I find nothing about Atheism that is positive. Virtually all arguments for Atheism are negative. By example: "God isn't." "God isn't logical." I personally find such arguments weak. I suggest that you change the terms to be defined to "Assertive Atheism" and "Passive Atheism." Then we will be free to judge the various individual Atheist arguments as either strong or weak.
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Yeah, and Christianity is such a positive religion with "Deity x is a false deity", "y is sin", etc, etc, forever and ever...
If you say "I find nothing about Atheism that is positive", well, that's just pot calling a steel kettle black, huh?
No postive things?
Atheists won't burn people at the stake for not praying the same way.
Atheists won't murder a woman for showing an ankle or tip of her nose.
Atheists won't invade another country and slaughter as many civilians as they can for having the audacity of not believing as they do.
The list goes on and on.
How about this:
"The world is real. We can learn more about it by using our senses and our minds, than by reading and re-reading ancient texts or ascribing all unexplained phenomena to the realm of the supernatural."
Positive enough for you, GHB?
Then we will be free to judge the various individual Atheist arguments as either strong or weak.
Silly christian!
There is only ONE atheist argument that you need to understand and anything else coming from an atheists mouth has nothing to do with atheism:
Anything else coming from an atheist, is a political statement and not an atheistic statement because the statement above is everything atheism ever can be.
Since the definition of Atheism is 'a disbelief in any god', it's not surprising that mostly negative terms will be used when debating theists. I doubt any Atheist has ever said to you "God isn't logical", since the very statement pre-supposes the existence of God. Oh, and while we're chatting so nicely, doesn't your own book have something to say about 'judge not, lest ye be judged'?
There are already terms to describe different types of atheism. "Positive" atheism, "Negative" atheism. "Strong" atheism, "Weak" atheism. "Gnostic atheism", "Agnostic" atheism. Take your pick.
Disbelieving in something instead of believing in something else is not an unreasonable position. We feel the same way about God as you do about leprechauns, unicorns and pink elephants.
Okay, so you only want positive statements
God IS a figment of your imaginationIS holding back mankind's progressIS a simplified answer for complex questions that require complex answers.
There you go, not one "isn't" in the list.
More positive associations with Atheism? No problem:
- Atheism is the much better, much more consistent worldview.
Any additions?
You think atheism is the one that is negative?
As I recall, your favorite bible quotes all start with "Thou shalt not..."
As atheism is a lack of belief in gods, it's fundamentally negative. But just negative as in lacking, not as in depressive or bad.
God isn't. That's about it...
There is agnostic atheism and gnostic atheism, just as there is agnostic theism and gnostic theism.
You are free to judge various individual atheist and theists if you want to. That's called freedom of speech. If you follow the Bible, however, you ought to follow "Judge not, lest ye be judged", dearie. (Matthew 7:1)
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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