E.R.N. Reed wrote:
I had a similar debate with someone else once, and I tried to point out
(and perhaps this is also what Tom is saying, but I am not speaking for
him) that I used the word "belief" to mean "a firmly held opinion or
conviction."
Most atheists of my acquaintance "feel sure" that there is no God. In
other words, that is something they "believe" (means the same thing.)
On the other hand, the other person (and perhaps also you?) used the
term "belief" in another, equally valid sense: "an acceptance that
something exists or is true."
But I could say that I "feel sure" that there is no God, of the
kinds commonly described but the available evidence is (in my
opinion) inconsistent with the existence of such beings. 8-)
It ultimately, I think, gets back to reasons.
Some people may believe in something, and have faith in it,
regardless of the available evidence.
Others will believe only if the available evidence supports a
particular belief.
Of course, to confuse the picture, people do not necessarily
agree on what counts as evidence, or how to interpet that which
is available. 8-)
Keith McG
