Definitions and Concepts of Atheism
Atheism is the rejection of belief in the existence of deities, the position that there are no deities, or the absence of belief that any deities exist.
Atheists cite a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities. Rationales for not believing in any deity include the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, and the argument from nonbelief. Other arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to the social to the historical. In general, atheists regard the arguments for the existence of God as unconvincing or flawed.
Agnostic atheists contend that there are insufficient grounds for strong atheism, the position that no deities exist, but still reject theistic claims.
Ignostics propose that every other theological position (including agnosticism and atheism) assumes too much about the concept of God and that the question of the existence of God is meaningless.
Read more about this topic: Criticism Of Atheism
Famous quotes containing the words definitions, concepts and/or atheism:
“The loosening, for some people, of rigid role definitions for men and women has shown that dads can be great at calming babiesif they take the time and make the effort to learn how. Its that time and effort that not only teaches the dad how to calm the babies, but also turns him into a parent, just as the time and effort the mother puts into the babies turns her into a parent.”
—Pamela Patrick Novotny (20th century)
“Institutional psychiatry is a continuation of the Inquisition. All that has really changed is the vocabulary and the social style. The vocabulary conforms to the intellectual expectations of our age: it is a pseudo-medical jargon that parodies the concepts of science. The social style conforms to the political expectations of our age: it is a pseudo-liberal social movement that parodies the ideals of freedom and rationality.”
—Thomas Szasz (b. 1920)
“Nothing shall warp me from the belief that every man is a lover of truth. There is no pure lie, no pure malignity in nature. The entertainment of the proposition of depravity is the last profligacy and profanation. There is no scepticism, no atheism but that. Could it be received into common belief, suicide would unpeople the planet.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)