CONSEQUENCES

Selected Consequences;
Evolution is True and Christianity, and All Religions, Are Not

ATHEISM

Atheism

Atheism is a common conclusion after studying nature. What is atheism? It’s not someone who believes there is no God. Atheism is the lack of belief in a theistic God due to a lack of evidence. This confusion is common and even found in some dictionaries. The prefix “a” means not or without and theism refers to belief. Is asymmetry a type of symmetry? Is apolitical a type of politics?

If you wanted to know what Christianity is would you not consult a Christian who has written on the subject? If you wanted to know what constitutes the Islamic religion, would you not consult a Muslim scholar? If you wanted to know the proper definition of atheism, would it be not be best to ask an atheist who has published on the subject, rather than straw man theist arguments against atheism? (see References below).

A lack of belief can’t be a belief any more than bald a hair color, abstinence a type of sex activity, or the off button on a TV a channel.

Who says atheism is just the lack of belief due to a lack of evidence?

"Atheism is nothing more than the absence of belief in gods.”

Smith, George H. "Atheism: The Case Against God." Prometheus Books, 1979.

"Atheism is not a belief. It is the absence of belief. It is not a claim to knowledge, it is the admission that one does not know.”

Barker, Dan. "Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists." Ulysses Press, 2008.

"Atheism is nothing more than the absence of belief in gods. Atheism is too often defined incorrectly as a belief system.” Austin Cline, "Atheism and Agnosticism." Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

"Atheism is not a doctrine, nor a worldview. It is simply a rejection of the assertion that there are gods.”

Blackford, Russell. "50 Great Myths About Atheism." Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.

"Atheism is nothing more than the absence of belief in gods. It is not a positive belief or a claim to knowledge.”

Eller, David. "Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Freethinker." American Atheist Press, 2007.

"Atheism is merely the absence of belief in gods. It is not a positive belief or a claim to knowledge.”Baggini, Julian. "Atheism: A Very Short Introduction." Oxford University Press, 2003.

"Atheism is not a belief system nor is it a religion. It is simply a lack of belief in gods.”

Bullivant, Stephen. "The Oxford Handbook of Atheism." Oxford University Press, 2013.

"Atheism is nothing more than the absence of belief in gods. It is not a positive belief or a claim to knowledge.”

Martin, Michael. "Atheism: A Philosophical Justification." Temple University Press, 1990.

"Atheism is not a belief system nor is it a religion. It is simply a lack of belief in gods.”

Zuckerman, Phil. "Living the Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions." Penguin Press, 2014.

"Atheism is nothing more than the absence of belief in gods. It is not a positive belief or a claim to knowledge.”

Nielsen, Kai. "Atheism and Philosophy." Prometheus Books, 2005.

"Atheism is not a belief system nor is it a religion. It is simply a lack of belief in gods.”

Cliteur, Paul. "The Secular Outlook: In Defense of Moral and Political Secularism."

Deism vs Theism - Limits of Atheism and Morality

I apply theism to a personal god and deism to an impersonal one that does not interact with its creation. Atheism is such a loaded term that it often carries negative connotations that are not accurate. Other terms may be helpful to use are non-theist and anti-theist. Of course, multiple descriptors can be applied to a single individual. Other atheist organizations agree with the proper definition of atheism. Much more importantly, atheism is not a religion (worships what? No creeds. No supernatural belief and different atheists can have different world views - note Stalin vs. Sagan for example).

Secondly, atheism does not tell you about the person. It's just a tentative very secure conclusion due to a lack of evidence for a supported claim of God. It's not a philosophy of life explaining what a person believes in terms of morals, meaning and purpose in life for example. Most atheists adopt secular humanism as their world view but certainly Stalin and Pol Pot did not.

Third, what about all those dictionaries that state atheism is "the belief there is no god"? What is the function of a dictionary? It is not to make policy or determine correct definition but to report usage - often common usage that is frequently wrong.

The writer of a dictionary is a historian, not a lawgiver. . . To regard the dictionary as an 'authority,' therefore, is to credit the dictionary writer with gifts of prophecy which neither he nor anyone else possesses.

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-dictionary-1690450

Atheism is frequently and falsely linked to immoral values due to especially some despotic communist leaders. As demonstrated here, atheism is not a worldview and does not tell us anything about the values a person holds. In fact, there are atheist disaster relief agencies and organizations that help the poor and homeless.

See for example: https://seculardirectory.org/charities/

What about atheism and communism? They killed in the name of their ideology and not for atheism. Discussed here - #11 in this blog on multiple shorter topics - Evolutionary Musings

Agnostic

A quick comment about the term agnostic. In common usage, most use this term to mean uncertainty or the inability to know something. It's often presented as a middle ground between theism and atheism. But technically that is not true. Gnosis refers to knowledge and as discussed above the prefix 'a' means not or without. Thus we are all agnostic about many areas of life. Thus, gonstic on one end and agnostic on the other does not belong on the same line as theism and atheism. They are very different claims. We are nearly all agnostic theists/deists and agnostic atheists in some way. It's unfortunate that especially many theists when proselytizing present the three incorrectly as theism - agnosticism - atheism.