endlessvoid2018
Member
So I saw this term used today somewhere online. Would a non-theist technically be the same thing as an atheist?
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Non-theist?
- Thread starter endlessvoid2018
- Start date
Heyo
Veteran Member
Technically, yes, but I suspect that the author wanted to include people who usually won't be called atheists, like deists, pantheists, "spiritual-but-not-religious", agnostics et al.
Secret Chief
nirvana is samsara
I would say not. Atheism is a-theism - ie a postion in regard to theism. Non-theism is not a position In regard to theism.
Atheism and non-theism are the exact same thing. When you put "A" in front of a term, it means not that term. Think atypical, or amoral. That means not typical, or not moral; the same goes for theism. Atheism means not theism.
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What position is it in regard to theism?
That is open to interpretation.
There are borderline situations, such as pantheism and deism, that may reasonably be argued as being forms of atheism, forms of theism, or well distinct from either.
Nor is there any form of deep, encompassing agreement on how deep and meaningful atheism is supposed to be to "really count".
Essentially, anyone who would rather not be assumed to be a believer in the literal existence of at least one deity qualifies as a non-theist. But what that actually means or excludes is to some extent in the eye of the beholder.
One consequence is that choosing labels between atheism and non-theism is sometimes mainly a function of the interlocutors and the perceived expectations and biases associated with them.
How is deism and pantheism not a theism?
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Heyo
Veteran Member
A theos is an intervening god in contrast to a deos who set the universe in motion but doesn't mess with the laws of nature (it created). Therefore, technically, a Deist is an atheist but very few people, theists as well as atheists, would put them in that category.
ratiocinator
Lightly seared on the reality grill.
I would have thought of it as a more general term that covers many beliefs that don't include god(s). According to Wiki:
Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious and non-religious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in the existence of God or gods. Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject of gods and differs from atheism, or active disbelief in any gods. It has been used as an umbrella term for summarizing various distinct and even mutually exclusive positions, such as agnosticism, ignosticism, ietsism, skepticism, pantheism, pandeism, transtheism, atheism (strong or positive, implicit or explicit), and apatheism. It is in use in the fields of Christian apologetics and general liberal theology.
endlessvoid2018
Member
This makes sense to me. What about Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, etc? Aren't they also religions that don't have a Theistic belief system?
What does this distinction have nothing to do with whether a person is a deist or not?
I disagree. A deist is a person who believes in deities. By definition; all deities are Gods.
Deity definition - Yahoo Search Results
search.yahoo.com
What does it mean to "disbelieve" in a God?
The distinctions are arbitrary.
That's because they are theisms.
Indeed. There is no objective standard to establish what counts as a god, therefore theism is inherently vague.