Believers, Non-Believers & Morality

Originally posted by @romans1009
Obviously I knew he knew about divine law which is why I thought he was lying when he said he had no notion about it.

Atheists have no notion of divine law. He was being truthful about it, and not lying. It's as if you haven't read the OP and don't know what this thread is about.

Originally posted by @fmf
Atheists have no notion of divine law. He was being truthful about it, and not lying. It's as if you haven't read the OP and don't know what this thread is about.

Perhaps your and Ghost’s problem is you don’t know the definition of notion.

Originally posted by @romans1009
Perhaps your and Ghost’s problem is you don’t know the definition of notion.

Or he'll simply ignore the dictionary definition and stubbornly insist that the dictionary is wrong and he is right.

Originally posted by @romans1009
Perhaps your and Ghost’s problem is you don’t know the definition of notion.

On this thread, and in Ghost of a Duke's posts, it clearly means a belief [in something] ~ a conception of or belief about something ~ an idea or belief ~ a theory or belief held by a person or group ~ etc.

So here is a 'translation' of the OP for you: What can non-believers ~ and contemporary secular society more broadly ~ learn about morality from religious people and religious institutions once belief in everlasting life, divine law and "sin" are taken out of the equation?

I understood it. dj2becker understood it. Ghost of a Duke understood it. You, on the other hand, have been trying to squeeze mileage out of pretending not to understand it. A "notion" for the purposes of this OP/thread is a "belief".

Originally posted by @dj2becker
Or he'll simply ignore the dictionary definition and stubbornly insist that the dictionary is wrong and he is right.

What was wrong with the dictionary definitions I gave?

Originally posted by @fmf
On this thread, and in Ghost of a Duke's posts, it clearly means a belief [in something] ~ a conception of or belief about something ~ an idea or belief ~ a theory or belief held by a person or group ~ etc.

So here is a 'translation' of the OP for you: What can non-believers ~ and contemporary secular society more broadly ~ learn about morality from religio ...[text shortened]... of pretending not to understand it. A "notion" for the purposes of this OP/thread is a "belief".

So Ghost is saying he has no belief about divine law? Wrong. He most certainly does. He is not ambiguous on the subject at all.

Try again, kiddo.

Originally posted by @fmf
What was wrong with the dictionary definitions I gave?

There is nothing wrong with part a. Lies can be deliberate. You just ignored part b whereby lies can be unintentional.

Originally posted by @romans1009
So Ghost is saying he has no belief about divine law? Wrong. He most certainly does. He is not ambiguous on the subject at all.

Try again, kiddo.

He has no belief in divine law - he has no notion of divine law - he doesn't believe in a divine law giver - for him there is no divine law etc. because he is an atheist.

Originally posted by @dj2becker
There is nothing wrong with part a. Lies can be deliberate. You just ignored part b whereby lies can be unintentional.

You have made the sort of error a non-native speaker or an EFL student might make. Your easily-taken-out-of-context Merriam-Webster "1 b." definition would work in phrases with an idiomatic nuance like this: the lies we tell ourselves to feel better; all their married life she had been living a lie; these figures give the lie to the notion that people are spending less; I have 20 dollars on me - wait, no, I tell a lie - I have 30 dollars. Clearly, this specific sense and occasional usage of the word does not apply to what happened on page 1 of this thread.

Originally posted by @fmf
He has no belief in divine law - he has no notion of divine law - he doesn't believe in a divine law giver - for him there is no divine law etc. because he is an atheist.

You’re babbling nonsense.

He does have a belief regarding divine law - just as I have a belief about the theory of evolution, whether the moon is made of green cheese and whether the sun rises in the west.

Originally posted by @romans1009
You’re babbling nonsense.

He does have a belief regarding divine law - just as I have a belief about the theory of evolution, whether the moon is made of green cheese and whether the sun rises in the west.

He doesn't believe in divine law - he has no notion of divine law. Neither do I. You, on the other hand, have notions of "sin", everlasting life and divine law ~ because you are a theist.

Originally posted by @romans1009
So Ghost is saying he has no belief about divine law?

Ghost of as Duke is saying he has no notion of divine law. The person he was replying to, dj2becker, being a Christian, does. Read the OP again. Bear in mind the thread's topic.

Originally posted by @fmf
You have made the sort of error a non-native speaker or an EFL student might make. Your easily-taken-out-of-context Merriam-Webster "1 b." definition would work in phrases with an idiomatic nuance like this: the lies we tell ourselves to feel better; all their married life she had been living a lie; these figures give the lie to the notion that people are spend ...[text shortened]... sense and occasional usage of the word does not apply to what happened on page 1 of this thread.

The dictionary clearly states that a lie is "something that misleads or deceives." What ghost said was misleading whether or not you are willing to accept it. You resorting to insults because you cannot admit that you are wrong is actually quite amusing.

Originally posted by @fmf
He doesn't believe in divine law - he has no notion of divine law. Neither do I. You, on the other hand, have notions of "sin", everlasting life and divine law ~ because you are a theist.

Do you think I have no notion of the theory of evolution?

I don’t believe in it, so according to you, I don’t.

The belief definition of notion isn’t whether you believe something is true - it’s whether you have a belief (affirmative or negative) about something.

Do I have no notion of Islam? I don’t believe in Islam, so I must not, according to you.

Why nobody has a notion of anything they don’t believe in, according to you.

🙄

Originally posted by @dj2becker
You resorting to insults because you cannot admit that you are wrong is actually quite amusing.

Nothing I have said to is intended as an insult but instead has been with regard to your difficulty with the word "lie".

The incorrect understanding and use of idioms is a hallmark of non-native speakers lacking in fluency ~ along with people who are intellectually impaired, and little children.

Perhaps Afrikaans is your mother tongue and not English?

Your intellectual behaviour throughout this thread has apparently been caused by a clumsy vocabulary/language error on your part.