Content
@
0 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Thomas
@aviationdoctor.eth
There is this famous quote from Richard Dawkins: “We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.“ 1/5
4 replies
0 recast
19 reactions
Thomas
@aviationdoctor.eth
I would go one step further and propose that not only is everyone an atheist to *some* degree, but none more so than an actual believer. Why? 2/5
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Thomas
@aviationdoctor.eth
Assuming N deities in human history (the exact value of N does not matter here — estimates of 10,000 are common), the believer believes in just 1 (or one pantheon), and firmly rejects the remaining N-1 because they are mutually exclusive (sometimes to the point of heresy). 3/5
1 reply
0 recast
1 reaction
Thomas
@aviationdoctor.eth
The typical atheist rejects just one more deity, for a total of N, but not as firmly: the atheist’s lack of belief isn’t symmetrical to the believer’s faith. It’s just a default position that awaits incontrovertible evidence, without rejecting the tenuous possibility. 4/5
2 replies
0 recast
1 reaction
Blinky Stitt
@flashprofits.eth
If it isn't firmly, isn't that Agnosticism and not Atheism?
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Thomas
@aviationdoctor.eth
I’m aware of the semantical nuances of each, but I don’t think they matter here. The believers are technically the hardest of atheists in that they forcefully reject every other deity. The other camp either claims no belief in deities (agnostics) or that deities don’t exist (atheists) (simplifying a bit).
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
