Atheism or Religion?

The claim that neither religion or atheism is right, is on its surface, a fair pronouncement, that somehow you can weigh one logically against the other and each is equally preferable. But when you dig a bit, you realize it is a hollow claim. It is a claim that presupposes an equal footing, between religion and atheism. Therefore, one cannot disprove the religious position and thus, one has to hold just as much faith that there is no God; as a theist holds that there is. Let us 'dig' in, to see why the claim is a poor one.

When an atheist says there is no God, it is based on probability and that probability is arrived at, based on the improbability of the claim. This simply means, it is improbable based on the simple fact, that there is no evidence to lead to probability. On the other hand, when a religious person says they believe in God, it is not a belief based on probability, rather, is is a belief built on faith and tradition.

Thus, we arrive at two different methods of knowledge. The religious position that holds the God concept as true, is a belief based purely on faith and tradition, whereas, the atheist position against the concept of God, is held as a belief grounded in improbability.

One can say as an atheist, there is no evidence to back up the religious proposition and therefore, there is no reason to hold it up as probable, until such evidence can be presented. A theist on the other hand, cannot say, 'there is no evidence against the possibility of God, therefore God is a probable concept'.

For a theist to say, there is no evidence against the concept of God, is really no different, than that of a mystic, who believes in the tooth fairy and saying: 'one has no evidence against the possibility of tooth fairies, therefore, they should be held in the realm of the probable'.

The very point is, that the concept of God lies within the same category as tooth fairies, hobgoblins, gremlins, ghosts, vampires - et al, none of these arbitrary mind-spun concepts can be disproved or indeed proved, that is because one cannot prove or disprove a negative. What one can do however, is offer a base of probability and simply say, unless you can present any evidence, then your claim is simply an arbitrary speculation and remains in the category of improbable.

Indeed, because the God concept lies in the same arbitrary conceptual category as tooth fairies, that is enough on its own, not only to dismiss it as improbable, but most likely impossible.

What makes the God concept an arbitrary concept, not to be taken seriously as a probable event, is the fact that it is a supernatural speculation. Supernatural means 'above nature'. This alone means it is unprovable by the laws of nature, because to prove it, one would have to do so, through some supernatural means. One would have to suspend all know laws of physics, to grasp 'a straw' that would bring the God concept into the realm of the probable. The fact that it's a supernatural speculation, is enough on its own to dismiss it as nonsense.

There is another point here too, and it is one that theists are liable to forget to mention. The burden of proof in any honest claim; or an attempt at a claim of probability, is that, the burden of proof is with the one making the claim. So, if someone makes a claim that God exists, then the burden of proof is their's. Unless such evidence can be presented, then an atheist has every right, to hold the God concept up, to be as likely as tooth fairies and hobgoblins.




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Atheism as a 'Religion'

Atheism has no aspect in its character that one could define as religious. A religion by definition requires a set of beliefs held as a position based on faith. Indeed, if such beliefs were held without faith, then by definition they would be held on reasonable assumptions, or at worst wrong assumptions. The difference between a wrong assumption and faith, is that a position held on faith is never open to question and is simply accepted. Once you remove faith from the equation, you no longer have a religion.

Thus, by pure logic one realizes that no aspect of atheism relies on religious propositions. That is so because atheism has no connection with faith. Indeed, atheism in and of itself is not a belief position as such, rather, it is just the none acceptance of theism.

Religion is something one has to work at... It requires obeying certain 'positive' rules. Atheism on the other hand is simply a 'negative' statement against those beliefs... Therefore there is nothing to follow or do. You do not have to work at being an atheist. Indeed, the majority of atheists for the most part, do not give their atheism much thought... The only times they do is when their atheism is challenged by theists or in philosophical contemplation about their position in the universe and that kind of thing.

Saying one is an atheist is a bit like saying one breaths air and it takes about the same amount of effort. You don't think about breathing air... you just do, atheism is exactly the same.

If religion disappeared from the planet tomorrow an atheist would not lose anything... Rather, they would simply no longer need to say I'm an atheist, it would become meaningless; because there would be nothing to counter.

But what if all the atheists disappeared. Would theists be able to stop calling themselves theists... absolutely not. They would still have to work hard at holding on to their belief by following the rituals and practices. The difference is that religion relies on a 'positive' set of rules and regulations. Atheism only exists as a counter to theism. So, if an atheist lived in a World without religion, he or she would still have the heart and mind of an atheist... but would not need to use the word atheism.

An atheist looses nothing in a World that minimizes its religious hold. But the religious loose a great deal... In particular, they loose the ability to hold a position purely on faith.

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