• squaresinger@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    Ok, let me put it in a way that you might understand:

    • Person A: “You aren’t an Atheist if you believe in God.”
    • Person B: “But I identify as an Atheist and I believe in God.”
    • Person A: “Then you aren’t an Atheist.”

    You: “No true Scotsman! Anyone who calls themselves an Atheist is an Atheist, no matter if they believe in God.”

    Do you see how this makes no sense?


    An Atheist is a person who doesn’t believe in God, not a person who calls themselves an Atheist. And saying you aren’t an Atheist if you believe in God isn’t a fallacy but just purely the definition of the term.

    Here’s the Wikipedia definition of a Christian:

    A Christian (/ˈkrɪstʃən, -tiən/ ⓘ) is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

    (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christians)

    So someone who does not follow or adhere a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ is not a Christian. Not by fallacy, but by definition. And it doesn’t matter what they call themselves.

    • snooggums@piefed.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      1 day ago

      What you are doing is saying they are not really Christians because they do or don’t do X and that is exactly what the fallacy is.

      Are priests who molest children not real Christians?

      Atheist is different because it is a singular thing, like calling that priest a child molester. He did the thing so that is what he is.

        • snooggums@piefed.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 day ago

          Not.

          An atheist who believes in god is like a vegan who regularly and knowingly eats bacon, they are using the wrong labels. Those both have narrow and clear definitions, unlike religion where there are a ton of things that vary between local practices and traditions that can be used to say that they aren’t really X religion.