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In terms of contemporary definitions of atheism, the ''Webster-Merriam Dictionary'' defines atheism in two ways: "1) a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods 2) a philosophical or religious position characterized by disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods."<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheism Atheism], ''Webster-Merriam'' dictionary</ref>  
 
In terms of contemporary definitions of atheism, the ''Webster-Merriam Dictionary'' defines atheism in two ways: "1) a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods 2) a philosophical or religious position characterized by disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods."<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheism Atheism], ''Webster-Merriam'' dictionary</ref>  
 
''Oxford English Dictionies'' defines atheism as "Disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods."<ref>[https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/atheism Atheism], Oxford online dictionary</ref>  
 
''Oxford English Dictionies'' defines atheism as "Disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods."<ref>[https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/atheism Atheism], Oxford online dictionary</ref>  
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[[File:512px-Collage of Six Cats-01.jpg|thumbnail|left|150px|In his essay ''Herding Cats: Why atheism will lose'', the atheist Francois Tremblay compared unifying atheists to herding cats.<ref name="liberator.net">[http://www.liberator.net/articles/TremblayFrancois/herdingcats.html  ''Herding Cats: Why atheism will lose''] by Francois Tremblay</ref>]]
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The atheist Francois Tremblay wrote in his essay ''Herding Cats: Why atheism will lose'':
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{{cquote|Atheism, as [[Definition of atheism|commonly defined]] by atheists, expresses a lack of belief, or disbelief, in deities. It is not a positive belief in anything, but a negative concept. That is why atheists, inasmuch as they are atheists, are nothing like a coherent or concerted group. Organizations like American Atheists serve a role of broadcasting information more than anything else, because there cannot be concerted action when nobody agrees on what to do (except of course on direct concerns like the rights of atheists or separation of church and state). Most atheists disagree strongly on whenever atheism should be propagated, or promoted, and on the matter of doing so.
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Another problem of atheism qua atheism is that it does not contain its own basis. What I mean by this is that atheism is a punctual, [[ontological]] belief, which is itself the implicit or explicit result of [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] and [[Atheism and epistemology|epistemological deductions]]. Any reply to an attack on this basis cannot come directly from atheism. Concentrating oneself only on being an atheist is like trying to build a house from the second floor up. It may look less costly on paper, and for people who only build houses in their imagination this may be a good way of seeing it, but it's not good enough for a serious endeavour. And most importantly, it's too fragile. I see too many religionists attacking atheism from the bottom and atheists being unable to adequately reply to the arguments. If the atheist cannot answer to his most fundamental beliefs on the nature of reality and cognition, then his atheism is worthless in terms of validation. It is nothing more than a big paper tiger, made from the finest cardboard.
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Another problem of atheism qua atheism is that it does not contain its own basis. What I mean by this is that atheism is a punctual, [[ontological]] belief, which is itself the implicit or explicit result of [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] and [[Atheism and epistemology|epistemological deductions]]. Any reply to an attack on this basis cannot come directly from atheism. Concentrating oneself only on being an atheist is like trying to build a house from the second floor up. It may look less costly on paper, and for people who only build houses in their imagination this may be a good way of seeing it, but it's not good enough for a serious endeavour. And most importantly, it's too fragile. I see too many religionists attacking atheism from the bottom and atheists being unable to adequately reply to the arguments. If the [[Atheism and irrationality|atheist cannot answer to his most fundamental beliefs on the nature of reality and cognition]], then his atheism is worthless in terms of validation. It is nothing more than a big paper tiger, made from the finest cardboard.
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One last problem that undermines any propagation of atheism is inspiration. Let's be honest here, "there is no god!" is [[Atheism and inspiration|not a very motivating call]] for most people.<ref name="liberator.net">[http://www.liberator.net/articles/TremblayFrancois/herdingcats.html  ''Herding Cats: Why atheism will lose''] by Francois Tremblay</ref>}}
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One last problem that undermines any propagation of atheism is inspiration. Let's be honest here, "there is no god!" is [[Atheism and inspiration|not a very motivating call]] for most people.<ref>[http://www.liberator.net/articles/TremblayFrancois/herdingcats.html  ''Herding Cats: Why atheism will lose''] by Francois Tremblay</ref>
   
[[File:Ray Comfort Promo Picture.jpg|left|thumbnail|130px|Ray Comfort]]
 
[[File:Ray Comfort Promo Picture.jpg|left|thumbnail|130px|Ray Comfort]]
 
[[Ray Comfort]] says about atheism (which you can be shared with an atheist):
 
[[Ray Comfort]] says about atheism (which you can be shared with an atheist):
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