Atheism as faith

ericmortensen:

justinday:

Might as well bring this up while Twitter is all abuzz with #nogod. This is a frequent argument I have with my friends, and one I can never get anyone to agree with me on.

I assert that Atheism is just as much faith as any religion.

To assume that you know with no amount of uncertainty how The Universe was created and what will happen after you die is foolhardy. There’s only one way to find out what the posthumous experience is for sure, and so far nobody has come back to share.

Understanding and accepting that we will never answer some questions with absolute fact is part of the respect that every faith and religion deserves.

I believe with absolute certainty that there is no God, but because I cannot base that belief in unrefutable fact it must be faith.

Huh?  That’s completely backward.  Nothing is irrefutable.  By your definition, evolution is faith.  Gravity is faith.  The speed of light is faith.  By your definition, my insistence that there is no such thing as leprechauns is faith.

You define athiesm as “To assume that you know with no amount of uncertainty how The Universe was created”.  Atheism has nothing to do with that.  Atheists simply say, “due to a complete lack of evidence, I do not believe in deities.”  That’s it. Nothing more.  There’s certainly nothing about atheism that asserts an understanding of how the universe was created. In fact, there’s nothing about atheism that involves having an opinion about the universe at all.  However, it’s likely that most atheists do believe the latest scientific evidence of the creation of the universe.

If someone was raised in the middle of nowhere and never encountered anyone who believed in god, he’d be an atheist simply by virtue of never having heard of the “guy”. This person is no different than I am, in that neither of us have seen evidence of god and therefor are not compelled to believe in its existence.  That’s fact, not faith.

Buddhists are atheists.  Not only do they not claim to “know with no amount of uncertainty how The Universe was created”, they tend to avoid that question altogether. They have a belief structure that qualifies as faith, but their lack of belief in god is rooted in fact.

Believing in something for which there is no proof = faith-based.

Not believing in something for which there is no proof = fact-based.

I just don’t have it in me to get into this debate today, so I’ll leave it with a pithy - yet accurate - comment: “Atheism is a religion in the same way that not collecting stamps is a hobby.”

Source: justinday

59 Notes/ Hide

  1. gilmoure reblogged this from moorewr
  2. cloverfrommars reblogged this from ericmortensen and added:
    i would say that most atheists would probably hate to have their non-believing beliefs called “faith”, if only because...
  3. apoplecticskeptic reblogged this from ericmortensen and added:
    I’m curious to hear this “evidence for Theism.” That sounds fascinating. Not a general “god concept,” but Theism?! Let’s...
  4. justinalcon reblogged this from ericmortensen and added:
    Julia says, “Atheism is a religion like NOT collecting stamps is a hobby…. I don’t believe in agnostics…” I love it.
  5. ericmortensen reblogged this from justinday and added:
    Faith does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. That’s what makes it faith. If you have evidence, you don’t...
  6. seanbonner reblogged this from mikehudack and added:
    I think there is a misasumption here - Not Believing In God and Believing There Is No God are not the same thing, though...
  7. atomische reblogged this from greaterthanlapsed and added:
    God botherers often accuse atheists of having “faith” that there is no god, demonstrating that they really don’t know...
  8. greaterthanlapsed reblogged this from drinkthe-koolaid
  9. mikehudack reblogged this from justinday and added:
    Good stuff. Personally I’m agnostic. I’m not swayed by the arguments for or against the existence of God. I believe that...
  10. marilynhack reblogged this from justinday and added:
    I think the confusion here is that what Justin is arguing for is anti-theism, which does require a kind of belief....
  11. barelysarcasm reblogged this from spytap and added:
    I feel quite uninspired to debate as well, but I love the wit contributed by Spytap.
  12. spytap reblogged this from ericmortensen and added:
    I just don’t have it in me to get into this debate today, so I’ll leave it with a pithy - yet accurate - comment:...
  13. justinday reblogged this from ericmortensen and added:
    incorrect. There...difference between believing in no God and
  14. justinalcon reblogged this from ericmortensen and added:
    http://atheism.about.com/od/atheismmyths/a/faith.htm sums this up nicely, Dawkins also has a nice treatment of this, I...
  15. gracenmichelle reblogged this from ericmortensen
  16. creationism reblogged this from ericmortensen and added:
    worship the glitch:...as faith Key word “believe”. Debate 101: Don’t void your...
  17. ericmortensen reblogged this from justinday and added:
    Huh? That’s completely backward. Nothing...irrefutable. By your definition, evolution
  18. betapoint reblogged this from justinday and added:
    i have to call bullshit on...one. Don’t get me wrong - JD is one of few people who i...
  19. justinday posted this

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