Atheist: Just what does that mean?

Greek atheos   (Public Domain)

The world is abuzz with reports about Stephen Hawking’s recent confirmation that he is an atheist.

Being the scientist that he is, Hawking went on to explain just what that means to him. Calling his previous references to God “metaphors,” Hawking concluded, “…if there were a God, which there isn’t.”

As part of this same interview for Spain’s El Mundo newspaper, Hawking also stated, “In my opinion, there is no aspect of reality beyond the reach of the human mind.” He had previously written in The Grand Design that “the origin of the universe was becoming so well known that God was no longer necessary to explain it.”

So this is how Hawking has weighed in on atheism.  Nevertheless, the term “atheist” has been used long before such scientific knowledge existed.  Wikipedia explains that “arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to social and historical approaches.”

Some atheists do not believe in a creator god, but do believe in “other god-like entities.”  Some cite Occam’s razor, a “problem-solving principle” which states that “among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected.”  These atheists think that believing there is no god entails fewer assumptions than believing that there is one.

When it comes to assumptions, however, atheism seems to be at least on par with theism.  Assuming that there is no god, and that the human mind can piece it ALL together, seems to be a huge leap of, er, faith…

Resources

http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/atheist-stephen-hawking-confession/2014/09/25/id/596787/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

Copyright September 26, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved