<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Wildkow @ Mar 8 2007, 01:28 AM) [snapback]402146[/snapback]</div> The dictionary on my shelf (The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition, 1982) defines "atheism" as "1. Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God. 2. Godlessness." It defines "disbelief" as "Refusal or reluctance to believe." Combining these means that definition number 1 of "atheism" is "Refusal or reluctance to believe in or denial of the existence of God." So refusal to believe in the existence of God counts as atheism, according to this dictionary.
By the way, this same dictionary defines "agnosticism" as "1. Philos. The doctrines of the agnostics, holding that certainty, first or absolute truths, are unattainable and that only perceptual phenomena are objects of exact knowledge. 2. Theol. A theory that does not deny God but denies the possibility of knowing Him." The first definition relates to philosophy; it's the second definition that relates to the question of god's existence.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(toad @ Mar 7 2007, 12:43 AM) [snapback]401466[/snapback]</div> Yeah, I've heard that. I also believe that there are some links between low levels of neurotransmitters present in the brain (serotonin in particular) and "spiritual belief." Also there is a corelation between the level and how much you believe. I might be misremembering/misrepresenting this, ask your friend about it if you get a chance.
