Post #9 The 'A' word

Does the term ‘atheist’ strike anyone else as ridiculous? In what other situation would anyone describe themselves by what they don’t believe? Does the term atheist presuppose that everyone believes in a deity or deities? I deny the existence of the Greek god Zeus, the Nordic god Jofur, the Sikh god Waheguru and the ancient Egyptian god Osiris. We are all atheist in regard to some belief; a Christian denies the existence of Allah.

I am also an afairiest; I deny the existence of fairies. Yet it would be absurd to refer to myself this way, so why is religion different? People are not born with religion. They may be born into religion, but it is a meme, a virus of the mind.

If I have no way of disproving the existence of a god authority, how can I be so sure that there isn’t one?

The burden of proof is on those making the claim. From that, assuming the authority exists in a way that seems exactly like it does not, I come to ‘agnosticism’.

“Huxley coined the word “agnostic” to describe his position on knowledge and religious belief – that one cannot, and should not claim to, know things for which there is no evidence.”

If a god exists, its nature is inherently unknowable. But so are fairies and I’m still not ready to accept a position any less than afairiest on those. I am not agnostic about the Nordic gods, I choose to live my life assuming there is no supernatural authority.

Take Christianity as an example:

Why does anyone need a book that contradictorily tells us that

• homosexuality is an abomination worthy of death,
  Romans 1:31-32
  Corinthians 6:9-10
  
  
• eating shellfish is also an abomination,
  Leviticus 11:9-12
  Deuteronomy 14:9-10
  www.godhatesshrimp.com
  
  
• figs are evil
  Matthew21:18-20
  www.godhatesfigs.com
  
  
• yet be kind to others?
  Romans 12:9-10
  Romans 12:15-21
  www.skepticsannotatedbible.com
  
  

I am an atheist but I should not need to call myself one.