Atheism versus Anti-theism
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- Published on Wednesday, 09 June 2010 07:29
- Written by John Draper
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Many theists say they believe in god because expert arguments prove he exists. When they look at those arguments, even their favourite one, it turns out that their application of logic and reason is faulty. Further, they think that atheists positively reject the existence of god when in fact atheists just say they lack a belief in god. Not the same thing. I lack a belief in the Loch Ness Monster - I have not seen any real evidence that such a beast exists. But maybe one day evidence of a Loch Ness Monster will be found. In the meantime, if I'm ever in Scotland, I'd be happy to go fishing in a small boat on Loch Ness. I would believe I'd be safe (although I'd probably get sea-sick).
The same with atheism - I go through my life assuming (believing) that there is no god.
One way of looking at unproven, perhaps philosophical, "proofs" is to say "I can't prove them wrong, so they must be right". Many of the arguments for the existence of god are of this kind. But logically, to prove something, you must not simply fail to find fault in the argument. The best example "Where did the universe come from - it had to have been created by a god". There is no evidence for this and in fact scientists make no such claim. I can't prove such an argument is wrong, I just say "I don't know if the universe needed to start - I don't know anything about where the universe came from." So it's not that I am rejecting the existence of god. I simply say - there's no proof and in fact no need for a god to explain stuff. I am an atheist - not an anti-theist.
The videos below (part 1 and 2) feature an excellent example of this argument. A theist calls in and argues, using logic, that god exists. But the two atheists responders show how the logic is faulty.
Arguments from Ignorance - part 1
Arguments from Ignorance - part 2