Do atheists on here distinguish themselves from negative theology? Which is the stronger claim?

why would that be a goal?

the universe exists, it would be against logic and all i know to claim that it wasnt created when here it is

created doesnt mean creation with intent, just soemthing was made, and it was, so i would hardly deny that

as it exists

why would that not be a natural question to ask?

we have a brain that has the capability to question so it does, thats perfectly natural

theism= the beleif that soemthing created the universe with intent, with conciousness, and awareness it created

atheism= the universe was not created by anything with intent concciousness and awareness, just a cause

"In other words, God can't be a kind of thing, because then the question 'why does anything exist?' is answered by 'because Something (with a Capital S) exists' -- clearly a non-answer. So God, as it were, isn't on the chart of existence vs. nonexistence; God exists *beyond existence*.""

LOL. I don't think existence is a human or universe-only term, it's definitional. That's a cute way to get out of God clearly not existing though! I should try it sometime to befuddle a theist.

"to argue that the universe doesn't have a causal explanation?"

...no? That's for the astrophysics to figure out. Has nothing to do with philosophy, it's a science question.

"Or are you pretty capable of reconciling your own positions with negative theology? If so, what are the bounds at which theism ends and atheism begins?"

I think this sort of Eagleton nonsense is pointless wankery. I think from your own words it's obvious you don't believe in god either but can't face admitting it or that religion is a waste of time.

Theism is a construct of the human mind, and atheism is as old as humankind, as we are born a blank slate. The only knowledge we have at birth is the knowledge our bodies need for survival (bodily functions) Everything else is either taught to us, or we are brainwashed into submission so to speak.

There is no more evidence for an Abrahamic god as there is for Isis, or Venus, or Thor or Zeus....you get the picture.

Will we ever know what caused the universe? I cannot answer that, all I can say is what I know. And I know that the Abrahamic god is as real as all the other mythical gods.

The bible is a fairy tale based on other fairy tales, and if you go to books.google.com, you can download a book called Bible Myths and Their Parallels to Other Religions. It was written 150 years ago, and was used at Harvard Seminary. It proves that most bible stories were "copied and pasted" and aren't even original, let alone real, and the priests know this too.

"God exists *beyond existence*".

Certainly that doesn't make sense. If God is beyond existence that means he doesn't exist. If he's beyond logic he's illogical. Its as simple as that.

"The First Cause isn't on the chart of 'exists' or 'does not exist,' because the human notion of existence is relative to the universe."

That statement is illogical. It implies that everthing that is outside of the universe is neither existent or non-existent, but that means that all things that exist and all things that don't are a part of the universe. How can something that doesn't exist be a part of the universe? What sense does that make?

So, you wish to discuss something that does, and does not, exist. Further, you boldly assert that what we are discussing created the universe. I'm afraid you will have trouble establishing the grounds work for the first part, and will certainly need to justify the choice of the word create in the second.

I have no goal in may atheism. It is merely the honest expression of my observation of the absence of gods, and the evidence of gods. I see no need to reconcile my views with unsupported views of Apophatic mystics, but I am willing to listen to any rational argument you would care to offer.

Realism, in philosophy, capacity some thing very particular. It capacity somebody who believes that each and each merchandise got here across via the senses has an exact section indoors the international that corresponds, element via element with the item of sensation. There are useful problems with this mindset. An Atheist pronounces that the concepts on a particular god is in and that the concepts proves that the god does no longer exist. Atheists will remember heavily upon contradictions on a similar time as weighing the concepts. it would opt to be pronounced that all of us who does no longer settle for Zeus is an atheist as a recommendations with the aid of actuality the classic Greeks have been in touch and you will opt to be located to death for no longer believing. There might opt to be some gods you haven't any longer have been given faith in and you're atheistic approximately those gods. the commonplace meaning that the guy isn't a "Christian", isn't very smart and does not provide help to comprehend adequate approximately what the guy believes. Humanists, are obtainable each shape and length. each faith has some humanists in them. Humanism in undemanding words says that regardless of else could desire to be significant, fellow all of us is better significant than dogmas or individual values.

There is either existence or nonexistence. I don't believe that there's anything that doesn't exist or not exist. Either it is or it is not. There is no in between and no beyond. That's my belief, and even if I'm only human and maybe limited by my human inability to think beyond these terms, I don't see how something could EXIST OFF the chart of existence vs nonexistence, because it still implies existence.

Invoking cosmogenesis is usually a theist red herring, and often amounts to a "God of the gaps" argument.

It is largely a moot point, in any case - the universe exists, and there is no magic in it. The fact that science is still unraveling the beginnings of the universe is a reason to say "We don't know yet," not "God did it."

I'm an atheist because I have no belief in the existence of any deity.

As to your line of reasoning, everything we do is relative and we are humans.