Irenaeus, Siteadmin, Check users, oversight, Administrators
351,427
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 17:
Line 17: − + + + + Line 23:
Line 26: + + + + + + + + + +
Definition of atheism (view source)
Revision as of 00:11, September 9, 2015
, 00:11, September 9, 2015→Attempts to alter the definition of atheism which began in the late 18th century
*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>[http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm Atheism - Etymology]</ref>}}
*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>[http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm Atheism - Etymology]</ref>}}
== Attempts to alter the definition of atheism which began in the late 18th century ==
== Attempts to redefine the word atheism: 19th century and contemporary efforts ==
[[File:Charles Bradlaugh.jpg|thumb|right|195px|[[Charles Bradlaugh]] ]]
''See also:'' [[Attempts to dilute the definition of atheism]]
In the late 19th century and more broadly in the latter portion of the 20th century, the proposition that the definition of atheism also include a mere lack of belief in God or gods began.<ref>Day, Donn R. (2007). [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"].</ref> It is now common for atheists/[[agnosticism|agnostics]] and [[theism|theists]] to debate the meaning of the word atheism.<ref>
In the late 19th century and more broadly in the latter portion of the 20th century, the proposition that the definition of atheism also include a mere lack of belief in God or gods began.<ref>Day, Donn R. (2007). [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"].</ref> It is now common for atheists/[[agnosticism|agnostics]] and [[theism|theists]] to debate the meaning of the word atheism.<ref>
*Day, Donn R. (2007). [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"]. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
*Day, Donn R. (2007). [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"]. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
*[http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/atheism 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|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: [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"])</ref>
*[http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/atheism 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|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: [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism - etymology"])</ref>
[[Charles Bradlaugh]], in 1876, proposed that atheism does not assert "there is no God," and by doing so he diluted the traditional definition of atheism. Since 1979, many atheists have followed Bradlaugh's thinking further and stated that atheism is merely a lack of belief in any god.<ref name="DivCon">http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm</ref><ref>[http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/bradlaugh.htm Positive Atheism's Big List of Charles Bradlaugh Quotations]</ref> 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.<ref name="DivCon" />
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, [[agnosticism|agnostics]] and [[Philosophical skepticism|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."<ref name="DivCon" />
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.<ref>[http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm Atheism - Etymology]</ref>
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.
== Some purported varieties of atheism ==
== Some purported varieties of atheism ==