Atheism is a lack of a belief, not a belief.
I actually met a Thor worshiper once... they are out there.

Atheism isn't a lack of belief, it's a lack of faith :P

It is something you believe in. Other people believe something different. I also believe it is true (there is no god or gods, no creator etc) but I cannot prove it. Therefore it is a belief.

Not believing something because of lack of proof does not mean you believe in something.

If there is no evidence at all for something, it is not a belief that it does not exist - it is technical fact, and believing otherwise is a belief.
Or something like that, it's late and i just hung out with a (pretty hot) friend I havent seen in a long time whos visiting from singapore. I'm not entirely in my best state of mind right now, haha.

the burden of proof lies on the one making a positive assertion; you can't prove a negative.

Personally, I find that "belief" is a dirty word.

Anything outside of the phrase "I believe I'll have another beer."

- Pie

I think possibly our definitions of belief are at odds. I believe that socialism is a better system than laissez faire capitalism. I believe I am a good person. I do not believe in God, but I also actively believe there is a scientific explanation for everything (even if we haven't found them all). I believe there is no God.

Yes, the burden of proof is on the person stating something does exist, and it seems somewhat strange to actively believe in the absence of something, but belief is simply another of our mechanisms, or tools, with which we rationalise our world. The world I live in has a majority of people who believe in a God, or Gods. Historically, people have generally accepted the existence of Gods and other supernatural explanations of the world. Because of that, it is actually us who have a duty to provide the proof, since we are the ones seeking to change the status quo, and overturn accepted 'truths'.

Yes, "belief" certainly isn't wrong by itself. The problem comes when people think belief based on blind faith should be given the same weight as belief secured by provable data.

Agreed. But...given that I am not a scientist, and in truth have not the relevant knowledge and expertise to properly assess the validity of the data that scientists produce, nor indeed to understand a great deal of the theory...surely by accepting their facts my belief in them is partially blind.

Nor do I claim to understand even a tiny fraction of all that is factually known. The times when a single person could hope to encompass all human knowledge is long, long gone.

Sidenote: issues of fact, belief and provability are currently taking center stage in my life. I'm currently serving on a jury in a criminal trial; hopefully I'll get to discuss it in depth once it's all over.

Oh that sounds really interesting. I look forward to your insights.

Are you allowed to do that Pie? Over here, you basically get sworn to secrecy after you've been on a jury.

Given that former jurors write books about their trials, I would guess that I can discuss it. But I will ask the judge!

lol...it's ok. I just wondered seriously because when I did jury duty on a criminal case, we were told we could never discuss the case in detail with anyone other than one confidant, and that writing books etc was strictly prohibited. I thought it was odd that he'd say such a thing at the time, but obviously now I know why. ;)

Lack of belief is more like agnosticism. Atheism is the belief there is no god.

Many worship him from afar -after all he is pretty cute- but they soon back off when they realize the true extent of his warmongering capabilities. And the mess he leaves behind.