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Brown10985
Guest
Is it possible for an atheist to be an absolutist? I mean, if someone doesn’t believe in a lawgiver is it possible to believe in laws?
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FelixBlue
Guest
It seems to me that atheism (whether theoretical/strong or practical/weak) requires a fairly strong agnosticism.
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john_doran
Guest
sure. if people are too hung up on the idea of having “law” without a “lawgiver”, think of them as “universal occurrences” or “exceptionless norms”.
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Timidity
Guest
Huh? Isn’t it impossible for an atheist to be an agnostic, by definition?
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RobedWithLight
Guest
Yes. One who believes in a law without a lawgiver would eventually have to regard such laws themselves as absolutes, a kind of impersonal substitute for a personal lawgiver. Otherwise, such an atheist would not truly be atheist at all but merely an agnostic.
Gerry
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Pug
Guest
I would say that most of the atheists I have met do hold absolutes. I don’t feel this is illogical. Typically someone who has reasoned and spent time thinking about it long enough to decide that God does not exist probably has spent lots of time thinking about other stuff, too. Moral or legal absolutes are a likely topic to have reasoned about and made solid decisions about.
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RobedWithLight
Guest
True, because a true agnostic, believes in no absolutes, not even the non-existence of God, except perhaps the absolutism of his skepticism.
Gerry
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