greekgod Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well, isn't atheist a term meaning "without a > belief in a deity?" > > So if you believe in a deity, even if you don't > believe in some Greek God, you are still a > theist/deist. > > I get what you're saying but it would be pointless > to run around telling Christians or Muslims or > Jews "You're an atheist!"
I agree. It is j ust changing the definition and doesn't accomplish anything. Everyone knows that no one believes in every god who ever was worshipped.
Who was it who said, "Atheist are not all that different from Christians. You and I understand that it is silly to believe in all the other gods, I just see it as silly to believe in yours as well." Or words to that effect.
That money analogy is silly. I don't think foreign money is worthless, and I would be just as happy to get millions of Euros as millions of dollars. I'd just go to a currency exchange, or move to Europe. Also, the term atheist predates Christianity and was originally used by pagan Greeks to describe those who didn't believe in their Gods. At one time, Christians were the Atheists.
As a non sequitur, I'd also like to point out that many strains of paganism are at least full of enthralling characters, unlike the humdrum desert scum that star in Christianity. As the modern day practitioners of Norse Paganism say, "My God carries a hammer. Your god was nailed to a cross. Any questions?"
People sacrifice their "selves" for it, as well as their loves and families, they kill, lie, cheat, and steal for it. But people in general are rather parochial about it: stores only accept the local currency, in the U.S. people expect to be paid in dollars instead of talas, and being a millionaire here (Japan) doesn't mean much if it's yen. On a practical level, most people do reject other moneys in favor of their own.
But then there are religious people who understand that theists all seek union with divinity, no matter what name they call their god.
You are I are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer God than you. When you realise why you don't believe in all the other possible Gods, you'll know why I don't believe in yours.
Everyone thinks money is worthless...at least when it's foreign. You only value your own country's currency because it's the only one you can spend in town, that your banks handle, etc.
You don't see the difference between "a god" and the notion of the numinous (divinity) itself.
See neil donald walsch books conversations with god 1-3 We are all god, godding. We got so fucking board up there we chose to come down to earth and other worlds to take on mortal or alien flesh, and forget where we come from so that it wasnt about learning anything as a test but to remember who we really were GOD in collective conciousness, split like an atom every living thing, energy in form still god. Knowing this earth inhabitants dont get a free ticket for ego and killing others but actualy love everyone as god and see god in everyone and all equal, no judging does not exist by a loving god because we are all god godding, nothing to be envious about as there is plenty for everyone.
My take on Athiesm as I class myself as on is that we don't believe in any of the versions of God/Creator presented unto us past and present and hence we reject (via facts) all the claims made by those claiming to 'represent' or claims have 'been called' by God/Creator and hence reject their demands as well ( usually money, women and obedience to their dictatorial rules conveniently made in their favour).
Maybe someone/something did create/cause everything to come into existence but has certainly not made themselves known to us IMO.
Athiesm used to scare me, now it's the other way round. Religion scares me!
It's true. Everyone is an atheist about some/most of the gods they don't accept.
The difference is that some are also theists about a specific one they do accept.
So, it's all in context depending on what god you don't accept in common.
I don't think an average theist would agree with me saying he believes in ALL gods. So he is an atheist only in that sense. However the fact he believes in a god at all makes him a theist as well . The word "a-theist" only works for a theist if we are discussing a specific god he says he hold no belief in.
The catch is getting the theist to explain why his god is any more credible than the others.