Democratic Underground - I see all three of those as essentially the same.

Reply #14: I see all three of those as essentially the same. [View All]

Speck Tater

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Wed Dec-15-10 02:32 PM
Response to Reply #12

14. I see all three of those as essentially the same.

"someone who denies the existence of god" = "I believe that God does not exist."

"One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods." = "I believe that God does not exist."

"a person who believes that there is no God." = "I believe that God does not exist."

The definitions that your left out are the ones that effectively say "I do not believe, nor do I disbelieve in God." (i.e. I have NO BELIEF, one way or the other, with respect to God). That is the etymological origin of the word "atheist", but I agree with you that your examples are what the word is commonly taken to mean in modern English. That is why I made the distinction in the first place. (I used to have a terrible time getting those distinctions across to my freshman logic students when I taught at Cal State Univ.)

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Reply #14: I see all three of those as essentially the same. [View All]