Atheists who attack atheists

Why, oh why?

Because so many try to pretend they're not one when they actually are.

And vice-versa

What do you know about it?

Show them no mercy

"I'm not sure if there's a god or not" doesn't qualify someone to drop the atheist label. If you're not theist you're an atheist. If I ever have access to a time machine I'm going to pay a visit to Thomas Huxley and smack him upside the head.

Not "I'm not sure" it's "I have no way of knowing and I really don't care"

Wishy-washy is the way to go!

hehehe. I propose a new word then... apatheist

I might take that one. I'm honestly just exhausted from all this arguing.

It's someone else's turn to be the bitch queen of the forums. Joy, I chose you! *flings Joy, packed inside a pokeball*

I have actually seen many people who claim to be atheists who are in fact simply anti-Christian. I think some of them confuse the two, and that is where you get the strife.

Strange. Can't say I've witnessed this myself. I don't know any atheists who believe in a supreme being of any variety.

Well, if you really want me to, I guess I could...

And all bisexuals are really gay. They are just lying to themselves.

Chip, I realize it can be lonely to be an atheist. But stop trying to tell others what they are.

For fun, I poked through the Wikipedia to see what it had to say about the term "atheist."

Based purely on what it says, I suppose I'm somehow a "militant weak atheist." I'm not sure how I managed it.

Me too, by some stretch of the imagination. Although Chip might have to choke a bit at including me at that point.

Well it similar to when you said this:




They aren't really atheists, but still claim to be. Which really is the same thing you just said I suppose.

I'm not. I'm arguing for the proper use of a word. Nothing more. Those who are not theists are atheists. Semantically it's an either-or. It's binary. That's why there are further classifications of atheism. People who stereotype all atheists as gnostic are the ones trying to tell others what they are.

I don't doubt you. I've just never met anyone who does that.

From the American Heritage Dictionary:

atheist - One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.

If you don't believe then you disbelieve. Again, it's a binary. Someone who is almost but not quite a theist is still not a theist. Not a theist = atheist.

Ugh. You people are totally arguing semantics now. I hate that. You can call yourself whatever you like as long as you define it clearly so that we all understand what you mean, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Why is this so important? So some atheists decided to expand the category and write it into Wikipedia. That doesn't mean that all the agnostics who don't follow atheist studies are now atheist. It just means some atheists have backed off into the third value - i.e. null, such as yourself.

The three values being belief - disbelief - null.

Secondly, the proper use of a word is accomplished when you can use it to have another person get the same concept as you have. Dictionaries are very helpful in this regard. Why keep insisting that the dictionary is wrong? Why keep arguing that not knowing is the same as not believing?

Unfortunately it's impossible to use our language to describe our beliefs without getting into an argument of semantics. It's funny that no one ever defends an atheist when they argue against the innacurate stereotypes associated with the word, but tell someone that by proper use of the word they're an atheist and the shit hits the fan. Behond the power of demonization.

I guess they just don't like to believe that they don't believe, can you believe that?

Atheists who attack atheists and the women who love them, next week on Oprah.