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View Poll Results: What do you identify yourself as? | |||
Atheist/Skeptic/Agnostic | 151 | 70.89% | |
Catholic | 21 | 9.86% | |
Protestant | 24 | 11.27% | |
Jewish | 5 | 2.35% | |
Muslim | 2 | 0.94% | |
Philisophy (Such as Buddhism) | 10 | 4.69% | |
Voters: 213. You may not vote on this poll |
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2012-06-14, 01:00 AM | [Ignore Me] #736 | |||
First Lieutenant
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Being an atheist DOES NOT mean 100% certainty that god doesn't exist. That is a horribly arrogant position to hold. Are there atheists who hold this position? Yes, do all of us? No. |
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2012-06-14, 01:36 AM | [Ignore Me] #737 | ||
Colonel
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Been away from this thread for a while. I've noticed this is a common misconception about Atheists. It is kind of annoying since I've seen a few theists try to use the "100% certain" argument. Frustrating. "A lack of belief in deities" takes a while to figure out.
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2012-06-14, 02:45 AM | [Ignore Me] #738 | |||
Sergeant
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I have never met or heard an atheist say that there is no possible way a God could exist, maybe there are a couple, but not many. By using this system about 99% of people would be agnostic. Like I've said, the term "gnostic" pertains to knowledge. So an agnostic is someone who doesn't claim to know for certain. On the other hand, the "theism" terms pertain to belief. So in other words, someone who doesn't claim 100% certainty but still reckons there is no God is technically an agnostic atheist (which is the clear majority of atheists by the way). This is of course strictly speaking and some would reject this. The point is that on the contrary to your assertion that "there is no such thing as agnostic atheist/theist", TECHNICALLY the majority of people are. Basically your overly simple trichotomy is wrong Last edited by MadPenguin; 2012-06-14 at 02:47 AM. |
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2012-06-14, 04:19 AM | [Ignore Me] #739 | |||
Colonel
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[Thoughts and Ideas on the Direction of Planetside 2] |
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2012-06-14, 01:30 PM | [Ignore Me] #740 | |||
Staff Sergeant
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You cannot call yourself an Atheist if you do not believe with 100% certainty that a God does not exist. It is at this point that you cease to be an Atheist, as you must accept that you cannot be certain. Because you accept that you cannot be certain, you are by definition Agnostic. If Atheist and Theist do not entail 100% certainty of belief, then the terms have no purpose, as everyone is simply described by the term Agnostic. If this is the case, then no term exists that describes 100% certainty in belief that a God does or does not exist. The only alternative is that the terms Atheist and Theist entail certainty of belief. Gnostic comes from Greek, meaning "learned" or "knowledge." The term refers only to knowledge and proof, not belief. This is why the terms Gnostic Atheist and Gnostic Theist are possible. Last edited by Zolan; 2012-06-14 at 01:33 PM. |
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2012-06-14, 02:48 PM | [Ignore Me] #741 | ||
Lieutenant General
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Not at all Zolan.
A theist is convinced there's a god. Even if there's a possibility there's no god, the theist argues that the case is compelling enough. An atheist is convinced gods do not exist as there is no evidence to support the case and therefore does not belief there's one. You can choose to NOT believe something, this is what atheists do. That does not preclude the possibility that evidence will one day be found. An agnostic doesn't want to draw either conclusion and they withold judgment. The amount of certainty is moot. It's about whether you took a yes or no stance or not. |
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2012-06-14, 03:11 PM | [Ignore Me] #742 | |||
Second Lieutenant
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2012-06-14, 03:32 PM | [Ignore Me] #743 | ||
If you do not believe there is a god you are by definition an atheist. If you do believe there is a god or gods you are a theist. Period. Full stop. Beyond that you can describe whether you're sure about your belief or not, and use terms like strong/weak or gnostic/agnostic, but at the end of the day if in the binary answer field for "Do you believe in god(s)?" you check "no", you are an atheist.
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2012-06-14, 03:59 PM | [Ignore Me] #744 | |||
Sergeant
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When something becomes 100% certain, it becomes knowledge. Like i said, theism and atheism pertain to BELIEF. Not knowledge. In order to answer the question of whether you are an agnostic, ask the question; "Do I KNOW the answer?" In order to answer the question of whether you are an atheist/theist ask the question; "What do I THINK (believe) the answer is?" So personally, for the first question i answer "I dont know the answer" For the second i answer "I don't reckon there's a God" Therefore, i am an agnostic atheist. No one defines agnosticism the way you are, just look at the reaction you are getting. Last edited by MadPenguin; 2012-06-14 at 04:01 PM. |
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2012-06-14, 05:07 PM | [Ignore Me] #745 | ||
Staff Sergeant
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Ah good, now that you have all given statements to my liking as I had hoped, I can make my original point regarding the poll.
The poll asks what you identify yourself as (Religion). In reference to the title of the thread and OP post. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. Because Atheism is a set of beliefs regarding the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, it's use in the poll is justified. Agnosticism, however, is not a religion. Agnosticism is a epistemology regarding knowledge and logical reasoning. T.H. Huxley - "Agnosticism is not a creed but a method, the essence of which lies in the vigorous application of a single principle. Positively, the principle may be expressed as in matters of intellect, follow your reason as far as it can take you without other considerations. And negatively, in matters of the intellect, do not pretend that matters are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable." Given that Agnosticism is not a religion, it should not be included in the poll in any way whatsoever. |
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2012-06-14, 05:54 PM | [Ignore Me] #746 | ||
Colonel
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[Thoughts and Ideas on the Direction of Planetside 2] |
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2012-06-14, 06:47 PM | [Ignore Me] #749 | ||
Staff Sergeant
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I read the statements on the list FAQs that were relevant to the arguments.
I agree with the majority of the information, but disagree on several key points, primarily those involving grammar and definition. Regardless, I hope you didn't just imply Reddit was a non-biased source with a straight face... "Welcome to r/atheism, the web's largest atheist forum. All topics related to atheism, agnosticism and secular living are welcome here." Last edited by Zolan; 2012-06-14 at 06:52 PM. |
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2012-06-14, 06:55 PM | [Ignore Me] #750 | |||
Anyone who has explained atheism to you and suggested it makes claims about the universe beyond whether a god exists has misled you. |
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