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atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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ant

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atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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ant

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Re: atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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Ghosts and aliens exist for Brits without evidence???

:hmm:
Last edited by ant on Tue Nov 18, 2014 11:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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Of course atheism is not synonymous or always the product of skepticism. I've met many atheists that are atheists only because they were raised without religious indoctrination. They're no brighter or more rational than the average theist.

All you know by the term atheism is that a person lacks the belief in a God or gods. You don't know whether they came to their lack of belief through a course of study or by chance. You don't know anything about their personal philosophy or worldview.

All humans are born without political beliefs. All humans are born without religious beliefs. Religious conviction requires the introduction of religious ideas and the subsequent acceptance of those ideas. The Pope was born an atheist (implicit atheist) and remained an atheist until he learned of religious teachings and accepted them.
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Re: atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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Whats the strong evidence that people are not born with innate belief in God?

Not saying there isnt but show me, please.
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Re: atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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If anyone is asserting that atheism is nature's default position you must present evidence for that proposition and not simply argument linked to no evidence.

Thanks
Last edited by ant on Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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Judgments About Fact and Fiction by Children From Religious and Nonreligious Backgrounds

In two studies, 5- and 6-year-old children were questioned about the status of the protagonist embedded in three different types of stories. In realistic stories that only included ordinary events, all children, irrespective of family background and schooling, claimed that the protagonist was a real person. In religious stories that included ordinarily impossible events brought about by divine intervention, claims about the status of the protagonist varied sharply with exposure to religion. Children who went to church or were enrolled in a parochial school, or both, judged the protagonist in religious stories to be a real person, whereas secular children with no such exposure to religion judged the protagonist in religious stories to be fictional. Children's upbringing was also related to their judgment about the protagonist in fantastical stories that included ordinarily impossible events whether brought about by magic (Study 1) or without reference to magic (Study 2). Secular children were more likely than religious children to judge the protagonist in such fantastical stories to be fictional. The results suggest that exposure to religious ideas has a powerful impact on children's differentiation between reality and fiction, not just for religious stories but also for fantastical stories.
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Re: atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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Re: atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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The research paper I linked is a study on children younger than what Chris is presenting as evidence.
By ages 5 and 6 cultural influences are already manifesting.

There is no evidence that at birth, atheism is innate.
Or, no such evidence has been presented.
In Chris' s presented study, children were already at " story telling" age

Innate.
At birth.

Where is the evidence for that?
Last edited by ant on Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:22 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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Our undeveloped sponge-like brains are highly susceptible and easily affected by religion when we're young. But we're not born with an actual belief in a deity. If you think so then tell me a little about this deity in which we come out of the womb believing in. Is it Allah, Tu, Osiris, Septu or Min? Or are we polytheistic at birth? Tell me how it is even remotely possible to be born with a belief in a God and then define that God for me. If you know we're born with a belief in the Christian God then explain how this knowledge came about.
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Re: atheism does not necessarily mean skepticism

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Chris OConnor wrote:Our undeveloped sponge-like brains are highly susceptible and easily affected by religion when we're young. But we're not born with an actual belief in a deity. If you think so then tell me a little about this deity in which we come out of the womb believing in. Is it Allah, Tu, Osiris, Septu or Min? Or are we polytheistic at birth? Tell me how it is even remotely possible to be born with a belief in a God and then define that God for me. If you know we're born with a belief in the Christian God then explain how this knowledge came about.
Where is the evidence for innate atheism?

INNATE.

You made the claim.
The burden of evidence is yours.

What you have written above is belief without evidence.

Thanks
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