APISTEVIST -
Extracts:
Someone who rejects using faith as a legitimate method to reach conclusions.
A person who does not use faith to know things-especially in the religious sense.
The Greek terms “pistis” or “pistevo” both describe faith, so as such “Apistevist” describes a lack of faith.
Suggested as an alternative or clarification of the term ' atheist '.
11
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6 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I like it as an adjective. However I have to disagree with using it as an alternative to atheist. To my understanding (and perhaps I should look up the dictionary definition) atheist specifically refers to god, and not other things that might ask for faith. Albiet the most common case is probably that of an apistevist atheist, but they are not strictly mutually inclusive.
towkneed
Level 7
Oct 23, 2022
1
It is my understanding that the term ' atheism ' means to be without belief, whether it is god, gods, or other spiritual models. However, the Christian and Muslim theists have sought to compel the meaning to specifically as referring to DENIAL of the existence of THEIR god.
Apistevist has the advantage or re-emphasizing the disavowal of faith and belief, just as the original meaning had. The advantage is to short-circuit the BS propaganda against atheism coming from the theists.
It is a good word but not really applicable here. To say that we never make a decision based on faith is not accurate. For example, I have faith that the aeroplane I fly on is airworthy. This is not "blind faith" but faith based on the airlines' safety records and the regulations imposed on them.
273kelvin
Level 8
Oct 4, 2022
3
That is the argument that the theists make, that all decisions are based on faith. However, there is a huge difference between faith based on myth that has no evidence nor any other basis and all the other matters of life that have evidence, experience and logic.
@273kelvin The churches rely on their equivocation that faith from the Latin verb fidere "to trust," and the word faith from the Latin noun fides "assumed Credence or belief" are the same word they are not.
You are making the same mistake
You Trust that the aeroplane is airworthy based upon a priori facts and observation a perfectly reasonable and logical position given that you have past knowledge of reputation and safety laws and records. However, you do not assume a belief that the plane is airworthy based on no evidence or as you put it, you do not have "blind faith".
@LenHazell53 I suggest you reread my comment. I notably stated this is NOT "blind faith". A better description might be "reasonable faith" which often can vary from person to person depending upon their interpretation of the criteria they define as "reasonable".eg. I have a friend who eschews all the reasons we find airline travel relatively safe and refuses to ever take the risk of flying, however small it might be.
Every day we put our lives into the hands of people we may not know on the assumption/faith that they do their job properly. The bus driver, pharmacist, mechanic or food preparation worker are just a few of the thousands of agents of reasonable faith we rely upon to function.
Then we have degrees of "reasonable faith". Rather like a weather report, these have caveats of doubt. I would place faith in our government and its institutions in this. Others might also include the scientific establishment.
So whether blind, reasonable or less than complete, we all have faith to some extent. It is just that as atheists, we can show our methodology.
It's the same root word that we find in the terms "epistle" (a letter or series of letters), and "epistemology" (the study of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope; the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion).
Flyingsaucesir
Level 8
Oct 4, 2022
3
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