Kyuu said:
Atheism and agnosticism have different connotations. Albert Einstein refused to call himself an atheist even though he is according to your narrow definition. He liked being identified as an "agnostic" and actively dissociated himself from atheism while criticizing their fanatics. Let people define themselves the way they want. |
Einstein died in 1955. Language usage changes over time. I don't know how he would define himself if he lived today, but by the definition most atheists use today, he would qualify.
As for letting people define themselves, that fails at a point. If we're going to have a conversation about atheism or atheists, we need to have some common understanding of what the term means, and we have to agree on some meaning. Otherwise we can't have a conversation.
It's like if someone said they were a Christian, but they don't believe christ was divine. There are definitely people like that who would classify themselves as Christian, but if we're having a broader conversation about Christianity, we'd probably exclude them.
| Kyuu said:
Screw my cancer inducing mobile phone. I may reply to this in more detail on pc but u clearly dont kmow much about Einstein if u think he feared religious persecution. You both seem to be too focused on the literal and original meaning of the term rather than how it is actually perceived by the masses. |
How it is perceived by the masses isn't really relevant since the masses are not atheists. Christians (assuming we're talking about the Western world) don't get to define atheism. When they do, they often go with the definition that is easiest to argue against.
The majority of atheists define it as a lack of belief in god. So, that seems to be the best definition to go with.
