Sir lastnail wrote on Feb 11
th, 2011 at 10:28pm:
Lisa Jones wrote on Feb 11
th, 2011 at 10:07pm:
But atheism is the absence of belief that ANY deities exist.
not according to the dictionary definition
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheist Quote:a·the·ist
/ˈeɪθiɪst/ Show Spelled[ey-thee-ist] Show IPA
–noun
a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
You see, we all have common ground. TLN has an irrational belief too - Lexicophilia - the belief that the dictionary (any dictionary) will enable us to derive precise meanings for any term, religious included and solve the deepest philosophical quandaries, stop interpersonal conflicts, global nuclear wars and annoying personal itches.
All you have to do is to say the definition out loud three times to the offending politicians, philosophers or pathogens and the problem goes away.
According to Lexicophiles, dictionaries are a kind of oracle. if you feel the sudden urge to ask the opinion of some old Greek bird in Delphi who is half crazy from breathing volcanic gases, then forget it. Let's just use the dictionary as an oracle instead.
The next time somebody quotes reams from St Thomas Aquinas, just approach him, dictionary in hand, finger strategically placed on the offending noun, verb or adverb, and point out the errors of his ways.
TLN has at last revealed himself to be as human as anybody else. Lexicophilia is a rather quaint, albeit immature religion.