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Define meaning of atheism clearly in the dictionary

The meaning of atheism must be clearly defined in the dictionary as those who do not follow any religion or those who do not believe in the existence of supernatural forces. Don't you think?

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Permalink Reply by Alex McCullie on April 6, 2010 at 7:11am

Even "supernatural" can be problematic as a concept; one person's supernatural is another's natural. Richard Carrier suggests that naturalists should avoid the natural/supernatural dichotomy. Naturalists effectively believe only in things that have material basis. So "consciousness" is ok as it depends on brain processing and would end with its cessation. However whether or not atheism necessarily extends to disbelieving in all things that don't have some material basis is another thing. Alex

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Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on April 1, 2010 at 7:30am

Courtesy of Dictionary.com:

atheism
1580s, from Fr. athéisme (16c.), from Gk. atheos "without god" [emphasis mine]

Personally, I think that says it reasonably well.

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Permalink Reply by Alex McCullie on April 7, 2010 at 7:24am

Not sure about that :-) I can understand a person, totally unaware of an idea, being without belief about it. However it seems unrealistic to suggest that having been exposed to the god idea, especially when so pervasively, that a person can still claim to be without any corresponding beliefs even if he or she seeks to disbelieve in god. The passionate postings to this forum seem to suggest otherwise. Alex

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Permalink Reply by Фелч Гроган on April 7, 2010 at 8:44am

This atheism definition is a semantic black hole where pedants come to die. The amount of pointless noise it generates is staggering. It is as stated without a belief. For lack of evidence, the null hypothesis stands. That's all it is. Adding any more to it and it ceases to be atheism and it becomes yet another ideology. This explains it neatly -

If you want to add meaning to it, invent another word. Leave atheism be.

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Permalink Reply by Jaume on April 1, 2010 at 7:32am

I don't give a shit. I'm a proud adictionarist.

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Permalink Reply by JOEL FERNANDES on April 1, 2010 at 7:40am

i said it because all religious nuts should know that atheists are not Satan worshipers as propagated by their leaders.

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Permalink Reply by Jaume on April 1, 2010 at 7:53am

all religious nuts should know

Should know? Forget it. Religious nuts aren't interested in knowledge, only uninformed opinion. As long as it's theirs, of course.

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Permalink Reply by Howard S. Dunn on April 1, 2010 at 11:15am

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead. ~ Thomas Paine

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Permalink Reply by Menuk Menmeth on April 7, 2010 at 2:19am

LMAO! how true. I'll have to remember that quote!

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Permalink Reply by Howard S. Dunn on April 1, 2010 at 11:18am

Religion means link to the past - Buddhism is a religion in the sense that it is a traditionally based view of the nature of the universe on an absolute scale. It does not claim a centralized, creator deity, per se.

It is a religion of people who don't believe in god. The same can be said for communists.

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Permalink Reply by Фелч Гроган on April 6, 2010 at 7:39pm

Buddhism is a philosophy; that is, it began as a philosophy, and got taken over as the centuries rolled on by religion and superstition

Buddhist "philosophy" also left disabled babies out in the snow because, after all, they must have been really evil fuckers in a past life.