h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Doesn't "Atheist" mean "without theology"? Which is, of itself, a theology...

No, think it's a=no theo=god. No god. What you mean is agnostic.

Nope.

A - not
theos - root word for theology
deios (correct me if that's the wrong Greek spelling) - root word for God/god

Agnostic means, so I was told once, literally "don't know." Agnostics are the people who can't decide either way.

Redux:

not "root word for god" but "Greek word for god". Preview, preview...

-ology means, well, the precise word fails me, but it means something like: subject about...

Theology is therefore a study about God, therefore theos stands for god. Atheism is the belief that there is no god.

Dear Ralph, please read some Latin and Greek.

-ology means study. Therefore, something like geology is the "study" of "geos" or earth.

Theology, according to Mr. Webster, "the study of a religious faith." Atheism is not *literally* the belief that there is no god, but a fleeing from theology. The belief that there is no deity is part of it, but it is not what the word itself means.

At least, I don't think so. I'm not an etymologist (though I'd sorta like to be). *hides*

I have actually read *some* latin and greek. And this has lead me to believe that Theos means god.

It does; however, in the context of "atheism" it means without faith.

Watch out Paul H ere I come.

(sorry to get all pi**y there, but translations don't go direct from one language to another, especially with Latin and Greek in relation to English)

Okay, okay, let's end this on a friendly note: I refer to myself as an Atheist, because I do not believe there is such a being as God. Okay? All cleared up?

Well an atheistic religion ie Communism still has faith just not in a god, so I think Theo is for god and is literal.

atheistic religion is a bit of a paradox, isn't it? Religeon is the worship of one or more gods, atheistic means you do not believe in a god. Anyway, communism isn't a religeon, it's a political orientation.

Ralph - well aware. I was just worried that your definitions were getting confused. Sorry... academic at heart.

Atheism is a kind of religion in a way. I've heard of atheist churches, which seems to defeat the point. Also, it seems difficult to deny the existance of something - in order to deny it, it has to exist in the first place. But that's just me, and this isn't a theological debate forum.

Communism does have a bit to do with religion - one of the main reasons communism can't work is because it requires that everyone have similar morals and philosophical values - or, to put it in its Greek context, the same religion. Disagreement means problems in the ranks of the supposed equals in a communistic society.

Would type more, but dinner's on...

I think the main difficulty in communism is financial rather then religeous; due to equal wages, people lose the stimuli to produce. Anyway, the only reason communism insists on supporting atheism is because Karl Marx saw religeon as a means for repressing the working classes.

Communism isn't a religion, it's a philosophy. It's still a belief system with its own self-contained faith structure.

Just like Thingism!

Indeed. Or Thingology.

The study of Thing...

How do I love Thing? Let me count the ways...