Should we accept that theophobes are uniquely theists any more than we should accept that only Homosexuals are homophobic…….,I’m not so sure.
Yes, we should. We aren't afraid of things that don't exist, so if you're afraid of gods then you believe in gods. Homosexuals are attracted to the same gender, they don't propose that the opposite gender doesn't exist. In order to fear a god you have to accept the proposition of that god, and are therefore a theist.
| hate to break it to you but sometimes God is connected with religion
The idea of god is associated with religions - but in order to claim that an actual god is associated you'd have to demonstrate that there actually is a god, and that's still not happened.
All it’s effects?
I doubt it, but certainly some of them.
So ‘’a no true atheist’’ argument to start us of.
Not at all. There are no 'true' atheists, there's no creed to adhere to. There are either those who don't believe, for one reason or another, or those who do.
I have found differing interpretations of theophobia. This source https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-the-lord-or-god-phobia-theophobia/
takes the meaning from a misinterpretation of the biblical term ‘’fear of the Lord’’ which really means respect rather than phobia and doesn’t cover phobic behaviours such as avoidance. This source interprets theophobia as a distaste of Gods and religion…..at least it’s a definition which doesn’t mistake phobia for a reasoned claim https://wikidiff.com/theophobe/theophobia
Shall we then differentiate between theophobia (a fear of god) and religiophobia (a fear of religion)? Shall we further accept that you could be rationally afraid of either of these (if you accept the notion of god) and not suffering from a phobia at all?
But as I said Goddodging is a range of observed phenomena not dependent on reasoned consideration of claims one way or another.
You said it, but you've not in any way justified it.
The only claim is that a behaviour, attitude or psychology is being demonstrated. There is no claim that God exists.
Claiming that someone is afraid of god is implicitly founded on the notion that they believe a god exists - if I don't think there's a god, in what way can I fear it?
Sometimes mere mention of the word God sets up a reactive God dodging response
Because people who bring up notions of god in public tend to be the sort of people some of us would rather avoid? That's neither about god (it's about religion) nor about irrational fear (it's more about having better things to do).
I make no claim here except that God dodging is surely an expression of the distaste for Gods and religion.
You lump those together as though they are the same thing, or at least facets of the same thing, and I sort of accept that from your viewpoint they are related to some extent. However you have innumerable religions which are explicitly not related to the god that you think does exist - surely you accept that those religions and your notion of god are discrete concepts? Given that some of them predate Abrahamic religions' reach into the regions in which they emerged they are independent notions.
You conflate though a theist’s stated belief in God with a set of behaviours.
Not so. I don't claim that they are always inextricably linked, but there are identifiable subsets of religious behaviour that are explicitly linked to their belief and for which I have no time whatsoever. The same behaviours can also be shown by the non-religious, or the religious for non-religious reasons.
Take circumcision for example; I see absolutely no reason why this should be seen as an acceptable practice. It's practiced by several Abrahamic sects, as well as by certain cultures, by non-practicing members of groups heavily influenced by religious culture in their region... The religious adherents will, in some cases, claim a divine edict, in others will suggest they are following a cultural practice.
To find this distasteful is neither religiophobic nor theophobic, doesn't require the acceptance of the idea that there is a god...
People can profess atheism and then become theist but pretend not to be, I’ve met people who have declared they have done this.
Anyone who has established a 'presence' within their personal life may be inclined to keep such an idea secret, I suppose, if they feel it would compromise their relationships or status. It doesn't change the fact that, though, that they are no longer atheists.
Others have realised they were in denial and it is possible that their subconscious had gone theist before they consciously were. Any denial of these states is, I’m afraid the ‘’No true atheist’’ argument again.
Again with this notion of a 'true' atheist. Did they believe? No, then they were an atheist. Yes, then they weren't. Did they doubt, where they unsure - then they were perhaps vacillating between the two, or were undecided. It's not that they were or weren't a 'true' atheist, it's that they were or weren't an atheist at all.
Then of course we have God avoidance as expressed by atheists such as Nagel and Krauss who admit, confronted by the possibility of there being a God, that they do not want there to be a God. Not then a reasoned avoidance more a distaste of God.
If someone suggested to me the idea of Hitler, or Stalin, or Pol Pot, or Putin, I'd be against the idea - that's a reasoned avoidance. From the depiction of the Old Testament Abrahamic god, I'd not want that to be the case, either. It's a pernicious, genocidal, vengeful, malignantly horrific depiction of a character; whether the New Testament attempt to soften the edges was successful or not is a matter of opinion, but Christian theology (as I understand it) is that the two are one and the same perfectly moral, all-knowing being, so it's not as though Christianity can disavow itself of the content. That god is a shit-show. Any rational person with no vested interest in the religion being valid would actively want that being to be in charge.
There are also legions of atheists who declare that even if a God were proved they would not commit religiously to him.
I think it's a little more subtle than that. If the god that Christians worship were proven to be true, I still wouldn't accept Christianity - it's an horrific notion. I'd want explanations for the problem of evil, I'd want to something that makes sense regarding what the point of creation is... I'd accept the god if it was proven, but even if god came down and vouched for Christianity I can't see that as an acceptable situation.
I rather think then that that puts the Kibosh on your argument which frankly seemed a bit confused.
Because you've failed to distinguish between rational and irrational fears of gods or religion, and because you've failed to explain how not accepting poor arguments constitutes 'god dodging', you've decided that I'm confused...
O.
