Thread: Arguments Over Definitions

An atheist is a person who lacks belief in God. If you aren't sure, if you're in between and think it's irrational to completely dismiss the idea of God, and you're still openminded that a God might exist and are waiting for evidence before you say you'll believe, you are an atheist, because in that moment of indecision you don't have a positive belief in God, and that's all an atheist is.

This is the definition I've heard most frequently from educated rational people who discuss the matter, so it's the definition I've begun to think of as the correct one. But, there seem to be so many people who think it means differently, maybe I shouldn't be considering that definition to be any more valid than theirs. Since the definitions are only in our minds, if half the world believes it, it would become true, even if it wasn't the original intended definition. So now atheism and agnosticism can be added to my list of useless words.

If everyone agreed with your idea of spiritual, that would be fine. But many people would claim the real definition of spirituality is something else, and that you're wrong. And since there are so many opinions, the word becomes meaningless.