What is an atheist?

It's not just a person who doesn't believe that your god exists. An atheist is one who lives without professing or believing in the existence of what anyone calls a god. Everybody's atheistic about something. If you are a Catholic you are probably atheistic about the Hindu gods. The Christian Scientist (my former brand) is atheistic about Jesus, defining him as only an especially inspired human. Religion, then, tends to be in some kind of battle stance with at least some other religious systems, despite most of their claims to be life-affirming, loving and peaceful.

Here's a fuller treatment of the subject by John Loftus, a former Christian apologist who runs the Debunking Christianity web site.

I am an atheist. What do I mean when I use this word? I mean that I do not think there are any supernatural beings or supernatural forces. It’s not that I have no beliefs about them. I do. I believe they do not exist. People who do not have any beliefs about such beings are people who have never considered them in the first place.

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