Don't like the term "Atheist"?

This is a clip from episode 620 of
"The Atheist Experience" TV show

Watch the TV show at
http://www.atheist-experience.com/

Or watch episode 620 at
http://blip.tv/file/2544392

Category:

Education

Tags:

• atheist
• experience
• 620
• sam
• harris
• asantaclausist
• respect
• credibility
• of
• religion
• faeries
• laws
• problem
• will
• not
• go
• away

[InLucidReverie]

I have found that you get better reception by saying that "I don't believe in any gods" instead of "I don't believe in God."

[ByeCruelWorld]

The term 'atheist' is just a label theists use for the people who reject their religious explanation of how the universe works.

The big problem is that our rejection is defined in dictionaries from a biased, theistic perspective.

Further, theists dictate that atheism is a political, social or philosophical ideology, whereas there is really only one indirect tenet - to live life using evidenced, debatable rationale as opposed to fantasy - and not all atheists even subscribe to that!

[GuacamoleKun]

@bustermk2 Ah, and that's a good reason. But there are also a lot of people who would say they're theists but not religious. I've said "I'm not religious" before, and people have said to me "I'm not talking about religion, I'm talking about God!"

[eyeammi]

I don't like the term atheist for 2 reasons:

1) I don't like having to describe myself in terms of things that I'm not. Eg, I'm not a person without blonde hair, I'm a person with brown hair.

2) The meaning of the word is unavoidably loaded & skewed by the theist majority with all the negative connotations they would like to imply. It's not enough to deny their definition. If it's all the same, I'd rather not give them a prepackaged word to impose their misconceptions of me in the 1st place.

[MrLittletomdj]

There's a big difference between saying that you don't believe in Santa or faries as opposed to saying I don't believe in God/s which is that Santa and faries & unicorns for that matter are entities with clearly defined attributes, (horns, beard, wings, red suit, four legs, reindeers etc.) Denying God from any particular literalist interpretation of a theology is one thing. Abstract concepts of God are multifaceted though & not so easily dismissed.

[JMUDoc]

I think the caller as a point - having to call myself an atheist gives tacit acknowledgment to the concept of a god.

The best possible answer to "do you believe in god?" would be "what's god?".

[bustermk2]

Actually I don't call myself an atheist. I call myself non-religious.

The reason is simply because not all religions have gods.

[necroticossuary]

@xRocketNumber9x as opposed to an aBnormalist?:)

[necroticossuary]

The problem with this argument is that, while there PROBABLY ISN'T a god, (e.g. First Cause or what have you) there COULD be. There is no definitive, objective evidence one way or the other. No one (Hollywood aside) is claiming that Santa Claus or unicorns created the universe. There are, demonstrably, no magic horses or north pole toy factory, but there is obviously a universe that had to begin somehow. This whole argument is comparing apples to oranges. I'm sticking with the term "atheist."

[1eharv]

I like chicken!