of the word atheism
Donn R. Day in his work Atheism - Etiology wrote:
| “ | These two words, "theos" and "atheos" are the root words from where we get "theism" and "atheism": "ism" means; "Greek -ismos; orig. suffix of action or of state, forming nouns from verbs." It's usage today is a "doctrine, theory, system, etc." (Webster's).
At the time "theos" came in to existence, there was no formal "doctrine of god" so "theism" developed sometime later, most likely during the (French) Enlightenment. This period of time is also when the modern form of "atheism" came into existence as well. This tracing of the development of a word is also part of etymology. Once more formal doctrines came into being, then the word "theism" was created."Theos" god; "ism", belief or doctrine. Thus, the modern use of the word "theism", belief in God. We must remember, however, that the literal, Greek root for "theism" is "theos". "Atheos" then, in modern usage, means "no/without belief in god". But just like the word "theos" (god) is the root, literal meaning of "theism", so too, "atheos"(no god), is the root word for "atheism". That's why when you look in a dictionary, or encyclopedia under the word "atheism", they list the Greek, literal meaning as, "a denial of god(s)." The following are the definitions offered by two dictionaries of Etymology. The word is followed by the accepted literal meaning from the Greek root word.
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” |
Advocacy of a broader definition of atheism: 19th century and contemporary efforts
See also: Attempts to dilute the definition of atheism
As noted above, in the late 19th century and more broadly in the latter portion of the 20th century, the proposition that the definition of atheism be defined as a mere lack of belief in God or gods began.[3] It is now common for atheists/agnostics and theists to debate the meaning of the word atheism.[3][7]
Critics of a broader definition of atheism to be a mere lack of belief indicate that such a definition is contrary to the traditional/historical meaning of the word and that such a definition makes atheism indistinguishable from agnosticism.[3][8]
The English agnostic Charles Bradlaugh, in 1876, proposed that atheism does not assert "there is no God," and by doing so he endeavored to dilute the traditional definition of atheism.[9] Since 1979, many atheists have followed Bradlaugh's thinking further and stated that atheism is merely a lack of belief in any god.[3] The motive for such a shift in meaning appears to be to an attempt to shift the burden of proof regarding the existence of God to the theism side.[3]
In the article, Is Atheism Presumptuous?, atheist Jeffery Jay Lowder, a founder of Internet Infidels which owns and operates the Secular Web (the Secular Web is a website focused on promoting atheism, agnostics and skeptics on the internet), states that "I agree (with Copan) that anyone who claims, "God does not exist," must shoulder a burden of proof just as much as anyone who claims, "God exists."[3] In short, the attempt to redefine atheism is merely an attempt to make no assertions so no facts need be offered. The attempt to redefine atheism, however, is not in accordance with the standard definitions of atheism that encyclopedias of philosophy employ which is that atheism is a denial of the existence of God or gods.[3]
The purpose of all these exercises in redefinition is to try to slant the rhetorical playing field in favor of the atheists and against believers:
- By redefining atheism to include agnosticism, they both boost their numbers - there are many non-religious folks who will admit they aren't sure whether God exists, but far fewer who have the presumptousness to claim to know for a fact that He does not - and also make their case easier to make (an agnostic, to justify their agnosticism, need only overcome the positive evidence in favor of God's existence; an atheist, in addition to that, must also find positive evidence against God's existence)
- By redefining atheism so that babies are atheists, they try to falsely paint atheism as some sort of natural state, despite the fact that religion is a universal across human cultures, up until modern times; there is no traditional culture which totally lacks religious beliefs, and religious belief goes back thousands of years
- By ignoring the definition of traditional God (which refers to an omnipotent being, not a more limited being such as that found in Greek mythology), they try to claim that Christians are atheists, with respect to all the gods of mythology. However, this specious argument ignores the fact that these other supposed beings are not Gods, only gods. There can only be one God, when the definition of God includes omnipotence.
William Lane Craig on attempts to define the word atheism
William Lane Craig declared:
| “ | There’s a history behind this. Certain atheists in the mid-twentieth century were promoting the so-called “presumption of atheism.” At face value, this would appear to be the claim that in the absence of evidence for the existence of God, we should presume that God does not exist. Atheism is a sort of default position, and the theist bears a special burden of proof with regard to his belief that God exists....
But when you look more closely at how protagonists of the presumption of atheism used the term “atheist,” you discover that they were defining the word in a non-standard way, synonymous with “non-theist." So understood the term would encompass agnostics and traditional atheists, along with those who think the question meaningless (verificationists)... Such a re-definition of the word “atheist” trivializes the claim of the presumption of atheism, for on this definition, atheism ceases to be a view. It is merely a psychological state which is shared by people who hold various views or no view at all. On this re-definition, even babies, who hold no opinion at all on the matter, count as atheists! In fact, our cat Muff counts as an atheist on this definition, since she has (to my knowledge) no belief in God. One would still require justification in order to know either that God exists or that He does not exist, which is the question we’re really interested in. So why, you might wonder, would atheists be anxious to so trivialize their position? Here I agree with you that a deceptive game is being played by many atheists. If atheism is taken to be a view, namely the view that there is no God, then atheists must shoulder their share of the burden of proof to support this view.[10] |
” |
Some purported varieties of atheism
Many atheists like to make a distinction between strong atheism and weak atheism. They define strong atheism as believing God does not exist, while weak atheism as neither believing nor disbelieving. However, this usage is incorrect, and has been invented by atheists to boost their numbers. If you believe God does not exist, you are an atheist. If you neither believe nor disbelieve, you aren't an atheist, you are some kind of agnostic.
Another distinction atheists like to propose is between implicit and explicit atheism. Explicit atheism means active conscious rejection of God's existence. "Implicit atheism" refers to having no belief in God, due to not being aware of the concept. Atheists use this to argue that "babies are atheists", again in order to boost their numbers. However, again, this is an abuse of terminology. "Implicit atheism" is not atheism. Babies, just because they haven't learnt the concept of "God" yet, are not atheists. To be an atheist, you must have encountered the idea of "God", and chosen to reject it. A baby isn't even an agnostic, since an agnostic has encountered the idea, and isn't personally sure whether it is right, or even thinks we'll never know if it is. A baby hasn't encountered the idea yet.
Another specious atheist argument is "Christians are atheists about all Gods but one". But this ignores that god is used in two different ways. Little-g god, refers to a limited being, like the gods of mythology, with immense but not absolute power. It is possible for multiple such limited beings to exist. Capital-G God, refers to an omnipotent being, as conceived in religions such as Judaism and Christianity. It is impossible for there to exist more than one omnipotent being - what happens if two omnipotent beings have a disagreement? So, Zeus is not comparable to the Christian God, and the Christian's disbelief in Zeus is not a form of atheism.
Also, Christians need not deny the existence of the gods of other religions, and hence can not truly be called atheists with respect to them:
- A traditional belief in Christianity (see 1Corinthians 10:20 ) is that the gods of other religions may be demons presenting themselves as gods. So, a Christian may not deny the existence of Zeus, but understand Zeus very differently from how his worshippers back in ancient times would have (as an evil demon rather than as a good spirit)
- Another Christian belief is that other religions are distorted versions of the religion originally revealed by God. As such, they do not believe in different gods, but in the same God as the Christian; but only the Christian has an undistorted view of God, while the other religions are laboring under distorted ideas of His nature. It is like comparing a distorted rumour about a person to an accurate account; the accounts can be so different that they seem like different people, even though they are actually both about the same person (but one is accurate, the other highly inaccurate). So too may it be for the various religions and God.
See also
- Atheism is a religion
- Atheist factions
- Definitions of Atheist and Agnostic
- The question atheists fear
- Evidence for Christianity
- True atheists and the danger of relying in self-identification - humor
External links
- The Definition of Atheism That Will Not Die!
- Why the Burden of Proof is on the Atheist by Professor Ralph McInerny
Notes
- ↑ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philisophy - Atheism and Agnosticism
- ↑ Is Atheism More Rational? by Creation Ministries International
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Day, Donn R. (2007). "Atheism - etymology".
- ↑ Definition of atheism by William Lane Craig
- ↑ Definition of atheism by William Lane Craig
- ↑ Putting the Atheist on the Defensive by Kenneth R. Samples, Christian Research Institute Journal, Fall 1991, and Winter 1992, page 7.
- ↑
- The Atheism Vs. Agnosticism “Debate”
- Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford Dictionaries, due to their British influence (Atheism is more popular in Britain than in the United States and many other countries where English is spoken, see: Atheist population and Secular Europe and Atheism statistics), now offers the definition of atheism to be "Disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods." which is a departure from its historical meaning before a broader definition of atheism began to be more widely advocated in the latter portion of the 20th century (see: "Atheism - etymology")
- ↑
- The Atheism Vs. Agnosticism “Debate”
- Definition of atheism by William Lane Craig
- Putting the Atheist on the Defensive by Kenneth R. Samples, Christian Research Institute Journal, Fall 1991, and Winter 1992, page 7.
- Atheism by Matt Slick
- ↑ Discussion on Atheism: Report of a Public Discussion Between the Rev. Brewin Grant, B.A., and C. Bradlaugh, Esq., Held in South Place Chapel, Finsbury, London, on Tuesday Evenings, Commencing June 22, and Ending July 27, 1875, on the Question, "Is Atheism Or is Christianity the True Secular Gospel, as Tending to the Improvement and Happiness of Mankind in this Life by Human Efforts and Material Means.". Brewin Grant Charles Bradlaugh, January 1, 1890, Anti-liberation Society, page 10-12[1]
- ↑ Definition of atheism by William Lane Craig
