Definition of Friendly Atheist

This is a quick post about the definition of "friendly atheist."



Purdue University Emeritus Professor of Philosophy William Rowe famously coined the terms, "friendly atheist," "indifferent atheist," and "unfriendly atheist."[1] What did he mean by these terms?



unfriendly atheist : an atheist who believes no one is justified in believing that the theistic God exists

indifferent atheist : an atheist who holds no belief concerning whether any theist is or is not rationally justified in believing that the theistic God exists

friendly atheist : an atheist who believes that some theists are rationally justified in believing the theistic God exists



Boston University Emeritus Professor of Philosophy Michael Martin wrote a critique of Rowe's argument for friendly atheism. What do you think of Martin's critique?



Notes



[1] William L. Rowe, "The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism" American Philosophical Quarterly 16 (1979), 335-341.