Someone just told me i am a weak atheist?

Question

Wikipedia: Atheism, as an explicit position, can be either the affirmation of the nonexistence of gods,[1] or the rejection of theism.[2] It is also[3] defined more broadly as synonymous with any form of nontheism, including the simple absence of belief in deities

I do not believe in god

I do not believe in any deities

I completely believe in evolution, and do not believe when i die i will go to either h**l/heaven

I do however believe in ghosts! the reason i believe is because i have seen two of them. Does this make me a weak atheist? i was under the impression an atheist is what is described above in wikipediea?

Is atheism anything to do with believing/not believing in ghosts?

Answer 1

You're fine and don't worry about those silly adjectives. However, if you lift the Encyclopedia of Science tomes 20 times every morning you will definitely increase your muscle mass & strength. You may want to start with some flexing exercises, e.g., pitching holy books for distance.

Answer 2

Atheism and spirituality contradict each other. I don't believe in ghost but rather believe that those are demons. Either way what you saw was a spiritual thing. In a world where God does not exist that could not be possible. So either God exists or you hallucinated. That would be your call for what you want to believe. But yes that would be weak for an atheist. That would be like saying that I, a Christian, do not believe in the Bible.

Answer 3

There's a fair chance the person using the term is mis-applying it,

and you shouldn't worry about it.

It's only useful in certain technical discussions.

As for ghosts, it's not a belief common in atheism but it's not incompatible with it, unless there is some connection by which they are caused by or represent a "higher power" which is effectively a deity.

As a natural phenomena, rather: part of nature not above it.

The "Stone tape" hypothesis for example.

Not something I hold, but nothing to get an atheist excommunicated, even if we had any authority capable of doing excommunicating.

Answer 4

Try out this little sentence that has made a big difference in my life "What you think of me is none of my business". Live your life and describe your beliefs for yourself, not others. That is integrity.  

Answer 5

:)   Be happy in your atheism!

Answer 6

Well I would think that seeing ghosts would be a wake up call to you and tell there is something besides this life... that ghosts can go back and forth from this world and another you have to find out for yourself what that world is that they come to call it heaven h**l or whatever. As a member of the LDS church we believe that they are in the spirit world, the spirit world is hear on earth and we only see spirits when we are supposed to. They are trying to find out the truths that they didn't find in life. Everyone must go there and all must wait for the coming of Christ. If you say you don't believe in anything like god or deities that's up to you but remember when you get to the spirit world what I said that its the time to learn there and be taught. If your and Atheist you don't believe in anything that can't be proven by science and have no hope for anything outside of this life and have no purpose of being on this earth. That's what I think and Atheist is.  

Answer 7

To me, atheism excludes the supernatural which would include ghosts and any paranormal occurences.

Where would ghosts fit into  evolution or atheism?

Answer 8

If you believe in ghosts, what do think they are? If you think they are the souls of dead people, would that not mean that there is indeed an afterlife??? If there is an afterlife where do you think we will go?

Answer 9

No, look at a dictionary defintion, if you are not sure.

Answer 10

This is a tough question.

I know you don't believe in God, but to answer this question I will need to refer to the Bible, so you can either read this or not. It's totally your choice. But I'm treating your question as a serious one, and not a joke.

The Bible says that the soul is not separate from the body, that when a person dies, their 'soul' or body, goes back to the ground and in that day their thoughts do perish (Psalms 146:4)

With that knowledge in hand, who are the 'ghosts' that you saw?

Satan the Devil, whose name means Resister, Adversary, Slanderer, Accuser, does not want humans to believe what the Bible says or believe that there is a God. If the Bible says that there is no separation of body and soul, would it not make sense to conclude that demons were imitating the spirits of people who have died, so that people would draw the wrong conclusion that the soul is separate from the body? This belief would draw them away from the truth of what the Bible states, which is one of Satan's main objectives.

But in order to believe this reasoning, you would need to acknowledge that Satan exists. And in order to believe Satan exists, you would have to also acknowledge that there is a God.

That's why I said in the beginning that this is a tough question.

Answer 11

No, it doesn't.  It's fine.  You don't believe in God, you believe in ghosts.  You're not weak.

Of course, over 20 people told you this the last time you asked this question half an hour ago.

Answer 12

i don't believe in strong or weak atheism, you are either atheist or not, if you lack a belief in god(s) you are an atheist...atheists can still believe in ghosts

Answer 13

Atheism is strictly about the absence of belief in gods.

Most skeptics are atheists...but not all.   As a skeptic, I am an atheist, but I also don't accept the existence of ghosts, aliens, bigfoot, or any of the pseudoscientific claims of alternative medicine or perpetual motion machines, just to name a few things.  

I don't assert/avow that these things categorically don't exist, but I find all of them implausible, and unproven. There is no credible evidence.  I am open minded, and if there was convincing evidence...lets say a bigfoot corpse, or the deity himself manifesting in Times Square, then I would have to accept the evidence of their existence.

Answer 14

Can you life over 100 pounds.

Answer 15

God loves you my sister and don't listen to the other atheist.  They simply are trying to get you to believe the ungodly way.

I wouldn't take info from wikipedia since it is very easy to make stuff up and it is not a good source.

God loves you and he is tugging at your heart.  It is up to you to let him in.

Answer 16

It is because some people believe ghosts to be the souls of individuals or something like that and that souls are a creation of god.  However, it is possible to believe in humans having spirits and not believe in god, for example-Buddhists.

Answer 17

Ghosts have nothing to do with it.  A weak atheist is someone who does not believe in gods, but also lacks a positive belief in the nonexistence of gods.  

The first definition given in your quote from Wikipedia, 'the affirmation of the nonexistence of gods,' is strong atheism.  If you don't fit that definition, but you still don't believe in gods, then you're a weak atheist.

Answer 18

Whack 'em over the head with "Species," "The God Delusion" or "The End of Faith" next time they tell you that

Answer 19

That just proves Atheists are crazy

Answer 20

No, you're not a weak atheist to believe in ghosts.

I'm sad that you don't believe in God, because He believes in you, but I'm a Catholic and I believe in ghosts, having experienced such phenomenon, myself. It's no fun going into the dungeon at Warwick Castle and smelling death and hearing screams of pain.

You are correct in your impression as to what an athiest is. If it helps, any, there is a non-theist religious movement where they don't believe in any god or dieties. It's called Buddhism. The main concept is the middle path, which basically means not eating too much or too little, not sleeping too much or too little, etc. Nothing to extremes, y'know?

I wish you luck, and even though you're an athiest, if you want, I'll pray for you, and if you ever decide you believe, know that you'll always be welcome with open arms at your nearest Catholic church!  

Answer 21

A ghost isn't a god, or a deity. It's the soul of a dead person. You're safe.  

Answer 22

Atheism has nothing to do with ghosts.  You can believe in voodoo for all intents and purposes and still be an atheist.  

I'm a big fan of Sci Fi's Ghost Hunters show.  And I'm still an atheist.  So no worries there.

Answer 23

You are worrying about a label, don't.

Believe what makes sense to you and pay no mind to what label another person gives you.

I, for example, believe in some things that cross over to other labels.  There is not one that really fits me.  Deist is close but not exact.  

Answer 24

yes, you suck at atheism!

Join the dark side and become Catholic immediately

Answer 25

I don't believe in ghosts.

Answer 26

Strong atheists believe that gods definitely do not exist.

Weak atheists are any other type of non-theist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weak_and_st...

Most atheists are weak atheists, because you can't prove that gods definitely do not exist.

That may be what they were referring to.

____

Answer 27

An atheist is also a rational thinker.

He believes what has been proved.

Evolution has not yet been proved. It is a theory and an imagination. Not a single proof that one species become another one over time. Even the blood can not be transfused from monkeys to human beings. There is no comparison of the pulse or heart beat between two similar species.

Monkeys are still vegetarian but human beings eat everything.

Secondly the ghosts. They are believed in villages not in cities. If all dead become ghosts, they need some body to live on. The dead are naturally more in numbers than the living. Even If 1% of all dead become ghosts, the entire mankind would have been haunted by now.

Logic is behind atheism not whether you believe in God or not.

Answer 28

Nah. I'm an atheist and I believe in Karma. But I still don't believe in god/gods. Atheism is just plain and simple: a(against or no) theist (refering to a deity). Not believing in a deity. Nothing more, nothing less. So yeah no worries.

Answer 29

LOL  Relax.  Everyone knows that you can be an atheist and believe in anything you want, as long as it isn't the actual God.

Answer 30

pray to the universe to make you stronger lol

or be a vegan