Are you technically an atheist when you are born.

[Hunter24]

Originally Posted by GRATEFULONEjim

I came across a photo on FB yesterday of a baby being Baptized with a caption, "NOOOO,,,, I'M ATHEIST". The premise was that you are atheist upon birth, until you are Baptized. I disagreed, but would like your thoughts on this.

Atheism is not the absence of religion, I would say its closer to Agnostic in that they don't have the mental capacity to fathom divinity yet, so they dont beleave or dis beleave in god.

[Mystophilus]

Originally Posted by cornbread_r2

Could you please provide a source for the true etymology? All the references I found with online dictionaries were for the so-called false one, i.e. a- "without" + theos "a god". TIA

Sure.

For Greek, the LSJ:
αθεος (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/...=greek#lexicon), dating from Pindar (C6th/5th BCE).

For English, the OED:
A. n.
1. One who denies or disbelieves the existence of a God.
2. One who practically denies the existence of a God by disregard of moral obligation to Him; a godless man.
B. adj.
Atheistic, impious.
Examples are listing from the C16th onwards, e.g. "1571 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Psalmes of Dauid with Comm. Ep. Ded. 3 The Atheistes which say..there is no God."

Even Webster's gets it right (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheist), as does dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheist?s=t). It might be useful to note that "disbelieve" is not merely "fail to believe", in case that is the cause of the confusion.

[Farsight001]

Originally Posted by GRATEFULONEjim

I came across a photo on FB yesterday of a baby being Baptized with a caption, "NOOOO,,,, I'M ATHEIST". The premise was that you are atheist upon birth, until you are Baptized. I disagreed, but would like your thoughts on this.

Of course not. Babies lack a belief in government, but they're not anarchists. They lack a belief in Obama, but they're not Republican. They lack a belief in Romney, but nor are they Democrats. They lack a belief in anything, really, but they're not nihilists.

This is just atheist wishful thinking. Ever since Dawkins published The God Delusion, many have been adamantly claiming that atheism is a "lack of belief in God". It's nothing more than an attempt to inflate their numbers.

Atheism is the belief that there is no God. It requires conscious thought.

[thebookofesther]

Originally Posted by Farsight001

Of course not. Babies lack a belief in government, but they're not anarchists. They lack a belief in Obama, but they're not Republican. They lack a belief in Romney, but nor are they Democrats. They lack a belief in anything, really, but they're not nihilists.

This is just atheist wishful thinking. Ever since Dawkins published The God Delusion, many have been adamantly claiming that atheism is a "lack of belief in God". It's nothing more than an attempt to inflate their numbers.

Atheism is the belief that there is no God. It requires conscious thought.

Are these the Nazis, Walter?

[mafh]

Originally Posted by GRATEFULONEjim

I came across a photo on FB yesterday of a baby being Baptized with a caption, "NOOOO,,,, I'M ATHEIST". The premise was that you are atheist upon birth, until you are Baptized. I disagreed, but would like your thoughts on this.

I don't see how a baby can be an atheist, unless you define the word in such a way that cats, squirrels, and rocks are also atheists. They just don't have a concept of God or philosophy at all.

Well, maybe my cats have a concept of a god.. but, in that case its nothing more than The Great Feeder, and they think its me....