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(boing!) Cnoocy Mosque O'Witz ([personal profile] cnoocy) wrote in [personal profile] dougo 2010-04-15 01:54 pm (UTC)

But many, if not most, religious people use "belief" in a different sense in religious contexts than they do in non-religious contexts. When I say "I believe that there is an underlying pattern to the workings of the universe" I don't mean "the preponderance of evidence supports the existence of an underlying pattern", I mean "the concept of an underlying pattern provides meaning to my understanding of existence". So I think it's reasonable for someone like [livejournal.com profile] gemini6ice not to agree with "I believe there is no God" in the second sense of believe and therefore not to call themselves an atheist. Ultimately, I think it's up to the individual.

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