Is modern atheism just dressed up bigotry? Yes.

I told my opponent that 'I need agreed upon definitions of "modern atheism", "dressed up" and "bigotry". I also need to know if we're arguing about the title of the debate. ' My opponent replied to "Just accept the debate albino. " So then I suggested the option 'So I get to define the terms to my liking with your blessing and argue that "modern atheism is not just (or at all) dressed up bigotry" while you argue that "modern atheism is just dressed up bigotry"? ' My opponents reponse to that was "I don;t [sic] really care what definitions you use nazi. He [sic] can use any definition of bigotry you wants [sic]. He can pick which ever definitions he feels he is best able to defend. It matters not to me. ' Definitions So, without further ado, I will define the terms used in the title. "Modern atheism" - Atheism in the modern age. Atheism " "The absence of belief that any deities exist" [1]. To clarify, atheism in the modern age is the same as atheism in any age, just atheism. So we can replace "modern atheism" with "atheism" here. "Dressed up" - "To make something look better than it really is" [2]. "Bigotry" - "One who regards or treats [all] the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance" [3]. Clarification of the argument I am arguing that "modern atheism is not just (or at all) dressed up bigotry" while my opponent will argue that "modern atheism is just dressed up bigotry". A simplification of the argument in the title by using the definitions is as follows; The absence of belief that any deities exist, is just a way to make the action of treating all members of a group with hate and intolerance look better than is really is. This means that not having a belief of the existence of deities is simply a way (according to the argument of pro) of hating and being intolerant of a group of people, while appearing better than if there was just hate and intolerance of the group. My argument The lack of absence of belief that any deities is simply that, and nothing more. That absence of belief doesn't mention anything about hating or being intolerant of groups of people. It is a position on the existence of deities, and nothing else. Even if we were going to apply that belief to its adherents (atheists), we couldn't derive the fact that they are all just using is as a way to make their bigotry appear better. To do this my opponent would need to show that all atheists are bigots, and then show that they are all using "atheism" to make this bigotry appear better than it actually is. Even if he showed that all atheists are bigots, that would not confirm the truth of his argument. And honestly, even if he showed that all atheists are using their atheism to "dress up" their bigotry, he wouldn't have confirmed the truth of his argument. To do that, he would have to show that the absence of belief itself (in the existence of deities), is just "dressed up bigotry". Even if he showed that all atheists used their atheism to "dress up" their bigotry, he wouldn't have shown that atheism (modern) itself, is just "dressed up bigotry". All he would have shown is that people use atheism in that fashion, and nothing about atheism itself. Lets ignore the "dressed up" part for my final refutation of this argument. The "dressed up" part is simply about appearances. My opponent would first have to show that atheism is bigotry before he could move on to claiming that is is "dressed up" bigotry. I do not believe that my opponent would be successful in first showing this. So let's ask this question again, in a clarified form; is atheism bigotry? My answer is no, atheism is not bigotry. My opponent will have to show that my answer is incorrect if he wants to defend his position. Atheism is quite simply the absence of belief in the existence of deities, mentioning nothing about hatred or intolerance of groups of people. If my opponent is to have any chance of supporting his proposition, he will have to show that not believing in the existence of deities is the hatred and intolerance of a group or groups of people. Conclusion The ball is now in my opponents court, and I don't believe that he will be able to hit it back my way. I'd like to thank my opponent again for this opportunity to debate him on this topic and I wish him luck in his future arguments. To the readers, all that I ask is that you vote with your true thoughts and feelings on the arguments presented in this debate, and to not let any personal biases change this in any way. Over to you Pro. References 1. . https://en.wikipedia.org... 2. . http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com... 3. . http://www.merriam-webster.com...