How the stamp collecting analogy fails | City Bible Forum
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How the stamp collecting analogy fails

Is atheism a 'faith'? Is 'not believing in a god as some kind of belief system the same as not collecting stamps is a hobby'?
Fri 31 Aug 2012
Alt

In my recent discussions with atheists in recent times many have responded that 'atheism is not a faith'. They are trying to suggest that atheism doesn't bring with it a kind of 'worldview' that the Christian faith brings with it. They then use the stamp collecting analogy to attempt to demonstrate that a negative or non-belief is not a belief system. Hence the analogy goes, 'not believing in a god as some kind of belief system is like not collecting stamps is a hobby.'

I think it's an interesting move, and it has prompted me to think carefully about this issue, yet I would like to suggest that the stamp collecting analogy fails. I suggest it fails because 'Not collecting stamps is a hobby'. I can, 'not collect' stamps and still be engaged in a hobby. I could collect cloth badges, model railways or pencils, and these are all alternative hobbies. Hence the analogy fails because 'not collecting stamps IS still a hobby'.

But more seriously the analogy fails because it isn't a proper analogy. The analogy is based on a truism and hence it only proves what is assumes. If you change the analogy by inserting other words, you realise this, e.g. 'is like not drinking water is drinking' or 'is like not eating sandwiches is lunch'. 'Hobbies' and 'stamp collecting' (and eating and drinking) are different to 'believing' and 'belief systems'. 'Belief' is a matter of a commitment to certain facts of the world which are often unprovable, whereas stamp collecting is a pastime and can be proved (as can drinking, or eating etc).

Hence, to summarise, Christians believe that there is a God, we can't prove it but we act on 'faith' that it is true. Atheists believe that there is no god, they can't prove it, but they act on 'faith' that it is true. Therefore atheism must be some kind of 'faith' commitment. This is different from stamp collecting because we can 'prove' that stamp collecting exists.

This 'analogy' may appear to offer explanatory power, but in the end, I think, it fails. Can any atheists further explain the stamp collecting analogy, or am I missing something?

Comments

  • Alt
    Fri, 02/09/2011 - 2:25pm reply

    Hi Robert,

    An atheist friend of mine also rejects the ‘stamp collecting’ analogy.

    He asserts that his atheism is the result of an approach to the world that is different from the religious believer.

    My friend accepts what is supported by some evidence. Propositions that are not so supported, remain on the ‘pending’ list. Meanwhile, fiction as fiction can be good entertainment.

    Christians vary from the highly trusting; to those who pride themselves on finding evidence for their beliefs. The latter group is often to be found playing around with the meaning of “faith”. Sometimes they make bold assertions such as that the disappearance of Christ’s body could be established under modern Courtroom procedure.

    However such exercises do not alter the fact that at the end of the day, such people believe much because they are prepared to ‘take the other guy’s word for it’. Eg Christ being born of a virgin; eg the divine authority vested in the utterings of Paul.

    Whether they are accepting the words of a preacher, or an assertion from the Bible that can never be made out, a Christian is taking the other guy’s word for it, in a way that the atheist need not do about anything. It is not the same as when an atheist provisionally accepts the word of a scientist, or a journalist, knowing that a busybody can check.

    Martin Hadley

    • Alt
      Mon, 05/09/2011 - 8:54am reply

      Martin,

      Thanks very much for your comment and congratulations on being the first to comment in our new-look website and brand new Blog.

      You are certainly right in suggesting that Christians vary in their approaches to how much evidence will convince them. I also think you're right in that at the end of the day people believe because they are prepared to 'take the other guy's word for it'. This is true, but there is nothing intrinsically wrong about this, unless the 'other guy' is untrustworthy. This is particularly pertinent in the area of any historical recording, in many cases there is no other avenue open to us other than to 'trust the other guy's word'. Hence I think this is the key to working out whether or not to trust 'the other guy's word'. Are they trustworthy or not?

      I'd also suggest that atheism is an exercise in trust as it doesn't 'take the other guy's word for it', even if there may be good reasons to suggest that the 'other guy' is in fact trustworthy.

      Thanks again for your comment. I hope this is further food for thought.

      Robert

      • Alt
        Tue, 06/09/2011 - 1:22pm reply

        "I'd also suggest that atheism is an exercise in trust as it doesn't 'take the other guy's word for it', even if there may be good reasons to suggest that the 'other guy' is in fact trustworthy."

        ಠ_ಠ What on Earth are you talking about?

        • Alt
          Wed, 07/09/2011 - 9:26am reply

          I am saying that atheism fails to trust the authors of the Bible i.e. it fails to take the other people's (the Bible's authors) word for it. I would contend that the authors of the New Testament are historically reliable and there are good reasons to believe this. Yet atheists disagree. This disagreement is an exercise of faith.

          • Alt
            Thu, 26/08/2021 - 10:57am reply

            I don't know if you're even monitoring this space anymore, seeing as it's been 10 years since you posted this article, but I'd like to clear a few things up:

            First, we don't know who wrote most of the Bible. The Gospels were all authored anonymously, and the names that appear in the titles (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) were all put there by early church traditions. The earliest fragments if copies we've found were written decades after the events they purport to describe. The best we have are maybe half of the letters from Paul which have been shown to more likely than not be genuine. Even the other letters from Paul are considered forgeries.

            Next is the definition of "atheist". If you actually asked an atheist what the word means, most of us would say "someone who lacks a belief in a God or gods". The vast majority of atheists aren't saying "there is no God", we're saying "I don't believe the claims about God". You've also twisted the actual meaning of the "not collecting stamps" analogy. We'll go with a sports related version. If I'm sitting on my couch watching TV, you wouldn't claim that since I'm not playing golf then I am engaged in a sport. It would make no sense. Likewise you cannot claim that atheists have faith, because our stance on the subject is (most of the time) "I do not believe your claims". You can't call our lack of faith a faith.

            • Alt
              Tue, 31/08/2021 - 1:24pm reply

              Hey Rob, 

              Thanks for the comment, and whilst this is an old blog piece, it does seem to be getting some traction in recent months, so thanks for the comment and thanks for sharing your thought. 

              Re: your first part about Biblical authorship - I'm not sure you're quite correct about that. Can you share some scholarship on how the titles were 'put there' by early church traditions? It appears clear that the Gospels never circulated anonymously.

              It's true that the earliest fragments of copies were copied decades after the events they purport to describe, but what does that mean? We have more manuscripts dated closer to the events they purport to record for the New Testament than ANY other ancient document (and second is not even close). If you go by this logic, you begin to quest the veracity of any ancient history. I'd suggest not going down that route to attempt to demonstrate the untrustworthiness of the Gospels. 

              The key response I have about the analogy and about the lack of faith of atheists is the question 'do you believe it?' i.e. do you believe that atheism is true, or most reasonable? If you believe something, even a "non-belief", it's still a 'belief' is it not? Otherwise you get to the kind of slightly ridiculous and illogical claim of people like Christopher Hitchens who once claimed that 'our beliefs are not beliefs'. 

              Thanks for commenting and appreciate your input.

    • Alt
      Tue, 24/09/2013 - 7:53pm reply

      Having a bad day at the office? Are there thoughts ravaging your mind that you desperately need answers? Have you dropped the questions believing that you cannot find the answers? Here’s your chance. Ask the saint. http://askswaami.blogspot.in/2013/09/ask-saint.html

  • Alt
    Mon, 05/09/2011 - 10:28am reply

    My answer to this tends to be along the lines of "It depends"

    Atheism as in "believe not" - certainly is as faith based - def more blind faith than Christianity, I don't really ever get many arguments against this from my atheist friends..

    What does cause discussion...
    Atheism as in "not believe" - removes all arguments… It is a null view.

    So, depending on the type of atheism, depends on whether or not it brings a 'world view'. 'believe not' is certainly a world view - 'not believing' something is a null state of affairs. There is nothing else to be said.

    This is where the atheist argument falls down… If the atheist is claiming a null state of 'not believe' - then what are they doing arguing so forcefully against?

    Some people collect stamps, others don't. There is no right or wrong with this. Hence the 'not believes' should just be accepting of the fact that some people believe, others don't…. In the null state of belief, there is no right or wrong answer…

    But of course - people like to have a view/opinion don't they? - A view/opinion requires faith of some sort….

    • Alt
      Tue, 06/09/2011 - 11:38am reply

      Bill,

      Thanks for your comment and yes, there is a subtle distinction between the two types of atheist views, i.e. believe (know?) 'no' god exists and believe 'no gods exist'.

      I think that perhaps the distinction is more over 'certainty' of belief or non-belief. Some atheists claim to 'know' no gods exist and others claim to be more agnostic.Yet I would suggest that both views still bring a certain worldview into play and either view requires a type of faith because it can't be proved.

      Thanks for your comment and thoughts.

      Robert

    • Alt
      Sat, 08/11/2014 - 2:54pm reply

      Mon Sep 5th, 10.28am, Bill said:
      "This is where the atheist argument falls down… If the atheist is claiming a null state of 'not believe' - then what are they doing arguing so forcefully against?"

      The quick (and a little snarky) answer is: Atheists are arguing against having the nonsensical rules of a (non-existent at worst, unsubstantiated at best) supernatural being pressed upon the whole of society.

      • Alt
        Thu, 13/01/2022 - 6:11am reply

        ''Atheists are arguing against having the nonsensical rules of a (non-existent at worst, unsubstantiated at best) supernatural being pressed upon the whole of society.''
        1. Deists, polytheists, pantheists...[eg, Einstein] are theists. What rules are they laying down, pressing you down with?
        2. You prefer the rules of an Atheist state such as Chinese C. Party? Or Stalin's Russia, 'Atheism is the backbone of Russia'? Atheism is integral to Marxism. Are their rules better? More freedom to be yourself? Why do they need walls then?
        3. Govt rules/laws are not made by the church; but every body / org that ever existed has some rules, or chaos ensues.
        4. 10 commandments - do not steal, do not commit adultery, or murder, or trash your parents...as well as Christs words on forgiveness of enemies...you find that nonsensical? It seems to have worked for the Western world - doing v well - Christianity since the demise of the ancient civilizations, eg Rome.
        Being a slave of Rome; Pagans worshipping trees, lawlessness, cont wars...living in mud huts...
        is that your ideal?

  • Alt
    Tue, 06/09/2011 - 1:19pm reply

    "Atheists believe that there is no god, they can't prove it, but they act on 'faith' that it is true. "

    Sorry Robert but you strike out here. You are constructing a false dichotomy, insisting that it is Christianity vs. atheism.

    It's not, it's Christianity vs not-Christianity since we're disputing the faith. The atheist position is simply "I don't know and neither do you."

    You're conflating two positions into one and it's intellectually dishonest of you.

    Q. Do you know any gods exist?
    A. No.
    Q. Do you believe in any gods?
    A. No.
    Q. Do you believe gods must not exist?
    A. No.

    Soft atheism is the majority position of atheists. However the null hypothesis also applies, since god's an unfalsifiable notion, one out believe they do not exist until proven otherwise. Not many atheists argue for that.

    As for is atheism a world view? No, it's an answer to a question, "Do you believe in god or gods?". Not a faith.
    Atheists' world view is an individuality thing, where, since atheism is not a world view, each individual draws on different philosophies to construct a world view, one ultimately unrelated to their atheism. Some are still religious remember, many Buddhists are atheistic.

    Most of us drawn on belief in the power of science and humanistic philosophy.

    • Alt
      Tue, 06/09/2011 - 1:26pm reply

      *one ought believe they do not exist*

    • Alt
      Wed, 07/09/2011 - 9:33am reply

      You are right, 'hard' atheism is being certain that there are no gods, 'soft' atheism is being pretty sure, but acting as if there is not one (pragmatic atheism).

      Yet, in the conception that you use, the terminology becomes confusing. You slip between genuine agnosticism (not knowing) and atheism. I disagree that the atheist position is 'I don't know', that is agnosticism. Hence if this is your position, it is less confusing to be labeled an 'atheist', agnostic would be more appropriate.

      With this said, it is still an act of faith to not believe something and this is where the stamp collecting analogy fails because it doesn't draw a parallel between two 'beliefs'.

      • Alt
        Tue, 13/09/2011 - 4:56am reply

        "Yet, in the conception that you use, the terminology becomes confusing. You slip between genuine agnosticism (not knowing) and atheism. I disagree that the atheist position is 'I don't know', that is agnosticism. Hence if this is your position, it is less confusing to be labeled an 'atheist', agnostic would be more appropriate."

        No because "agnostic" and "atheist" are answers to different questions.

        Agnostic: Do you know gods to or not to exist?
        - No.

        Atheist: Do you believe in any god or gods?
        - No.

        99% of people who identify as atheists are ALSO agnostic. There is no exclusivity in the terms.

    • Alt
      Thu, 08/09/2011 - 3:37pm reply

      Hi Mike K,

      Your argument brings up an interesting area… That is the assumption brought up by many atheists - slightly off topic, but quite valid to approach here I think…

      I apologise in advance if I have mistaken you arguments as pro-atheist, they just appear to be from the way I have read your reply.

      "I don't know and neither do you"

      Well, actually - I do know that there is a God. An specifically, God is as described by Christians. This is based on reasonable faith (not blind). Just because is is based on a "faith" judgement doesn't make it false.

      For example: While many people take Newton's Laws of Motion on reasonable faith (they haven't personally performed repeatable experiments to demonstrate them) - doesn't mean that they (the laws) are by default "wrong".

      In addition, you have just said that you don't know. This is a position of agnostic, not atheism of any type…

      With Robert's comment of 'soft' acting like an atheist, but with less conviction - An Agnostic hardly acts as if there is a God do they? - For example, is it possible to be an Agnostic Christian? - of course not. (Just using Christianity as an example, could insert many other religions.) So, for the general layman on this - Atheist has, and always will mean a rejection of the notion of God and Agnostic means undecided.

      So for the general person in the street, Atheism is a (blind? - someone bite… :) ) faith, and hence forms an appropriate world view. Agnostic is the null, undecided view, while technically being atheistic in nature (as in no firm God belief).

      In regards to if Atheism (hard) is a world view - it certainly is… Rejecting the notion of God implies certain acceptances. For example, many atheistic views accept that there is no known cause for the Universe or our being. "It just is". If this isn't the formation of a world view, then what is?

      Your argument appears to be trying to have cake and eat it. (again, if you weren't arguing pro-atheism apologies..) - It is as I mentioned earlier - Atheism as being a null (simple rejection of a single idea), yet at the same time an attempt at justifying atheism over a theism. IF atheism is a null, then there is absolutely nothing else to be discussed. This is a null, no-world view perspective - I collect stamps, you don't. End of story.

      I do totally agree with you that there is no overarching atheistic world-view. And this is one of the huge arguments against atheism in terms of morals and the view of right and wrong. - but that is another can worms, I'm sure is/will be discussed elsewhere…..

      • Alt
        Tue, 13/09/2011 - 5:13am reply

        "Just because is is based on a "faith" judgement doesn't make it false."

        No but it does make it explicitly NOT knowledge. When I say "I don't know, and neither do you." That's not a refutation of your faith, your faith is irrelevant- we wouldn't call it faith if it were knowledge.

        "For example: While many people take Newton's Laws of Motion on reasonable faith (they haven't personally performed repeatable experiments to demonstrate them) - doesn't mean that they (the laws) are by default "wrong"."

        Maybe you've just chosen a bad example. Newton's Laws of Motion are wrong, as demonstrated by Einstein. Furthermore, not many people go around claiming anymore than trust/faith in the scientific conclusions thus far about gravity. What we do claim to know is that, as a phenomenon, gravity exists. Such a demonstration remains to be made of your faith.

        "In addition, you have just said that you don't know. This is a position of agnostic, not atheism of any type…"

        These terms overlap since they're answers to different questions.
        Agnosticism is a stance on KNOWLEDGE.
        Atheism is a stance of BELIEF.
        I do not know, but I doubt.

        "Your argument appears to be trying to have cake and eat it. (again, if you weren't arguing pro-atheism apologies..) - It is as I mentioned earlier - Atheism as being a null (simple rejection of a single idea), yet at the same time an attempt at justifying atheism over a theism. IF atheism is a null, then there is absolutely nothing else to be discussed. This is a null, no-world view perspective - I collect stamps, you don't. End of story."

        Atheism is a null. Until the first person put forward the idea of a god, everyone would have been atheist. Theism is a claim about reality, and you don't actually have to know something about the reality to think someone's claim is unfounded. Let me elaborate.

        Say someone came to you and told you about a china teapot that to this moment you had seen no evidence of existing. The problem arises when the person explains where this teapot is supposed to exist - in orbit around the sun between Earth and Mars. The instant question that dawns is "How do you know this?" The person says "I have faith." When asked for evidence of this teapot, the claimant explains that since it's too far away and too small, no telescopes can yet show it in the sky. You do not know the entire contents in orbit around the sun between Earth and Mars but you realise that without that knowledge, this person cannot reasonably claim it to be true. The null hypothesis is to reject the unfounded assertion until it satisfies a reasonable level of evidence.

        According to you, rejecting the belief in the cosmic teapot is a faith position and one is obligated to make arguments against the things existence. This is a violation of burden of proof. YOU claim the god exists, it's YOUR responsibility to prove YOUR claim.
        Atheism in response is the position that you have not satisfied this requirement.

  • Alt
    Tue, 13/09/2011 - 6:54am reply

    Here is a simple flowchart of how these labels work. Advise though that it was made to be directed at those who call themselves 'agnostics' apparently failing to understand 'atheist'
    http://imgur.com/8z1vc

    Or, more clearly, this one;
    http://imgur.com/J9mXf

    Enjoy.

    • Alt
      Tue, 11/10/2011 - 12:19pm reply

      Firstly, apologies for the absence..

      You haven't really approached answering the questions - Regards to the Laws of Motion (which are true enough to send man to the moon etc - yes, for very very small and very very large bodies they require modification) - Unless one has performed the experiments yourself, you take it on reasonable faith. I very much doubt that you have seen or experienced a black hole, yet you are very likely to accept that they exist based on reasonable faith.

      Reasonable Faith is all we know - it is our day to day Knowledge.

      Which is it?
      1) Atheism is a stance of BELIEF.
      2) Atheism is a null.

      According to me, rejecting a faith is perfectly valid - It is where to go after that is where I have the issues with your argument - which you haven't addressed, and are the topic for this discussion. I'm not overwhelmingly interested in your apparent beliefs/non-beliefs.

      IF you have a null view, then why are you discussing any further?
      If you have a view, then so what? - your view is as valid/invalid as any other. It just is.

      • Alt
        Tue, 11/10/2011 - 12:29pm reply

        You need further justification that Atheism is the 'default'.... Just by saying it, doesn't make it so....

        The Concept of "God" - or something bigger out in the universe - is very well documented through out human history. This can be identified by the smallest amount of research.

        In world views such as Christianity, the default is for theism - Remembering that God made man in his own image? It is through the fall of Adam and Eve that introduced the "Godless" concept.

        • Alt
          Fri, 03/07/2015 - 11:31pm reply

          How can you attempt to be rational and talk of Adam and Eve. Sorry but you just made a fool of yourself. Keep up the good work

      • Alt
        Thu, 03/11/2011 - 5:28am reply

        [Unless one has performed the experiments yourself, you take it on reasonable faith.]

        I do not take on faith that gravity as a natural phenomenon exists. I do not have to.
        I also do not take the current theories of gravity on faith either. I don't remotely understand them so it's hard to form a belief, a faith - reasonable or otherwise - out of them. Regardless, scientific theories can be demonstrated and are demonstrated all the time so you don't need faith anyway.

        To my knowledge, no one's demonstrated Christianity to be necessarily true.

        What I do have reasonable faith in is the method of science.

        [Which is it?
        1) Atheism is a stance of BELIEF.
        2) Atheism is a null.]

        It's both. It's the null hypothesis for gods.

        [IF you have a null view, then why are you discussing any further?]

        I don't believe in the supernatural because I'm a skeptic. The reason for discussing it is because you guys don't understand atheism, and as an anti-theist, I feel you should be corrected.

        [You need further justification that Atheism is the 'default'.... Just by saying it, doesn't make it so....

        The Concept of "God" - or something bigger out in the universe - is very well documented through out human history. This can be identified by the smallest amount of research.]

        The majority of white people on the planet at one time or another believed in Santa Claus. This is a belief we take on authority, but no child starts out believing in Santa Claus.

        Part of being a sane person is not believing every conceivable idea until one by one, most of them are proven wrong. Many ideas one could believe in are mutually contradictory but also some beliefs are dangerous. We wait till we're convinced before accepting something.

        This is why atheism is the default. Yes, belief in gods is common in human society, but the claim of the existence of gods is something everyone encounters and then accepts or rejects. Atheists today charge that theists haven't actually made a reasonable case for the existence of god yet so we should all automatically default to atheism, not accepting the premise that gods exist.

        [It is through the fall of Adam and Eve that introduced the "Godless" concept.]

        This is circular reasoning.

    • Alt
      Thu, 13/01/2022 - 7:47am reply

      Unless they are endorsed by the recognized philosophy academics/that community, they are meaningless....famous philosopher Antony Flew's ideas, his papers of the 1970's, were never accepted, ie that Atheism is the default position;
      he later retracted his stance, btw ....yet New Atheists esp. recirculate them as if they are gospel

  • Alt
    Fri, 04/10/2013 - 6:07am reply

    Your analysis of the stamp collecting analogy fails.

    "I can, 'not collect' stamps and still be engaged in a hobby."

    The hobby you would be engaged in here isn't the hobby of "not collecting stamps". Define the hobby of "not collecting stamps". All you did was list a number of alternative hobbies and said that those aren't stamp collecting, but you haven't demonstrated that the absence of a hobby is itself a hobby.

    Which comes back to one of the fundamental points that atheists espouse: the rejection of your beliefs for being baseless and logically inconsistent is not itself a belief, it's the rejection of a belief, the criticism of a belief, an opinion about the soundness of your belief.

    Imagine a person who has, for some reason, never been introduced to the concepts of god before. Could you say that this person holds a belief that there is no god? No. The only difference is that most of us have been bombarded with the concept of god from childhood, and have to come to reject it as we grow older and are better able to evaluate its many logical inconsistencies and complete lack of evidence.

    What I see here is an attempt to put the rejection of theistic belief and theistic belief on a level playing field. From there, you can call them both "just beliefs", and conclude that it is perfectly reasonable to choose theism on nothing but faith.

    • Alt
      Fri, 03/07/2015 - 11:44pm reply

      Fully agree, the non collecting stamps argument is plain ridiculous. A little analogy with the complement of an event in probability theory: not collecting stamps is every hobby except collecting stamps and that includes not hobby at all (the null event) and of course rapping children, doing heroin... whatever you can think of. That means nothing.

    • Alt
      Thu, 13/01/2022 - 6:32am reply

      quote ''Which comes back to one of the fundamental points that atheists espouse: the rejection of your beliefs for being baseless and logically inconsistent is not itself a belief, it's the rejection of a belief, the criticism of a belief, an opinion about the soundness of your belief.''
      My friend you are lying to yourself.
      Every atheist, like theists, come into a debate with an opinion. That opinion is a belief.
      Eg, you believe theists are wrong! you believe there are no God/s
      [you may believe - more than likely - the Bible is made up fantasy, and so on]
      To try and get round it use of word play and semantics - that you carry no belief - into a debate is ridiculous. 'This lack of belief' thing is a product of recent New Atheism
      Why would a person no want to avoid proposing 'there is no God'? Because such a claim requires some justifying! But stating, 'I lack belief in God' is not a proposal, not a claim to knowledge, and tries to take a superior position, [by use of word play] to the theist by stating they have no belief [no faith, and no system of belief]! As the Socratic philosophers 1000's of years ago would agree, Atheists are NOT in a superior position; neither side can prove their stance! A-the-ism = A means the negation of 'the'/God; ism = movement

      • Alt
        Mon, 02/10/2023 - 6:08am reply

        The burden of proof is on the affirmative claim, as it’s impossible to prove a negative.

  • Alt
    Sun, 06/04/2014 - 1:30pm reply

    Very Amusing, I can not "believe" people swallow this sort of callisthenics with words. No matter how you try and spin it from generation to generation you can not escape that you have no "facts" just assertions. A fact is something we can all agree on and can be tested to be true. To claim a fact is known but can not be proved is admitting it is not actually a fact. I think you summery came close, "Hence, to summarise, Christians believe that there is a God, we can't prove it but we act on 'faith' that it is true" however note faith is not "true" it is defined as belief without evidence. The FACT you have to twist things redefine words and create the good old straw man of what Atheism is only belays the weakness of your position and the "fact' that for several centuries now theology has produced library's full of books desperately defending their case, which if it held any water or credibility would not be necessary .

    Be quite clear Atheism is a single position on a single subject, the claim a god or gods exist is rejected for lack of evidence or reasoned argument, everything else is something else.
    Remember thou shall not tell lies....!!!!!! It is not just you can not give me reasons to believe it is you keep piling up reasons not to.!

    • Alt
      Mon, 07/04/2014 - 9:14am reply

      Thanks for your comment Neil. But I think you've misunderstood what Christians say about the evidence for God. Christians say, "there are good reasons to believe God is real and he has revealed himself in the person and works of Jesus and we act on 'faith' to live our lives based on this reasonable revelation'.

      I can give you plenty of reasons to believe. What would convince you?

      • Alt
        Tue, 25/11/2014 - 2:38pm reply

        'Revelation' would only constitute evidence if it was an event apparent and undeniable to many people, such as everyone in the vicinity. It would not count as strong evidence if was only experienced and/or perceived by one person. It could count as supporting evidence if there was other independent evidence to go along with it.
        Serious discussion of the truth of some disputed claim needs to be able to assess how much each piece of evidence affects the likelihood that the claim is true.

        In this case, the existence of God and of Jesus and his works as a real historical facts is disputed by at least some well-qualified historians, so whatever your 'good reasons' are, there are also good reasons to question the reality of God, or even the Biblical Jesus. Even if a Supreme being does exist, you still need to demonstrate what his attributes are, not just automatically assume that he matches the claims of some particular set of ancient scribes.

  • Alt
    Tue, 07/10/2014 - 11:52am reply

    Atheism isn't a faith commitment. It's a lack thereof

  • Alt
    Sat, 08/11/2014 - 2:07pm reply

    Your post completely misses the point of the 'not collecting stamps' analogy. You say:
    "I can, 'not collect' stamps and still be engaged in a hobby. I could collect cloth badges, model railways or pencils, and these are all alternative hobbies."

    Those are hobbies that aren't [stamp collecting]. They have nothing to do with stamp collecting whatsoever. Having hobbies other than [collecting stamps] doesn't turn [not collecting stamps] into a hobby. If it did, then *EVERYBODY* would have millions of hobbies: namely [not *list all other hobbies in the world*].

    A hobby implies some sort of activity, or at least an active interest. Simply not doing a particular something is the absence of activity: a passive state. Moreover, not doing [A] has no relevance to doing [B], [C] or [X].

    For example, I don't collect Beanie Babies. I have no interest in them, and never have. But I do have hobbies. Beanie Babies have no relevance whatsoever to those hobbies. Having other hobbies doesn't turn [not collecting Beanie Babies] into a hobby.
    Now, if I actively avoided (or destroyed) Beanie Babies, that could be considered a hobby, because there is some sort of activity: an interaction between myself and Beanie Babies. But that hobby wouldn't be called [not collecting Beanie Babies], it would be called [avoiding Beanie Babies] or [destroying Beanie Babies].

    For crystal clarity, there is an enormous difference between:
    • My hobby is not [stamp collecting]
    and
    • My hobby is [not stamp collecting]

  • Alt
    Fri, 06/11/2015 - 8:19pm reply

    "I can, 'not collect' stamps and still be engaged in a hobby."

    Yes, you can. Just like you can be an atheist and still believe in unicorns. You don't have to and it has nothing whatsoever to do with atheism however.

    "I could collect cloth badges, model railways or pencils, and these are all alternative hobbies."

    Yes, quite. Atheists can't believe in other gods though. That's the one thing that stops you being an atheist: believing in a god.

    "Hence the analogy fails because 'not collecting stamps IS still a hobby'."

    No, it isn't. Can you see that?

    • Alt
      Thu, 19/11/2015 - 7:23pm reply

      Atheism is not a "lack of belief" in God. If atheism was simply a lack of belief in God, as many atheists claim, then even a plastic bottle is atheist

      • Alt
        Thu, 18/02/2016 - 2:21pm reply

        Except a plastic bottle does not possess a rational, thinking and intelligent mind to even allow it the opportunity to decide upon if it believed more firmly in the merits of the arguments supporting either theism or atheism, but if somehow it -could- I would show it the terrible reasoning skills present in your comment in an attempt to scare it away from siding with you and yours.

        • Alt
          Thu, 13/01/2022 - 7:53am reply

          where does 'lacking belief' show in those words there needs to any thought. reasoning, life?
          Ok babies - are atheists according to Dawkins
          cats? they lack belief in God - as far as we know- more A-theists

  • Alt
    Thu, 08/09/2016 - 1:27pm reply

    Do you know what you're doing? You're projecting your own way of thinking on to us.

    When you say "Atheists have faith" what you probably hear is "We're all the same, aren't we? After all, we believe things for no reason, you believe things for no reason, we're all the same." But what we hear is "You are a closed-minded pig-headed braindead moron who believe things for no reason and refuses to look at evidence lest God punish you for thinking! YOU HAVE NO BRAIN!"

  • Alt
    Sun, 11/09/2016 - 10:04am reply

    "They are trying to suggest that atheism doesn't bring with it a kind of 'worldview' that the Christian faith brings with it."

    It doesn't. And based on the way Theists describe "worldviews", frankly I pity you guys for having one.

    "I suggest it fails because 'Not collecting stamps is a hobby'. I can, 'not collect' stamps and still be engaged in a hobby."

    Um... That's... Not how it works. I'm not even clear on what you're misunderstanding. Not doing something is doing something because it's possible to not do something and do something completely different at the same time?

    "I could collect cloth badges, model railways or pencils, and these are all alternative hobbies. Hence the analogy fails because 'not collecting stamps IS still a hobby'."

    That... No. Not collecting stamps is not a hobby. Completely unrelated hobbies... Ok. You have to be COMPLETELY obsessed with stamps to think ALL hobbies other than stamp collecting all count as a single hobby, while stamp collecting itself counts as a separate hobby. You think there's 2 hobbies in the world: stamp collecting and "not stamp collecting".

    That is insane.

    "But more seriously the analogy fails because it isn't a proper analogy. The analogy is based on a truism and hence it only proves what is assumes.

    "If you change the analogy by inserting other words, you realise this, e.g. 'is like not drinking water is drinking' or 'is like not eating sandwiches is lunch'."

    Not drinking water ISN'T drinking. Not eating ISN'T eating.

    "'Belief' is a matter of a commitment to certain facts of the world which are often unprovable,"

    That's "Faith" not belief. You can believe things without coming crazy if someone says otherwise, and you can believe things BECAUSE of proof. "Faith", however, is stupid and insane. However, even if we accept your definition of "belief", then that means anyone who has "beliefs" is an idiot and Atheists have nothing but contempt for you.

    whereas stamp collecting is a pastime and can be proved (as can drinking, or eating etc).

    Hence, to summarise, Christians believe that there is a God, we can't prove it but we act on 'faith' that it is true.

    "Atheists believe that there is no god",

    Wrong. We DOUBT there is a god. To what degree varies from Atheist to Atheist, hence the Dawkin's scale. Atheists and agnostics actually overlap. Personally, I'm all over the upper half of the Dawkin's scale depending on which God you're talking about.

    "they can't prove it, but they act on 'faith' that it is true."

    Wrong. If you showed me proof that God exists, I would seriously contemplate it. I would not murder you for criticising my beliefs, that's what people with "Faith" do.

    "Therefore atheism must be some kind of 'faith' commitment. This is different from stamp collecting because we can 'prove' that stamp collecting exists."

    And everything Atheists DO believe IS based on evidence, and everything we doubt is because of a lack thereof.

    "This 'analogy' may appear to offer explanatory power, but in the end, I think, it fails. Can any atheists further explain the stamp collecting analogy, or am I missing something?"

    Yes. You are a narrow-minded brainwashed idiot, and you're projecting your own stupidity onto us. You insult us simply by assuming we think like you. THAT is the difference between Religion and Atheism. You have "Faith" and we have Skepticism.

    You just thought "are you skeptical of your own faith?" Didn't you?

    The very fact that you can't conceive of anyone questioning everything shows that your way of thinking and my way of thinking are completely alien to each other.

  • Alt
    Wed, 31/05/2017 - 5:49am reply

    This is the top apologetic response to non stamp collecting? This is terrible for all the reasons everyone has already stated. Too bad this thread doesn't have a voting mechanism so the best results rise to the top. Just like religion - whoever commenting first is the most obvious. Sort of a seniority system.

  • Alt
    Tue, 12/09/2017 - 5:10am reply

    When I started reading this, I knew you were going to say something stupid and I would debunk you, but I thought the part i would be debunking would be when you stopped talking about stamps and started talking about Atheism.

    But... you think that not collecting stamps is a hobby because it's possible to do other hobbies and not do the first hobby at the same time??!!

    I'm... I'm not even sure how to explain this;

    Right this second, you aren't doing an infinite number of things, Your human mind has no way of comprehending the sheer number of things you're not doing right now. Some are impossible, some you don;t want to, some you want to but can't, some you did this morning, some you will do later. But you're not doing them now.

    In an hour, you will STILL not be doing an infinite number of things. You'll be doing something you weren't doing right now and you'll start not doing what you're doing now, but nonetheless, you will still not be doing an infinite number of things.

    By your logic, you have an infinite number of hobbies. However, the word "hobby" is completely and utterly meaningless if that's true.

    If I understand your analogy, Atheism is a religion because it's possible to have other beliefs on top of Atheism such as humanism or nihilism etc.

    Therefore, by your logic, shelves are books.

  • Alt
    Wed, 18/04/2018 - 6:11am reply

    I usually tell them that "Not believing in atheism is not a belief then"

  • Alt
    Fri, 31/05/2019 - 11:51pm reply

    Imagine having to define yourself by everything that you are not. I am not a football fan. I do not like eggplant, therefore I am a non-eggplantist. I do not believe that leprecrehauns and garden sprites are real and that makes me aleprechanistic. It’s exhausting having to define ourselves negatively using the “A” prefix to something that describes you. You live your live with theism. I live my life without theism. The term “atheist” is more of a term for you to describe me that it is a term that I would choose. There is not a set of beliefs that is attached to the word “atheism”—it means someone without theism in their life.

    There are thousands of gods—probably ten thousands of gods. You believe in ONE god borrowed from an ancient religion and do not believe in the other thousands of gods. I believe in ONE less god than you. You probably could list some exact denomination of Christianity to which you identify. The lists go on and on with different types of Christians. There could be 20 subdivisions of Baptists alone and probably other divisions beyond that. I passed by two Baptist churches directly across the street from each other on my way to work. I finally called each of the pastors to find out why there had to be two Baptist churches on the same street. It wasn’t overcrowding—they held different beliefs about some minutiae. Think of all the belief sets that you reject in order to identify yourself. I reject one less than you. Not based on faith, but lack of evidence.

    From your blog: “Christians believe that there is a God, we can't prove it but we act on 'faith' that it is true.”

    You can’t speak for atheists. You cannot project what our belief systems are based on what yours are or not. We could make up a list defining morality and I bet we’d agree down the line. I have never met a non-theist who was acting on faith anymore that you are acting on faith that there are no real leprechauns. You [hopefully] believe there are no leprechauns because no one ever has presented evidence that they exist. Not even Darby O’Gill could prove it. Not believing that leprechauns exist is not an act of faith—it has nothing to do with faith or not faith.

    I think there should be new definitions. A non-theist sees the real world as it is, as it can be discovered and understood through science. We welcome new science that teaches that old science was not accurate and we embrace the new: The world is not flat. Disease is not demonic possession—we can treat it with medication and prevent it by drinking clean water. We who are not active in theism appreciate and admire the wonder of this planet as a tiny speck in the universe and accept it. A Jew might have said, “Dayenu” [it would have been sufficient.] We accept the real world and want to work towards ways of understanding how it works.

    A theist like you looks at all the wonder in the world and is dissatisfied. There is so much beauty and wonder in the world and it is not enough for you. A new super-natural, beyond the natural world must be created to insufficiently explain what you do not understand. Science chips away at the mythology [the world is no longer flat, diseases are not demonic possession] but you cling to the rest of the superstitions and mythology, acting on faith that it is true. You do not accept the real world as it is and choose to believe it one or more mythologies to explain without proof how the real world exists.

    So instead of Atheist, a negative, I’d rather be the positive: accepts reality.

  • Alt
    Tue, 03/08/2021 - 10:22pm reply

    Atheists simply state there is no evidence for a god that can be analysed therefore the default position is there is no god until proven otherwise.

    • Alt
      Wed, 04/08/2021 - 9:17am reply

      Surely if there is debate over the the nature of the evidence the default is 'I don't know', rather than God doesn't exist. It's like saying to the question: is there life on other planets in the universe. Using your logic, we have to say that the answer is 'no', but I'd say that the answer has to be 'I don't know', wouldn't you think?

  • Alt
    Mon, 09/08/2021 - 10:32pm reply

    Let me start with the most ridiculous part of your entire post:

    “‘Belief' is a matter of a commitment to certain facts of the world which are often unprovable,”

    The literal definition of a fact is something that is probable. Belief is a commitment to an opinion that is unprovable yet often asserted as fact. Theists love to wave their hand towards the world as “proof” that god exists. That’s not how facts or proof work. I don’t believe that the sun exists, because it is there in the sky day after day. I don’t believe that water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen, because water exists and can be separated into those two elements. I don’t believe that god is some omniscient being that created the universe and controls existence, because, while the universe exists, absolute no proof exists that some omniscient being created it and controls it. Quite the contrary. But this lack of belief in a deity - in theism - is not a belief system. It is the exact opposite. I don’t “believe that god doesn’t exist,” which is how many theists view atheism. I “don’t believe that god exists,” which is a very different thing. If I said that I believed the world was a disc resting on four elephants, which were all standing on the back of a giant turtle, and you said you didn’t, I wouldn’t say you believed it wasn’t all that. I would say you didn’t believe in my theory. I wouldn’t define you as someone who believed the opposite of me. You would just be someone who didn’t believe what I did.

    THAT is why the stamp collecting analogy exists. I don’t collect stamps. But you wouldn’t ever define me as a non-stamp collector. Now, I tend to disagree with that analogy as well, simply because stamps actually exist. I don’t collect stamps because it’s not something I enjoy. I don’t believe god exists simply because I haven’t been presented with nor found evidence that god exists. Just a whole lot of conjecture, faith, and a ton of piss poor explanations.

    That being said, the quote is “Atheism is a religion the same way not collecting stamps is a hobby.” A hobby is defined by what someone does, not by what someone doesn’t do. A religion is defined by belief (what someone does) not by lack of belief (what someone doesn’t do). I don’t actively believe god doesn’t exist. That would be doing something, the believing. I just don’t believe in god. That’s it. You do. Cool. But just because you do doesn’t mean I believe otherwise. It just means you believe and I don’t.

  • Alt
    Tue, 10/08/2021 - 12:51am reply

    Let me start with the most ridiculous part of your entire post:

    “‘Belief' is a matter of a commitment to certain facts of the world which are often unprovable,”

    The literal definition of a fact is something that is probable. Belief is a commitment to an opinion that is unprovable yet often asserted as fact. Theists love to wave their hand towards the world as “proof” that god exists. That’s not how facts or proof work. I don’t believe that the sun exists, because it is there in the sky day after day. I don’t believe that water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen, because water exists and can be separated into those two elements. I don’t believe that god is some omniscient being that created the universe and controls existence, because, while the universe exists, absolute no proof exists that some omniscient being created it and controls it. Quite the contrary. But this lack of belief in a deity - in theism - is not a belief system. It is the exact opposite. I don’t “believe that god doesn’t exist,” which is how many theists view atheism. I “don’t believe that god exists,” which is a very different thing. If I said that I believed the world was a disc resting on four elephants, which were all standing on the back of a giant turtle, and you said you didn’t, I wouldn’t say you believed it wasn’t all that. I would say you didn’t believe in my theory. I wouldn’t define you as someone who believed the opposite of me. You would just be someone who didn’t believe what I did.

    THAT is why the stamp collecting analogy exists. I don’t collect stamps. But you wouldn’t ever define me as a non-stamp collector. Now, I tend to disagree with that analogy as well, simply because stamps actually exist. I don’t collect stamps because it’s not something I enjoy. I don’t believe god exists simply because I haven’t been presented with nor found evidence that god exists. Just a whole lot of conjecture, faith, and a ton of piss poor explanations.

    That being said, the quote is “Atheism is a religion the same way not collecting stamps is a hobby.” A hobby is defined by what someone does, not by what someone doesn’t do. A religion is defined by belief (what someone does) not by lack of belief (what someone doesn’t do). I don’t actively believe god doesn’t exist. That would be doing something, the believing. I just don’t believe in god. That’s it. You do. Cool. But just because you do doesn’t mean I believe otherwise. It just means you believe and I don’t.

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