welcome to the board kid-A!
i like your reasoning. it's true that strong atheism makes positive assertions, and therefore they are required to provide proof for those positive assertions, IMO. saying that god does not exist is almost as indefensible as saying he does. of course they have the rule of parsimony on their side as far as probability is concerned, but that's about it.
but to me, the term "atheist" presupposes that there is actually something to deny, which seems like a logical contradiction.
however, weak atheism is simply a lack of belief in a deity. this label is more of a response to theist's claims of a deity, than it is a position. it is a place holder like the number zero is a place holder for a system. it doesn't exist, but we still use it to solve problems. this, incidentally is where i find myself. agnosticism seems a bit mentally lazy, to me, but paradoxically may be the truest position one can hold.
i am just reading the Science of Good and Evil by Michael Shermer. there, he describes himself as an "agnostic/non-theist". he says agnostic because it is one of the most scientific stances to take. and it's true to an extent, me thinks, because strong atheism and theism are both impossible to prove scientifically, and may always be so. and non-theist because if cornered, he will fall on the side of atheism and live his life accordingly. he also has a good point that non-theist does not come with all the erroneous baggage that "atheist" does, like communism etc.
i look forward to seeing you around!
Post Atheist to me means I don't even find the question if there is a God important enough to lable myself as someone who doesn't believe in it, it means I actually find the whole question irrelevant, discussing it is irrelevant (trying to prove God doesn't exist is just futile), I just don't believe it, and leaving it behind me...
i like your term, Bas, and it speaks to me. i agree also that it is futile to try to prove the non-existence of god. in my opinion it is like trying to prove the non-existence of aliens. they may or may not exist. but i do think that debating theists is an important thing for humanity. what i mean by this is that, while i recognize that the positions of the theist and atheist are even more entrenched after a debate(even after a constructive debate), i do think that it is a good thing for fence sitters or curious folk to witness the debate. at the very least, it can help them question the way they view the world and existence.
i am glad you are at the point where you can just leave the question behind. like you say, it is an irrelevant question in it's most basic sense. if no one had made the meme up in the first place there wouldn't be atheists or theists.
