Angel
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No, it isn't a joke. If it is possible to have a belief it is possible to lack a belief. Do you know every belief every human being has ever had in order to agree with them or not? Or do you lack them?"Lack of belief" is an equivocation, a way for atheists in name only to avoid commitment. In fact it is an amphiboly, a kind of informal fallacy usually relied on in jokes.How can a lack of belief be a belief? If you lack something it means that you don't have it.
Groucho's Captain Spaulding's "When I was in Africa last year I shot an elephant in my pajamas."
This is the level of the "I lack belief" atheism. It's literally a joke.
Logical Fallacy: AmphibolyIn the Marx brothers movie Animal Crackers, Groucho Marx's character Captain Spaulding has just returned from an African safari when he speaks the following lines:
One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know.
Grammatically, the adjectival phrase "in my pajamas" ought to modify "an elephant", which it immediately follows. However, common sense suggests that it modifies "I". Then, the amphiboly is exploited for humor in the punch line.
The Equivocation of Ambiguity
Do you remember your Shakespeare?
To believe, or not to believe, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The fools and frauds of delusional godlessness,
Or to take manure fork to a pile of horse flops,
And by tossing clean out the barn:
--William Shakespeare, The Cockalorum of Chester
This thread was inspired by post exchanges with "I Lack Belief" Atheists in this forum.
Amphiboly
Logical Fallacy: Amphiboly
Thesis
To have a belief is to believe.
To lack a belief is not to believe.
To believe or not to believe. That is the question.
Think.
The "I Lack Belief" Atheist is merely equivocating with an ambiguity in order to avoid commitment
This is Bad Faith Atheism
Shun it.
Nice attempt at a strawman trying top tell atheists what they think
Go take some courses on logic and stop posting this nonsense
That would only be a legitimate complaint if that was literally the only statement those people made on the topic. Is every theist who says “I believe in God” equivocating with an ambiguity in order to avoid commitment too?The "I Lack Belief" Atheist is merely equivocating with an ambiguity in order to avoid commitment
Remember? Do you honestly think he has ever actually read Shakespeare?
That would only be a legitimate complaint if that was literally the only statement those people made on the topic. Is every theist who says “I believe in God” equivocating with an ambiguity in order to avoid commitment too?
I lack belief in any gods but I have plenty of other thoughts and opinions on theology, faith, religion and the wider socio-political questions surrounding them.
Also, admitting that you simply don’t know the answer is arguably a more scary and difficult commitment than coming up with some comforting soft answers to the difficult big questions of our existence.
How many of these identical threads threads do we have to wade thru? If it's the same discussion, can't that continue in one of the myriad previous identical threads? Holy cow.
OM
To have a belief is to believe.
To lack a belief is not to believe.
To believe or not to believe. That is the question.
Think.
It's because of this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder
We ought to follow Queasto's example and block him.
I typically take the weekend off from online forums. Seems every Monday when I return to the forum, it's completely flooded with brand new threads, all outlining the same tired premises.
OM
The Equivocation of Ambiguity
Do you remember your Shakespeare?
To believe, or not to believe, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The fools and frauds of delusional godlessness,
Or to take manure fork to a pile of horse flops,
And by tossing clean out the barn:
--William Shakespeare, The Cockalorum of Chester
This thread was inspired by post exchanges with "I Lack Belief" Atheists in this forum.
Amphiboly
Logical Fallacy: Amphiboly
Thesis
To have a belief is to believe.
To lack a belief is not to believe.
To believe or not to believe. That is the question.
Think.
The "I Lack Belief" Atheist is merely equivocating with an ambiguity in order to avoid commitment
This is Bad Faith Atheism
Shun it.
Another post in frivolous blowhardism, "liked" by fans of frivolous blowhardism.Nice attempt at a strawman trying top tell atheists what they think
Go take some courses on logic and stop posting this nonsense
Right on topic as usual. Oboy.He didn't remember his Shakespeare.
How many of these identical threads threads do we have to wade thru? If it's the same discussion, can't that continue in one of the myriad previous identical threads? Holy cow.
Quite the opposite. The "theist who says 'I believe in God'" is neither "equivocating with an ambiguity" nor trying "to avoid commitment." That theist is owning his belief.That would only be a legitimate complaint if that was literally the only statement those people made on the topic. Is every theist who says “I believe in God” equivocating with an ambiguity in order to avoid commitment too?
I lack belief in any gods but I have plenty of other thoughts and opinions on theology, faith, religion and the wider socio-political questions surrounding them.
Also, admitting that you simply don’t know the answer is arguably a more scary and difficult commitment than coming up with some comforting soft answers to the difficult big questions of our existence.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But flattery will get you nowhere. And your atheism is in Nowheresville, man.To believe, or not to believe, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The fools and frauds of delusional gods,
Or to take manure fork to a pile of horse flops,
And by tossing clean out the barn.
Are you quoting from See Spot Run?Out, damned spot!
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This "strawman" that you see has a brain.To laugh or not to laugh. That is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fallacies
Or to take Arms against a Sea of Strawmen,
And by opposing bump them: to die
a little inside
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