#language
There is a word in English that I saw defined _one_ time, and cannot remember, and couldn't find the original source.
It means a person who tends to be law abiding, but not because they ascribe to any authority of law, but because they happen to be good participants in the social contract and tend to have personal ethics that mean they _happen_ to not break any laws (like, they don't lie, kill, cheat, steal, etc., just not because there's a law or punishment).
Anyone know it?
@AskTheDevil
Umm, Atheist?
@Usama_Backhair No, a word for a kind of person that doesn't require them to follow some artificial philosopy or creed, like atheism.
It's a natural quality a person can have, rather than a joined one.
I know atheists like to believe they're better than everyone else, but that's not what I was asking.
: )
@Usama_Backhair (I mean, atheists do have plenty to be proud of, don't get me wrong! I'd be one if I weren't Satan.)
@AskTheDevil @Usama_Backhair
I guess it would be hard to be an atheist if you're a figment of the bible. 😂
@p3R1n01D @Usama_Backhair Mostly it's hard to be an atheist when you got to meet your Maker.
@AskTheDevil
"Atheist" doesn't mean you believe there's no G-d, it only means you're not following other peoples' organizations and theologies to meet G-d, or live life.
@p3R1n01D
@AskTheDevil
I’m more of a literal translation guy, theism is a man made story, however old, that one believes in, referencing supernatural phenomena they’ve invented or natural phenomena they don’t understand (so, in short: bullshit) so, to reject that… ahem…horse hockey…is “atheism”.
@Usama_Backhair @AskTheDevil @p3R1n01D Sometimes that view of the word was applied from outside. The ancient Romans viewed Christians as so far out of the norm of how they thought religion should work, they called Christians atheists.
Can we have a different thread if we're going to discuss what atheism is or is not?
I was asking a language question about an unrelated word.
@poemblaze @Usama_Backhair @p3R1n01D The greeks did that, too. They're the ones who coined the greek word atheist that we use today. It's a greek word.
The Romans snatched it while they were grabbing their god collection, probably!
@AskTheDevil @Usama_Backhair @p3R1n01D When I think of the components of the word, yes, it's certainly Greek.
@poemblaze @Usama_Backhair @p3R1n01D
The Romans borrowed a lot of language, concepts, and religion from the Greeks, all while subjugating them and claiming they were a backwards people.
; )
"The sun revolves around the Earth, as do the Moon, and the Four planets. We learned our astronomy from the Greeks, who were very poor scholars."
-- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
@AskTheDevil @Usama_Backhair @p3R1n01D All true. Made copies of Greek statues, etc.
@Usama_Backhair @p3R1n01D Typically, the word is accepted (at least by dictionaries) to mean people who do not believe in the existence of god(s). Are you thinking of agnostics?