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Atheists are Irreverent! (Original Post) MineralMan Nov 2018 OP
One wonders: is being irreverent towards all equivalent to being reverent towards nothing. Girard442 Nov 2018 #1
I don't believe so. MineralMan Nov 2018 #2
Sometimes. Act_of_Reparation Nov 2018 #3
Yes, of course. In social settings, irreverence is best kept inside one's head. MineralMan Nov 2018 #4
...and unconsecrated Major Nikon Nov 2018 #5
Indeed. MineralMan Nov 2018 #6

MineralMan

(147,572 posts)
2. I don't believe so.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 10:26 AM
Nov 2018

It's like the difference between disbelief and belief regarding deities. Antonyms are just oppositely defined words, as indicated by the use of a negative prefix. Thus, "misunderstanding" is simply an error in understanding, as indicated by the prefix "mis-". The word does not imply an understanding of other things.

It's generally a mistake to try to make them anything other than that, I think.

One can be irreverent without any reverence at all. The word, itself, implies that. Just as "atheism" does not indicate a belief in anything. It is simply the absence of belief in deities or "theism."

Act_of_Reparation

(9,116 posts)
3. Sometimes.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 10:44 AM
Nov 2018

Sometimes, I keep my mouth shut. Like when I'm invited over for a Christmas party or a Passover seder. When in Rome, I am respectful.

When I am in an internet forum specifically created to allow for uninhibited discussion of religion, a web forum one must voluntarily seek and of one's own volition venture, I discuss religion. Uninhibited.

It's surprisingly sensible when you sit down and think about it, but there's always at least one person who can't seem to wrap their head around it.

MineralMan

(147,572 posts)
4. Yes, of course. In social settings, irreverence is best kept inside one's head.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 11:02 AM
Nov 2018

As you say, though, on a forum for the open discussion of religion, one need not hide one's irreverence with regard to religion. Open discussion allows for the disputing of religious belief. And so, here we are.

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