What Does Atheism Really Mean? (Craig vs Zindler)

http://drcraigvideos.blogspot.com - Pop philosophy strikes again! This time it invades atheism where some have tried to redefine it to mean a "non-belief in God". But as Dr. William Lane Craig demonstrates this redefinition of atheism is based on a self-refuting principle of verification of meaning utilized by Frank Zindler.

Some things to take note of:

1. Atheism has always meant the "belief that there is no God." As you can see in the video Zinder admitted it.
2. Disproving the existence of God is a singular (not universal) negative.
3. You CAN disprove a negative (amazingly, Zindler said polka-dotted geese cannot be disproven - honestly, guys, just think about this. He thinks it's rational and perfectly logical that a polka-dotted geese can exist!).
4. This redefinition of atheism (the non-belief in God) is a lot like agnosticism.
5. The verification theory of knowledge is self-refuting and is not universally held by philosophers and scientists.
6. The Greek word for atheism is "atheos" which literally means "without God" not "without belief in God".

Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=7884CFEEB03DD2BF

These clips come from Craig's debate with Zindler here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8230D1DD36193A58

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Atheism
• Agnosticism
• Definition
• non-belief
• disbelief
• in
• God
• William
• Lane
• Craig
• Frank
• Zindler
• atheos
• verification
• theory
• meaning
• principle
• knowledge
• universal
• singular
• negative
• Absence
• Karl
• Popper
• Dan
• Barker
• Gordon
• Stein
• Bertrand
• Russell
• Strong
• Weak
• Madilyn
• Murray
• O'Hair
• Kai
• Nielsen

[LorenScott69]

The only modern purpose for a belief in God is as a method of self-medication to cure your own feelings of guilt (wife beater, murderer, rapist, child molester, alcoholic, drug addict, etc) or due to some other tragic event that has caused you to feel that this life is no longer meaningful or worthy on its own. Your only hope is that in the "afterlife" something better awaits. Other than as a form of group therapy, organized religion serves no valuable purpose.

[drcraigvideos]

@LorenScott69 You're making the genetic fallacy, and you're begging the question. Can someone not say they're atheist because it's "self-medicating"? If so, that still doesn't say anything about religion (or atheism) per se. Anyway, please stay on topic.

[LorenScott69]

@drcraigvideos My point is that, in spite of a complete lack of evidence for the existence of a God (any God, Christian or otherwise), humans want to feel good (in general as well as about themselves). It is a basic survival instinct. Belief in something like a God is one means of achieving this good feeling. To stay closer to topic, atheists do not share this "need to believe" that theists have. I do not expect you to agree with me.

[drcraigvideos]

@LorenScott69 Well, you're right. Anyway, again, would it kill you to just watch the video and commenting on it (while staying on topic). If you're here to unload your frustrations on Christians, please, do it some place else. Oh, and when you watch the video (especially the parts where Craig gives evidence for God), please do so without plugging your ears. That's helpful.

[1GodOnlyOne]

@atheist976 You wrote, "Innocent until proven guilty is used in court and science."

Then God is innocent of the charge of nonexistence until proven guilty. Thank you for your agreement and support of Theism!

[drcraigvideos]

@z10ffi " It's always the one who makes a claim who needs to prove it." ... okay, so if an atheist says that "God doesn't exist" he clearly has the burden too. It works both ways, lest you think atheism means a lack of belief in God think again: watch?v=XcuSMQVq5dM

[bestvalue]

I didn't know William lane Craig debated Captain Kangaroo.

[NateKirch]

No one should say , I know that God (whichever God we are talking about) does not exist, because it is impossible to know this. It is equally impossible to "know" that God does exist. All we can do is say, "I believe (some form of) God exists and here are my reasons for believing this." Then we can put those reasons to the test and see how good they are. So far, I haven't seen a single good reason to believe, but I am open-minded and willing to consider any that come my way.

[Badwolf182]

Craig has an incredible mind - love his debates! When Dawkins avoids him, you KNOW the man is goooood

[TheProfWaffle]

Theism and atheism are BELIEF claims, whereas gnosticism and agnosticism are FACTUAL claims. As an atheist I believe there is no god, but I cannot make a factual claim to disprove his/her existence anymore than a theist can make a factual claim to prove his/her existence.

By definition, God's existence cannot be proven nor disproven.

Then question then becomes, why believe in something for which there is no evidence?

[ubermechazillatron]

People neglect God (not disbelieve because his existence is so painfully obvious) because they don't want to feel a weight of responsibility for themselves or humanity. They're selfish little children who want what feels good, and not what is good. They've diluted themselves to a point where they can no longer distinguish good from evil and are more than willing to accept pseudo-science in a pathetic attempt to justify wallowing in ignorance and malice. Too much?

[stallion4life]

Oof! That was brutal. Zindler was dying out there!

When is this video from? I'm surprised Dr. Craig was talking about "village atheists" even back then. Where does the term come from?