"I lack belief in a god"

Many Atheists take the position that states "I lack belief in a god". This is often a common position among atheists. In many discussions, Atheists have told me that they lack belief in God the same way they lack belief in Aliens or some fictional character such as Santa Claus. In other words, they are saying that they have no position, take no intellectual action, have no belief or unbelief on the matter concerning God. To them it is a non-issue.

Though this may sound sensible to some, the problem is that once you are introduced to an idea you cannot remain neutral about it. You invariably make a judgment about an idea once it has been introduced to you. You can brush it off as ridiculous, ponder its possibility, accept it, reject it, or do something in between. But, you cannot return to a lack of belief position about it. At most an Atheism can do is assert that he/she will postpone making a decision until more evidence is provided. An Atheist by very definition is one who believes in No God. If you call yourself an Atheist and you identify yourself with Atheism then you can no longer claim that you simply "lack belief".

Once a person identifies himself/herself as an Atheist they have taken a position on the matter of God and can no longer claim a "lack of belief". As stated earlier, once one is aware of the issue, one can't go back to a state of unawareness.

Some Atheists claim to be in a state of suspended belief on the subject and are holding off judgment until more information is obtained. This, however, is agnosticism, not atheism. This in itself is difficult position to have because who is the judge of what is "enough information"? Agnosticism is the position, in part, that "suspension of belief" is maintained until further information is acquired. A person who takes this position is free to simply reject the given information and continue to require more information or evidence to infinity.

This is why the lack of belief defense of atheists is not logical. It ignores the reality that people categorize concepts along a continuum beginning at total rejection and ending at total acceptance. It is human nature to do this. It's impossible to just "lack belief" once information about something is obtained. As a result, it would be more logical for an Atheist to take a position of "I have decided to not believe in God", or "After reviewing the evidence, I make a decision to not believe in God".

In my opinion, there is a hidden meaning behind this position of “I lack belief”. This concept of "lack of belief" is nothing more than an attempt by atheists to avoid facing and defending the logical fallacies in their atheistic belief system. You see, if they say they have no position, by saying they lack belief, then their position is not open to attack and examination and they can quietly remain atheists.

The problem for atheists, however, is that atheism is coming under more serious attack by people who recognize its logical fallacies and other problems and are exposing them. More and more Christians are realizing the untenable positions and arguments of Atheism. This also explains why atheists seem to becoming more aggressive in their attacks on theism in its different forms especially on Christianity. Unfortunately most Atheists are only interested in defending their irrational beliefs and remain closed minded to the opposing ideas presented to them.  

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