“Lack of belief” blurs the line between atheist and agnostic

[gcomeau]

74. Active vs. Passive

You are suggesting some sort of action is necessary in order to *become* an atheist. And then demanding justification for taking that action.

That is nonsense. I do not believe God exists because nothing has ever instilled such a belief in me. The end. Just like I don't believe there are invisible gravity elves controlling the motion of planetary bodies, evil trolls lurking under every bridge I cross waiting to nab me, or interdimensional gremlins which emerge into my clothes dryer at random intervals to steal one of my socks.

I did not have to spend one single iota of time dwelling on any of these or the INFINITE number of other ridiculous mythological fairy tales one could dream up in order NOT to believe in them. You just don't, because nothing has ever given you a reason to.

Get it?

Now some atheists do spend a great deal of time considering the God issue and remain firmly planted in their lack of belief for it, but that isn't some kind of prerequisite for being an atheist.

ADOPTING a belief that such a thing exists however IS an active rather than a passive event and THAT requires justification.