Examining Lack of Belief in God.wmv

Atheism Defined by Lack of Belief

I was in a chat room full of atheists the other day listening to their conversations. Without any provocation, they started to attack Christianity. They said things like it was stupid and that there was no evidence for God.

One guy even said that it was impossible for God to exist. Instead of dealing with their objections, like I have done so many times before, I thought I would just keep listening and see what they were talking about.

I was more interested in getting a feel for the attitudes that the atheists had. After a while, it occurred to me that I would ask them what they think atheism really is. Since they have identified themselves as atheists, shouldn't they be able to define what it is?

Of course they should. When I asked them, that's when they started in on me with mockery and sarcasm. Go to the dictionary, one person said in a sarcastic tone. That's a stupid question, said another.

But I persisted. After a bit, one atheist said it was ignorance as to whether or not God could exist. Another claimed that atheism was knowing that there was no God. And of course, I was told that atheism is a lack of belief in God or gods.

Alright, that didn't take too long. So, after thanking them, I asked another question. I said, which definition is the right one and which one should I use according to what you guys are saying? Let's just say that the ridicule started right away.

Someone even commented on my lack of mental ability. Another said that I was illogical, that I didn't know what I was talking about, and that I couldn't even think straight. Anyway, I persisted in asking which definition of atheism was the right one.

After a bit of prodding, they more or less agreed that atheism was a lack of belief in God or gods. Okay, so finally I had something I could work with. But what I found interesting was that instead of defining themselves and their atheism by what they affirmed or what they believed in, they defined themselves by their lack of belief in God.

We are atheists, they said. We lack belief in God. Think about that. Do you know of anyone who defines a position he holds on to based on what he does not believe in or based on what is a lack of belief in something?

I don't, except for atheists, of course. Check this out. One guy says, Hey, I'm a Tigers fan. The atheist responds with, I lack belief in Tigers, and so should you. I think it's kind of odd for them to define themselves by what they lack belief in and then argue based on that lack of belief, especially when it comes to the topic of God.

Again, it just doesn't make any sense. It's like someone saying, Hey dude, I lack belief in God, and I let people know about it, and I'll argue against your belief in God based on my lack of belief in God.

Got it? I'll argue against you any day based on what I don't believe in. Does that sound healthy to you? Or does it sound like someone who is really saying one thing and doing another? I mean, atheists say they lack belief in God, but as soon as you offer something in support of God's existence, they jump on it like monkeys on a cupcake and try to rip it apart and say, We lack belief in cupcakes, excuse me, God.

Anyway, atheists are the only group of people I know of who identify themselves by denial of something and then work hard to defend their denial and even promote it. I don't know about you, but I think there's something screwy with that.