Mageth

All of which is irrelevant. That infants are incapable of holding a belief in god(s) makes their atheism trivial in my opinion, but their classification as atheists is accurate nonetheless.

If they're atheists, then are they also, in regards to politics, to be considered Independents, as they hold no affiliation to any political party? How about in regards to war; are infants to be considered doves or hawks, or perhaps as neutral? One would also have to classify them as non-athletes, as well, and as vegetarians as they don't eat meat for the first few months (not vegans, though, as they drink milk, unless they have milk allergies and can only drink soy milk).

Sounds a bit silly, doesn't it?

Is the brain-damaged person in a vegetative state also to be considered by default an atheist? How about a dog?

Atheism has significance only in relation to its opposite, theism. If there was no concept of god, no one would be classified as an atheist (or theist), for there would be no theos to be the subject of the classification. To an infant, there is no theos to be atheistic about.

The classification of atheist or theist holds meaning only for someone who is able to form an opinion or come to a conclusion about god(s) one way or another; to do that, one must have knowledge of the concept of god(s).

Mageth

Not really; the infant has no concept of a theos to be atheistic, theistic or agnostic about. It's meaningless to classify an infant in any category in regards to its opinon of something it has no knowledge of, or even the capacity to have knowledge or come to a conclusion about.

Sabine Grant

Another notion to add is that an infant does not have the ability to evaluate good from bad.......that ability will come with acquired knowledge from what his parents will teach him. The chlidlike mind is to be fashioned and built. It is a teachable mind which has not yet acquired absolute truths.
I also think that Christ refers to the candor of children. Though children can demonstrate instinct based responses where they will become anti social. " mine mine mine"......
By candor I mean the ability to be taught values without questionning them. A very vulnerable state of mind. Because children can be manipulated into the worst.
For example some children who are victims of sexual abuse will grow with the belief that it is an act of love from the parent who molests them. They will go as far as protecting the perpetuator.

IMO what Christ implies in those verses is that the mind of the believer is to be depending soly on God to be fashioned. The believer is to entrust totaly God. Such as a child will entrust his parent.

ComestibleVenom

The fact that they don't have opinions is a far cry from the claim that they are a blank slate. After all, once a blank slate grows up a bit, it's still a blank slate.

Mageth

The fact that they don't have opinions is a far cry from the claim that they are a blank slate. After all, once a blank slate grows up a bit, it's still a blank slate.

Not if something writes on it, which is exactly what happens with children (through the experience of their senses and interactions with the world, esp. their parents in the earliest years, and esp. through the acquisition of language).

tribalbeeyatch

Errr...so, we agree then?

Mageth

I don't know if we agree or not. If you think it is meaningless to classify infants as atheists, then I suppose we do.

tribalbeeyatch

I would say that our agreement/disagreement hinges on whether you think that their classification as atheists is accurate or not.

Mageth

No, I don't think it's accurate, no more accurate than classifying them as a liberal, conervative, or moderate in regards to their political position would be.

tribalbeeyatch

Of course it is more accurate than that -- they would obviously be accurately classified as apolitical. Note that I don't think that the fact that we are born as atheists adds any weight to the atheist position, it just happens to be accurate. If you don't think it is an accurate classification, then perhaps you could point out how infants do not "lack belief in god(s)."