Non-theism, can also reject Atheism

The Speculative Society is a Scottish Enlightenment society dedicated to public speaking and literary composition, founded in 1764. It was mainly, but not exclusively, an Edinburgh University student organisation. The formal purpose of the Society is as a place for social interchange and for practising of professional competency in rhetoric, argument, and the presentation of papers among fellow members. While continuing to meet in its rooms in the University's Old College, it has no formal links to the University.

The Scottish enlightenment was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. 

The Enlightenment culture was based on close readings of new books, and intense discussions took place daily at such intellectual gathering places in Edinburgh

 the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment asserted the importance of human reason combined with a rejection of any authority that could not be justified by reason. In Scotland, the Enlightenment was characterised by a thoroughgoing empiricism and practicality where the chief values were improvement, virtue, and practical benefit for the individual and society as a whole.

Among the fields that rapidly advanced were philosophy, political economy, engineering, architecture, medicine, geology, archaeology, botany and zoology, law, agriculture, chemistry and sociology. Among the Scottish thinkers and scientists of the period were Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Adam Smith, Dugald Stewart, Thomas Reid, Robert Burns, Adam Ferguson, John Playfair, Joseph Black and James Hutton.

The Scottish Enlightenment had effects far beyond Scotland, not only because of the esteem in which Scottish achievements were held outside Scotland, but also because its ideas and attitudes were carried all over Europe and across the Atlantic world as part of the Scottish diaspora, and by European and American students who studied in Scotland.

The political ideas had an important impact on the founding fathers of the US, which broke away from the empire in 1775

By the 17th century, Scotland had five universities, compared with England's two. 

 Robert Sibbald (1641–1722) was appointed as the first Professor of Medicine at Edinburgh, and he co-founded the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1681.These developments helped the universities to become major centres of medical education and would put Scotland at the forefront of new thinking.

 By the end of the century, the University of Edinburgh's Medical School was arguably one of the leading centres of science in Europe, boasting such names as the anatomist Alexander Monro (secundus), the chemists William Cullen and Joseph Black,

Intellectual life revolved around a series of clubs, beginning in Edinburgh in the 1710s. One of the first was the Easy Club, co-founded In Edinburgh by the Jacobite printer Thomas Ruddiman. Clubs did not reach Glasgow until the 1740s. One of the first and most important in the city was the Political Economy Club, aimed at creating links between academics and merchants, of which noted economist Adam Smith was a prominent early member. Other clubs in Edinburgh included The Select Society, formed by the younger Allan Ramsay, a prominent artist, and philosophers David Hume and Adam Smith and, later, The Poker Club, formed in 1762 and named by Adam Ferguson for the aim to "poke up" opinion on the militia issue.

The University of Cambridge had a Speculative Society in the early years of the 19th century; it was one of the clubs that merged to form the Cambridge Union Society. Around 1825 Utilitarians and Owenites in London engaged in debates, and a formal Debating Society consciously modelled on the Speculative Society of Edinburgh was set up by John Stuart Mill. It was ambitious, but proved short-lived

Historian Jonathan Israel argues that by 1750 Scotland's major cities had created an intellectual infrastructure of mutually supporting institutions, such as universities, reading societies, libraries, periodicals, museums and masonic lodges.

Empiricism and inductive reasoning. Literature. Economics. Sociology and anthropology. Mathematics, science and medicine.

Although he wrote a great deal about religion, Hume's personal views have been the subject of much debate. Some modern critics have described Hume's religious views as agnostic or have described him as a "Pyrrhonian skeptic." Contemporaries considered him to be an atheist, or at least un-Christian,

Additionally, when mentioning religion as a factor in his History of England, Hume uses it to show the deleterious effect it has on human progress. In his Treatise on Human Nature, Hume wrote: "Generally speaking, the errors in religions are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous."[

Philosopher Paul Russell writes that Hume was plainly sceptical about religious belief, although perhaps not to the extent of complete atheism. He suggests that Hume's position is best characterised by the term "irreligion",

Scott's father, also Walter (1729–1799), was a Freemason, being a member of Lodge St David, No.36 (Edinburgh), and Scott also became a Freemason in his father's Lodge in 1801,

MacKenzie was a Scottish Freemason. He was initiated into Lodge Canongate Kilwinning, No. 2, (Edinburgh, Scotland), on 2 December 1784.

Usually, these theories fall into three distinct categories: political (usually involving allegations of control of government, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom), religious (usually involving allegations of anti-Christian or Satanic beliefs or practices), and cultural (usually involving popular entertainment). Many conspiracy theories have connected the Freemasons (and the Knights Templar) with worship of the devil;

While many Christian denominations take no stance on or openly acknowledge and allow Freemasonry, some are outwardly opposed to it, and either discourage or outright prohibit their members from joining the fraternity.

Catholic ban on Freemasonry since the Second Vatican Council

Catholic critics of Freemasonry observe that it refuses to promote one faith as being superior to any others.

while at the same time it also uses religious-type rituals. That combination is seen as inculcating an indifference to religion.[

Anderson's Ancient Charges of a Freemason, 1723, says of Freemasons, that it is "expedient only to oblige them to that Religion in which all Men agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves".Freemasons reply that not obliging a member to profess a certain religious viewpoint as a condition of membership is not the equivalent of asserting that no religion can be superior to any other. Personal theological beliefs are not to be discussed in the lodge, thus avoiding arguments with those holding different beliefs. It has been suggested that this ban on religious discussion was especially important in Eighteenth Century England where a civil war, in part caused by religious conflict, had only recently ended.

There have been many atheists who have been active in advocacy or education. 

Although most of the thirty-three degrees of the Scottish Rite existed in parts of previous degree systems, the Scottish Rite did not come into being until the formation of the Mother Supreme Council at Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1801 

The minutes of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 in Scotland show a continuity from an operative lodge in 1598 to a modern speculative Lodge.[43] It is reputed to be the oldest Masonic Lodge in the world.

Since the middle of the 19th century, Masonic historians have sought the origins of the movement in a series of similar documents known as the Old Charges, dating from the Regius Poem in about 1425

The first Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster (later called the Grand Lodge of England (GLE)), was founded on St John's Day, 24 June 1717,

In contrast to Catholic allegations of rationalism and naturalism, Protestant objections are more likely to be based on allegations of mysticism, occultism, and even Satanism.

Free Methodist Church founder B.T. Roberts was a vocal opponent of Freemasonry in the mid 19th century. Roberts opposed the society on moral grounds and stated, "The god of the lodge is not the God of the Bible." Roberts believed Freemasonry was a "mystery" or "alternate" religion 

Conspiracy theorists have long associated Freemasonry with the New World Order and the Illuminati, and state that Freemasonry as an organisation is either bent on world domination or already secretly in control of world politics. 

The 2001 and 2011 censuses did not include on adherence to individual Christian denominations, since they were asked only in the Scottish and Northern Ireland censuses and not in England and Wales. However using the same principle as applied in the 2001 census, a survey carried out in the end of 2008 by Ipsos MORI and based on a scientifically robust sample, found the population of England and Wales to be 47.0% affiliated with the Church of England, which is also the state church, 9.6% with the Roman Catholic Church and 8.7% were other Christians, mainly Free church Protestants and Eastern Orthodox Christians. 4.8% were Muslim, 3.4% were members of other religions, 5.3% were Agnostics, 6.8% were Atheists and 15.0% were not sure about their religious affiliation or refused to answer to the question.

Faith. There are also organisations promoting irreligion, including humanism and atheism.

Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in a God or gods

Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject of God and differs from an antithetical, explicit atheism.

 it has been used as an umbrella term for summarizing various distinct and even mutually exclusive positions, such as agnosticism, ignosticism, ietsism, skepticism, pantheism, atheism, strong or positive atheism, implicit atheism, and apatheism. It is in use in the fields of Christian apologetics and general liberal theology.

Nontheistic traditions of thought have played roles in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism, Creativity, Dudeism, Raëlism Humanistic Judaism, Laveyan Satanism, The Satanic Temple, Unitarian Universalism, and Ethical Culture.

zedvictor4 wrote....

Well.

Baked beans is and I reject baked beanz.

Nonetheless baked beans are.

So maybe variation in all aspects of production, presentation and appreciation are perhaps almost limitless.

But the baked bean is still the baked bean.

I will be arguing that my personal non-theistic stance can also reject Atheism.

zedvictor4 wrote.....

So:

The beans analogy should have been obvious.

zedvictor wrote....

Nonetheless:

Are atheism and non-theism one and the same thing?....Well if one regards definition then in fact they are one and the same thing....(Online dictionary)

: a person who does not believe that there is a god or gods : a person who is not a believer in theism

a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods

b: a philosophical or religious position characterized by disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods

Atheists need deities to argue against while Nontheist rather not be bothered by either.

Nontheistic religions are traditions of thought within a religious context—some otherwise aligned with theism, others not—in which nontheism informs religious beliefs or practices.

Philosophical models not falling within established religious structures, such as Daoism, agnosticism,[dubious – discuss] atheism[dubious – discuss], Confucianism, Deism, and Pandeism, have also been considered to be nontheistic religions.
The Satanic Temple, a sect of modern or rational Satanism, was officially recognized as a nontheistic religion on 25 April 2019.

zedvictor4 wrote....

Similarly, but perhaps somewhat less whimsically, one association may reject another association or perhaps an association might spitefully reject an individual.

And the spiteful kids in the playground wouldn't let you join their gang, because they were beans on toast and you were toast and beans..

So, just as I might reject baked beanz with a "z", anyone can reject anything for any reason.

Therefore the essence of the debate is the disputable but indisputable act of rejection rather than actual difference.

Nonetheless, baked beanz remains baked beans as atheism remains non-theism.

zedvictory4 wrote....

Well:

My opponent supposes  fictional characters and then proceeds to attribute said characters with thoughts and opinions.

zedvictor4 wrote....

So I will suppose a person that label's as an atheist who is in complete agreement with another person that label's as a non-theist.  They are both tolerant and inclusive and not rejective of each others approach to theism.

zedvictor4 wrote...

Nonetheless:

If a person wishes to assume that they are different and adopts a label and decides to reject another person who has decided to adopt a different label, then that will be the way of things.

After all, assumptions and labels are only limited by our imaginations.

The umbrella of terminology is very broad.

And so, my characters are in full agreement, whereas my opponents characters choose to disagree.

My characters are tolerant and inclusive whereas my opponents characters are spiteful and rejective.

That has always been the way of things.

Nonetheless, baked beanz is still baked beans.

Unless one chooses to decide differently of course.

So, personal data manipulation given what it is, allows us to create a conceptual World of infinite variety.

Where anything can mean something whilst simultaneously meaning something else altogether.

So where does that leave us?

The fourth round or round four?

zedvictor4 wrote.....

Well.

At certain points of consideration, what is what?

Is something, something?

Or is something perhaps something else?

You choose.

zedvictor4 wrote....

So, the peripheral fluff of Wikipedia et al, may well present cosmetic facts in abundance for the benefit and wonderment of the voter.

Nontheism was only created and continues to be used in order to avoid the negative baggage that comes with the label 'atheism'.

There is an interesting distinction that might be made without being pedantic between “atheist” and “non-theist.”  The latter is not (necessarily) one who explicitly denies the existence of God (or denies theism).

The purpose of this entry is to explore how atheism and agnosticism are related to theism 

zedvictor4 wrote....

Just as the theist can reject the theist, the atheist can reject the atheist and the baked beanz can be rejected in favour of the baked beans. and so on, ad infinitum.