Ask an Atheist!!!

#501

who’s arguing semantics, again? “Agnosticism is not a belief” is not a factually correct statement, unless you’re REALLY getting into semantics.

“Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism

Compare and contrast the two statements: “agnosticism is the view (belief) that the truth of religious claims is unknown or unknowable” versus “there is only no belief or belief.” The two statements can not co-exist, one of them is wrong.

Now of course, someone is going to come back with some semantic bullshit, further wiki quotes, etc, rather than addressing at all the ideas I’ve presented in this thread. Because “ask a” threads are obviously only for pushing your own viewpoint as self-evident fact, not for engaging in good-faith discussion. My mistake, clearly.

#502

If you want to get down to the original meaning of agnosticism then this is it.

The word Agnostic derives from the negation of the Greek word [gnosis], which means esoteric knowledge of higher things. Thus, a’gnostic means No-knowledge or not knowing.

you can tag that along to a belief.

Just like how I am an Atheist Agnostic. Someone may also be Atheist gnostic.

There are also Theist Gnostics who claim to have knowledge of gods existence or Theist Agnostics who believe in god but do not claim to have knowledge of god’s existence.

And don’t play semantics with this argument because you will fail anyway.

There are only two sides to belief.

If you are not convinced there is a god then you are on the atheist side.

It is a simple question,“do you believe in god?”

If the answer is “no” or “I am not sure” then you are on the atheist side.

#503

I don’t see how you can suggest that you either believe in G-d, or you don’t. That’s absolute rubbish.

And agnosticism is a belief as much as atheism is… saying that you are an Atheist Agnostic is like saying you are an Atheist Theist. They hold two conflicting meanings; if you are an agnostic you choose not to make up your mind about G-d, if you are an atheist you already made up your mind that G-d does not exist.

#504

…nope you are wrong and I already explained why in the previous post.

But let me broaden it.

Let supposed you are an agnostic. By your definition that must be somewhere inbetween.

Ok if I asked you what would convince you there is a god you would probably answer with “evidence of his existence”.

But if I ask you what would it take for you to believe there is no god then what would you say?

Remember there can be no evidence for the non existence of something.

If you cannot answer this question then your position is fallacious as there is no way to falsify it.

This is why an inbetween is not possible.

And atheist agnostic fits together pretty well.

I am

atheist = do not belief in god

agnostic= do not have knowledge of the thing I am pertaining this word to.

meaning I do not believe in god but I do not have knowledge that there is no god.

#505

Actually, no I wouldn’t say “with evidence of his existence”, as there is ALWAYS th possibility of evidence appearing disproving it. We’ll never be able to prove or disprove G-d.

Also, there can be evidence for the non-existence of something. If you say that there is a rocketship in your bedroom, I would know that thats not true without entering your room, simply because I would know that your room isn’t big enough for a real rocketship.

And saying “no, you’re wrong” is kinda strange seeing as how this whole thread is based upon our personal beliefs and opinions. I can’t be wrong, just like you can’t be right. At least, we can’t know whos right or wrong.

#506

ITT: Theists are great big babies that believe in the supernatural

#507

That is not evidence for the non existence of the rocket. Maybe you cannot see the rocket or it’s not in the room at the moment.

And you could prove a god exists with evidence.

And yes you can be wrong about something even if it’s and opinion as long as that opinion is grounded in a factual claim.

Here try this out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acn7m_jwCbI

A good explanation of belief and non belief.

#508

hi
what does chicken taste like

#509

Chicken with C4.

Get it?
[color=’#212121’]BECAUSE IT’S AN EXPLOSION OF FLAVOUR!

#510

The way I see it, historically, every time someone doesn’t understand something they see, they put a human spin on it. Whether it’s Ra for the sun or an intelligent creator (after all, you can’t create anything by pure chance, right?*)
[COLOR=‘Black’]*c whut i did thar?

Except there can only be one real god if you’re referring to “God”.

Yes, and it says that God is all good, too.

Omnipotent: “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26)
Omniscient: “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:5)
Omnibenevolent: “God is love.” (1 John 4:8)

So, God changes his characteristics from person to person? What if two persons have conflicting understanding for God at the same time? What then?

Correct, because, according to our current understanding, there’s no such thing as “before the Big Bang”. It’s a meaningless concept.

That’s absolute rubbish. :retard:

Atheists have not made up their mind that God does not exist. We just don’t believe that he does. I don’t know if he exists and I don’t believe he exists. They’re not in conflict.

#511

To get back to the children (I skimmed through most of the posts after that, as it was mainly about semantics), I remember reading something about children being questioned after a puppet play.

In the play, a crocodile would eat a character, say Mr. Johnson. When asked if Mr. Johnson was still alive, the children would say no. When asked if he was hungry, they would say yes.
Something along those lines.
This shows the human tendency to think abstractly about other persons, human or not, real or not. This could be construed as the basis for concepts of deities, in the form of personified explanations for natural phenomena, leading to more complex poly- and monotheistic beliefs.

I have posted this before, but, again, I suggest anyone with an interest in this area watch this, as it makes an interesting hypothesis about the origin of theistic beliefs (hence the title: “Why We Believe In Gods”), of which the above is part.

#512

Um… if you don’t believe that he exists, thats you making up your mind that he doesn’t exist…

#513

No, it isn’t. It’s me not making a choice on the issue.

Let me ask you a question and do not pussyfoot around this time:

Do you believe in God? If your answer is anything other than “yes”, then you’re an atheist.

#514

Dude, pussyfoot?

Like, wtf? xD

And your last statement is bullshit. If I say “I didn’t make up my mind”, that does NOT make me an atheist. Your implying that you’re either a theist or an atheist, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

#515

Yes, it certainly does.

So, let me ask you another question: Can a woman be something other than pregnant or not pregnant?

If you’re not a theist, you’re an atheist…BY DEFINITION.

#516

I’m not even going to try to argue that in the hopes that another reader will try to argue that point.

Its a pointless debate.

Theres 3 categories:
Atheist
Agnostic
Theist

#517

“Agnosticism” isn’t some point between “atheist” and “theist”.

You can’t be a little bit pregnant. You either are or you aren’t. The light is either on or it’s off. You’re either a theist or you aren’t. If you aren’t a theist – a theist being someone that believes in a god, goddess, or gods/goddesses – you’re an atheist.

#518

Okay. Lets say you’re right.

What would you call somebody who refuses to think about whether or not G-d exists? Like, he/she completely blocks their mind once any idea of religion flows in.

#519

Thought experiment:

“My name is Cleveland Johns-Mayberry. I think there might be a higher power, but I’m not 100% sure. The idea of a God makes sense to me, but on the other hand I admit there’s a chance that the universe can exist without a God. I’m not sure it’s possible to know for certain which is true, I guess I’ll find out when I die.”

Is Cleveland an Atheist or a Theist?

#520

Exactly. Thats what I meant by my example, but you put it in better terms lol.

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