What would an atheist chaplain do?

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Although in theory a god could be atheist, provided obviously that the entity termed as god would not have a consciousness of its own self (so to speak). Not entirely impossible. Some sort of analogy would be the earth which is not aware of its capacity to feed the organisms on it, but still retains that creative and important capacity. Obviously in the case of a god this would involve very different, and also far more pronounced, qualities.

Since God doesnt worship he is an atheist...

 

[Kyriakos]

Since God doesnt worship he is an atheist...

Not sure if that term has a corrupted meaning in English, but Atheist comes from the term Atheos which in turn is formed from Theos and the alpha in front of it means "without (a)". So a god who would be without a god does not have to mean that the god would be an atheist itself (this would presuppose something above that one god and some reason to differentiate on that level) since it would more likely mean that god is unaware of any god (ie of its own self)

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Not sure if that term has a corrupted meaning in English, but Atheist comes from the term Atheos which in turn is formed from Theos and the alpha in front of it means "without (a)". So a god who would be without a god does not have to mean that the god would be an atheist itself (this would presuppose something above that one god and some reason to differentiate on that level) since it would more likely mean that god is unaware of any god (ie of its own self)

O.K. so only a goddes can be an atheist.

 

[peter grimes]

Not sure if that term has a corrupted meaning in English, but Atheist comes from the term Atheos which in turn is formed from Theos and the alpha in front of it means "without (a)". So a god who would be without a god does not have to mean that the god would be an atheist itself (this would presuppose something above that one god and some reason to differentiate on that level) since it would more likely mean that god is unaware of any god (ie of its own self)

Atheist in English stands in opposition to theist: one who believes in had existence of gods.

 

[Kyriakos]

Atheist in English stands in opposition to theist: one who believes in had existence of gods.

Hm, that seems to be an anachronism, given that (i would regard as more plausible) theist is probably a later term in English than atheist. In Greek the analogous term would be "entheos", which signifies that one is part (inside of) the belief in god, or i guess even in god itself (part of the creation).

 

[Zelig]

No, it's not an anachronism, it's what the words mean in English, Greek is completely irrelevant.

 

[Kyriakos]

^You did not get what i meant. Even if Greek for "theist" is irrelevant here (and it highly likely is) this has nothing to do with the probability that "atheist" existed in English before theist did.

 

[bhsup]

But what does that matter? It still means what it means.

 

[peter grimes]

^You did not get what i meant. Even if Greek for "theist" is irrelevant here (and it highly likely is) this has nothing to do with the probability that "atheist" existed in English before theist did.

What makes you think that? I first heard about Theism in relation to Deism. As far as I know, atheism is a much younger term than either of those, which were in use at least 300 years ago.

 

[Kyriakos]

But what does that matter? It still means what it means.

It might matter, given that probably the word "atheist" is quite old in English, so it is far more likely to have been directly influenced in its meaning by the preceding Greek term that got altered to this form.
On the other hand, the term theist, being probably a lot more recent a term in English, has far less chance of being influenced by the analogous Greek term.

Combined those two points lead to the conclusion that Peter_Grimes likely was making an anachronism when arguing that "atheist" came to be as a reaction to "theist" and so would have no connotation of the original term Atheos (historically, or in current use).

edit: crosspost:

What makes you think that? I first heard about Theism in relation to Deism. As far as I know, atheism is a much younger term than either of those, which were in use at least 300 years ago.

It would seem possible that the term "atheist" is older (in the English version, of course) than just 300 years though. Either way a source about which of the two terms is older in English would solve this for all of us, and provide all with a new (hopefully concrete) knowledge

 

[bhsup]

Okay, atheism came into English in the late 1500s, theism in the late 1600s. But again, who cares? What they mean now really doesn't matter one bit what their Greek origins were. An atheist doesn't believe in the existence of God, a theist does. It's really that simple.

 

[Kyriakos]

Okay, atheism came into English in the late 1500s, theism in the late 1600s. But again, who cares? What they mean now really doesn't matter one bit what their Greek origins were. An atheist doesn't believe in the existence of God, a theist does. It's really that simple.

I agree that no one cares.

You lose Peter_Grimes



(the original argument began when it was claimed that "atheist" meant one who did not worship a god. To which i replied that it was more probably always meaning merely one who had no god.

 

[peter grimes]

An atheist doesn't believe in the existence of God, a theist does. It's really that simple.

To be clear, most people are atheist regarding specific deities - like Zeus, Mercury, Siva, the Great Volcano Two Towns Over, etc.

The difference is, full atheists add the one you believe in

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

To be clear, most people are atheist regarding specific deities - like Zeus, Mercury, Siva, the Great Volcano Two Towns Over, etc.

The difference is, full atheists add the one you believe in

I thing I believe in all of those plus flying spaghetti monster does that make me something like supertheist?

 

[timtofly]

According to Wikipedia the term atheist was first used in the 1800's to identify a person's non-belief in any god. Deism was used 200 years earlier as the "scientific" explanation of God. It denied any claims of the supernatural that Theism offered.

 

[bhsup]

Huh. I got the 1500s from dictionary.com

 

[Kyriakos]

I thing I believe in all of those plus flying spaghetti monster does that make me something like supertheist?

Pantheist Just means one believes in all gods (he is aware of, or all that even might be mentioned at any time). Although googling the term it seems that in English it is argued to mostly mean one believing in a god which is one with everything that god created (noting this is not the only possible definition of it).

 

[timtofly]

Huh. I got the 1500s from dictionary.com

Perhaps the word was around, but people were afraid to identify with it. It's a greek thing?

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Perhaps the word was around, but people were afraid to identify with it. It's a greek thing?

Greek is scary...

 

[El_Machinae]

I have figured this out.

*clears throat*

Hear ye, hear ye, Atheistmas approacheth. Let us praise the possibly first atheist school of thought:



So basically what will happen is a bunch of atheists will get together for a feast, get drunk, and honour Purusha by exchanging gifts and playing board games.

"Purusha" even sounds like a board game!