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[–] 1 point 11 months ago* (4 children)

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.

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  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago* (3 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    Again: "They are no true Atheists because they believe in God."

    No true scotsman or not?

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  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago (1 child)

    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.

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