Recently I was in a discussion about how different the beliefs held by atheism and theism are. I honestly don't think the beliefs held by the two are vastly different, what are the major belief differences between the two?
Atheism and Theism
- Thread starter jacknife
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No, obviously the major difference is that atheist lack a belief in deities I meant more beyond that.
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TheBibleIsTruth
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there is nothing beyond the God of the Holy Bible. He is the beginning and the end, the Eternal, Uncreated being.
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Both are based on belief and don't have factual evidence of any sort like we didn't witness evolution & we have not seen God with our own eyes
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Theism is like a superset of atheism that includes progressively more speculative beliefs. Theists are willing to act on these speculative beliefs while atheists prefer to act only on the more solid beliefs.
There is also the issue of childhood indoctrination that determines the starting point of each person. Some people are too busy to consider religious questions and remain at their starting point even though it really doesn't match their personality. Other people are afraid to leave their starting point (usually theists). So a theist person doesn't necessarily have a theistic personality, and an atheist person doesn't necessarily have an atheistic personality. Sometimes people just stay where they start as children.
There is also the issue of certainty that crosses the boundary between atheism and theism. The fundamentalists have certainty the Bible, and some atheists have similar certainty in atheist ideas. Meanwhile some theists have little certainty, and some atheists have little certainty.
There is also the issue of childhood indoctrination that determines the starting point of each person. Some people are too busy to consider religious questions and remain at their starting point even though it really doesn't match their personality. Other people are afraid to leave their starting point (usually theists). So a theist person doesn't necessarily have a theistic personality, and an atheist person doesn't necessarily have an atheistic personality. Sometimes people just stay where they start as children.
There is also the issue of certainty that crosses the boundary between atheism and theism. The fundamentalists have certainty the Bible, and some atheists have similar certainty in atheist ideas. Meanwhile some theists have little certainty, and some atheists have little certainty.
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- Jul 21, 2008
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An interesting question, especially depending on your definition of Atheism. There are Atheistic religions and Atheists with supernatural beliefs so you can't automatically associate it with non religion.
Furthermore Theism doesn't have to mean a commitment to a formal religion. I've been in this space for a long time and I imagine a large number of people are, even if they don't conceive of it in those terms.
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Yeah that's what I was thinking of when I made this thread. I have an atheist friend who believes our souls move on to a sort of reincarnation, I was taking care of an 88 year old nun recently and I was thinking about despite how much of her life she devoted to worship we were still very similar. I think that maybe the difference between belief in gods and non belief is a lot more similar then we realize.
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- Jul 23, 2007
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I think concepts like political affiliation matter more than whether or not one is a theist or not. Even when dating/marriage is concerned.
A partnering of a liberal Christian with a liberal atheist seems like it would be more compatible than a partnering of a conservative Christian with a liberal Christian.
A partnering of a liberal Christian with a liberal atheist seems like it would be more compatible than a partnering of a conservative Christian with a liberal Christian.
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I absolutely agree, I have more in common with liberal Christians than conservative Atheists and it appears that that's true for many people.
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- Jul 23, 2007
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Yeah, they're becoming a lot more common too. Several years ago it was hard not to attach the label "liberal" with atheists.. these days it's not so clear cut. Although that's what happens when the floodgates open. Atheist infighting has been pretty heated for years now.
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GUANO
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All atheists believe in deities... They believe in lots of them... Just because they THINK they don't doesn't mean they don't...
The real problem is that most Christians don't know what a god is and therefore cannot argue with the flawless logic of the Atheist. At the end of the day, Christians and Atheists overwhelmingly worship Mammon who is also called Beelzebub... Those are just names given to a "thing that exists"... That thing is called "The Pursuit of Worldly Things"... But don't worry, we can use the word "secular" to assist us in compartmentalizing our deities so we can separate our secular religion from our 'spiritual' one... We simply won't recognize that "the pursuit of worldly things" is a god! Easy! We'll delude ourselves!
Libertas isn't a god invented in Pagan Rome! It's LIBERTY! And even though such a 'force' or 'concept' can be seen to exist nowhere in nature we will simply build a statue or statute and claim that it exists! Then we'll claim that it's not a god and it's just a statue the represents a supreme principle---YEAH, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT A GOD IS! RIGHT?
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awitch
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So that puts Jesus on a level playing field with worldly things since they're both literally gods.
We can prove worldly things exist and we cannot prove Jesus is a god.
Therefore, the rational conclusion is to go with worldly things.
I'm glad I was able to solve the Christian thing for everyone and now we never have consider it again.
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bhsmte
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Basically, one believes in a deity and the other doesn't. Beyond that, the similarities and differences are going to be all over the place, with much overlap. Just as, Christians themselves, have many similarities and differences, when you get beyond just the belief in a deity.
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Silmarien
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Oh, I disagree with this completely. If you're deeply religious (and liberals can be), you live in a different universe entirely than an atheist--the one thing that is most important to you is at best an afterthought for them. And in reverse, you'll hear stories about atheists freaking out when their significant other finds religion, so I think it's a really bad combination on both sides. A deist or a nominal Christian is one thing, but a fully committed religious believer with an atheist seems like a recipe for disaster. Especially if you toss in a sacramental view of marriage that one side rejects.
Conservatives and liberals can coexist much better, I think, as long as both sides are reasonable about it.
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