Is Atheism irrational?

Originally posted by Nordlys
It depends on how you define "atheism" (and "theism", for that matter). What's sometimes called "strong atheism" (while others use the term "atheism" to mean only "strong atheism" ) goes further than just finding theism unconvincing, it's a firm belief that there is no god.

A vast majority of knowledgable atheists are "weak" atheists. Strong atheists, by and large, are strawmen put forward by theists in an attempt to wriggle out from having to shoulder the entire burden of proof.

The word "atheism" literally means "without theism". It does not mean believing that god doesn't exist, despite the fact that some overly exuberant atheists might make that claim.

Originally posted by dj2becker
Atheism is a universal negative. Everyone who has studied logic knows that you cannot prove a universal negative. If you say that that there is no such thing in the universe as little green men, for instance, there is no way to prove it. You'd have to travel through every planet and every star and inside every star and through every galaxy in the entire u ...[text shortened]... ith Him forever. It is my earnest desire that that assurance may be yours, if it is not already.

Given that we know the development of the universe from Planck Time after the Big Bang until now, and that development requires no god or anything supernatural; and given the fact of evolution that also requires no gods, and so forth, it seems that it is the theist who is becoming irrational by insisting on a "cause" where none is needed.