Information AboutAntitheism |
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OPPOSITION TO THEISM An antitheist is defined by the '' Oxford English Dictionary '' as "One opposed to belief in the existence of a God." The earliest citation given for this meaning is from 1833 . What the Oxford definition may fail to make clear is that an antitheist is categorically opposed to belief in the existence of any god or gods, and not merely one in particular. The concept allows a useful distinction to be made between the mere philosophical rejection of theism, Atheism , and a position of antipathy or opposition towards such beliefs. Militant atheism Antitheism may be adopted as a label by those who take the view that theism is destructive. An alternative term for this stance is ''militant atheism'' (see Baggini, 2003 p.101). An example of this view is demonstrated in ''Letters to a Young Contrarian'' (2001), Christopher Hitchens writes that "I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful." {Link without Title} However, Hitchens' use of the word seems to be as general through the 1976 addenda, nor in the online version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary . {Link without Title} OPPOSITION TO GOD Some sources, particularly religious ones, have defined antitheism as opposition to God , Holiness or the Divine rather than simply as opposition to ''belief'' in God, Theism . The belief rather than an exclusively opposition to belief in deities. The second is synonymous with Strong Atheism . The third and first, on the other hand, need not be atheistic at all. Earlier definitions of antitheism include that of the French Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain (1953), for whom it is "an active struggle against everything that reminds us of God" (p.104), and that of Robert Flint (1877), Professor of Divinity at the University Of Edinburgh . Flint's Baird Lecture for 1877 was entitled ''Anti-Theistic Theories''. He used it as a very general Umbrella Term for all opposition to theism, which he defined as the "belief that the heavens and the earth and all that they contain owe their existence and continuance to the wisdom and will of a supreme, self-existent, omnipotent, omniscient, righteous, and benevolent Being, who is distinct from, and independent of, what He has created." (p.1) He wrote: In dealing with theories which have nothing in common except that they are antagonistic to theism, it is necessary to have a general term to designate them. Anti-theism appears to be the appropriate word. It is, of course, much more comprehensive in meaning than the term atheism. It applies to all systems which are opposed to theism. It includes, therefore, atheism... But short of atheism there are anti-theistic theories. Polytheism is not atheism, for it does not deny that there is a Deity; but it is anti-theistic, since it denies that there is only one. Pantheism is not atheism, for it admits that there is a God; but it is anti-theism, for it denies that God is a being distinct from creation and possessed of such attributes as wisdom, and holiness, and love. Every theory which refuses to ascribe to God an attribute which is essential to a worthy conception of His character is anti-theistic. Only those theories which refuse to acknowledge that there is evidence even for the existence of a God are atheistic. (p.2-3) However, Flint also acknowledges that antitheism is typically understood differently than how he defines it. In particular, he notes that it has been used as a subdivision of atheism, descriptive of the view that theism has been disproven, rather than as the more general term that Flint prefers. He rejects '' Non-theistic '' as an alternative, "not merely because of its hybrid origin and character, but also because it is far too comprehensive. Theories of physical and mental science are non-theistic, even when in no degree, directly or indirectly, antagonistic to theism." (p.444-445). OTHER USES Yet another definition of ''antitheism'' was coined by Christopher New in a thought experiment published in 1993 . In his article, he imagines what arguments for the existence of an evil God would look like: "Antitheists, like theists, would have believed in an omnipotent, omniscient, eternal creator; but whereas theists in fact believe that the supreme being is also perfectly good, antitheists would have believed that he was perfectly evil." (p.36) SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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