| bemahan
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| 911596. Fri May 25, 2012 7:20 am |
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My son said this was discussed in his Theology Club yesterday.
The speaker took a dictionary definition of faith as being confidence or trust in someone or something that is not based on proof.
I am trying to find a good and well-balanced discussion of this on the internet, partly because I am interested and partly so that he can read a range of views on the subject.
Any suggestions*, please?
*apart from rude ones :)
Last edited by bemahan on Fri May 25, 2012 8:02 am; edited 1 time in total
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| djgordy
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| 911597. Fri May 25, 2012 7:47 am |
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There is a book by Nick Hrding called "How to be a Good Atheist" which is worth looking at.
Clearly, atheism isn't a faith. |
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| PDR
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| 911598. Fri May 25, 2012 7:51 am |
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I have always believed Atheism is a Lack of Faith, but I can't find definitive evidence to support this view.
PDR |
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| Celebaelin
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| 911607. Fri May 25, 2012 8:32 am |
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There's a literal standpoint I suppose. Since atheism strictly only means that one has no belief in a God (or Gods) then there are certain religious devotions* that would generally be accepted as faiths which would qualify as atheistic by that criterion, most notably Buddhism of course.
The definition of faith allows atheism, see senses 2, 4 and, in the case of Buddhism, 5 below.
| Quote: | faith [feyth] n.
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.
2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith. |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Buddhism
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheism?s=t
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faith
<E> * actually Buddhism is the only one I know of for certain but there are bound to be others.
Last edited by Celebaelin on Fri May 25, 2012 8:39 am; edited 1 time in total
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| Strawberry
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| 911609. Fri May 25, 2012 8:36 am |
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| We have had numerous threads about atheism so maybe you could look for them by using the search forums thing. |
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| swot
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| 911612. Fri May 25, 2012 8:50 am |
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You could try introducing him to the Dawkins scale of atheism.
I'm 6, if anyone's interested. |
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| bemahan
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| 911630. Fri May 25, 2012 9:53 am |
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| Strawberry wrote: | | We have had numerous threads about atheism so maybe you could look for them by using the search forums thing. |
I did do a search but there's 19 pages. I am looking specifically for discussions about any parallels in terms of a belief in something there of which there is no absolute proof. |
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| Strawberry
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| 911638. Fri May 25, 2012 10:01 am |
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| :) OK; fair enough. |
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| Jenny
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| 911640. Fri May 25, 2012 10:04 am |
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| In sense 2 of Cele's definition posted above, belief that is not based on proof, you could describe atheism as a faith. Since you can't prove a negative, you can't prove that there is no god. However, since it all revolves around what you mean by god anyway, which is a very variable thing, it's a little tricky. |
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| dr.bob
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| 911641. Fri May 25, 2012 10:05 am |
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The problem with the word "atheist" is it's a pretty vague term that covers a lot of different types.
Some atheists may believe strongly that god does not exist. I would classify that type of person as having faith: faith in the non-existance of god.
Others believe that there's not enough evidence either way to make a definitive statement on the matter, whilst others really don't give a toss one way or the other and wish people would stop bugging them about the whole matter. |
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| PDR
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| 911643. Fri May 25, 2012 10:17 am |
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Is there a category for "I don't care if there is a god - I would still refuse to recognise his right of self-endeification"?
If so that would be me.
PDR |
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| bemahan
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| 911644. Fri May 25, 2012 10:17 am |
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| dr.bob wrote: |
Some atheists may believe strongly that god does not exist. I would classify that type of person as having faith: faith in the non-existance of god. |
Given that the speaker was a 13 year old in a group ranging from 11 to 18 years, I suspect that they may have a rather 'black and white' view of things so may well have had the above scenario in mind. |
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| Celebaelin
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| 911647. Fri May 25, 2012 10:35 am |
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| PDR wrote: | Is there a category for "I don't care if there is a god - I would still refuse to recognise his right of self-endeification"?
If so that would be me.
PDR |
That's a category 0 - I AM God, I just don't go on about it. |
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| PDR
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| 911652. Fri May 25, 2012 11:12 am |
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| Celebaelin wrote: | That's a category 0 - I AM God,
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That could be me...
| Quote: | | I just don't go on about it. |
Ah - perhaps not. Do I have to meet *both* criteria or is one out of two sufficient for a positive classification?
PDR |
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| tetsabb
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| 911654. Fri May 25, 2012 11:27 am |
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5.5 or thereabouts. Should go to 11, like proper measurements.. |
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