Atheism Isn't Simply a Lack of Belief
Many atheists don���t like the term ���atheist.��� They take atheism to be just the default position. I���ve even heard some atheists state that atheism is not really a belief at all. Rather, they assert it is simply a lack of belief.
Given this redefinition, most atheists are taken aback when theists demand they provide evidence for their atheism. After all, they'll assert, we don���t demand evidence from people who lack belief in Santa Claus. Moreover, we���re told that everyone who lacks belief in Santa is technically an ���a-santa-ist.��� However, no one has ever labeled them with that term. Furthermore, the atheist might point out that most people don���t believe in the thunder god Thor (as much as you might like the movie), but no one calls them ���athorists.���
Continuing this line of thinking, they will point out that everyone agrees that the athorist and the asantaist aren���t forced to prove that Thor and Santa don���t exist. The burden of proof would actually be on the person who claims that Thor and Santa do exist. Likewise, the theist is told that it���s up to him to prove that God exists. It is not the atheist���s responsibility to prove that He doesn���t.
But is this really what atheism amounts to? Is it merely a lack of belief in God? The answer is a resounding, No! Atheism is not simply a lack of belief. It is not the default position. Let���s get our terms straight. The theist affirms the statement, ���There is a God.��� The agnostic says, ���I do not know if God exists��� or ���You cannot know God exists.��� The atheist affirms the statement, ���There is no God.��� These are all beliefs.
To say you simply lack a belief about something is to say that you have no beliefs about it. For example, if you asked me, ���Who is the best female polo player in Europe?��� I wouldn���t know where to start. Why? Because I have no beliefs about the quality of women���s polo in Europe, or any other country for that matter. I truly lack a belief regarding that question.
This is not the case with atheists. People don���t write books about things they don���t have any beliefs about. No one debates about non-beliefs. If they did, there would be nothing to talk about.
This attempt to change the definition of atheism to a lack of belief is a tactic to try to shift the burden of proof. But it won���t work. The belief that there is no God is a belief. And if the atheist thinks it is a reasonable belief, he should have reasons to believe it.
