| TheLastStarFighter said: Definitions Dane, you are agnostic. |
Yes, there are differing definitions. You have sources that give those definitions and I have definitions that say otherwise. So which definitions do we follow? Well, instead of trying to argue about which dictionaries are the most valid, I say we have three options:
A.) Because you and I cannot come to an agreement on what atheism is, we should use the definition used by atheists themselves. Based on atheists like myself and that website atheists.org, the definition of atheists is someone who "lacks a belief in God"
or
B.) We can get rid of the term atheists altogether. When people come to a difference in definitions on a term, the term should be discarded completely as it detracts from the matter at hand. Instead of using terms like "atheists", "agnostisc", "theists", we can get rid of them altogether and just talk about people who "lack a belief in God", "Believe God doesn't exist", and "Believe God does exist". Then we can quite clearly see which is the default position. It really doesn't matter what they are labelled as.
or
C.) We could just break down the word "atheism" to see what it really means. "theism" means "a belief in God." And "a" is a prefix meaning "not" or "without." So when combined, "atheism" means "without a belief in God" or "not a belief in God." It would NOT mean "a belief in no God."
Which option do you prefer?
Here's what you cannot do: You cannot force a group of people to label themselves as a definition that they themselves don't even agree with.
