(May 7, 2014 at 9:12 pm)kiwihandler Wrote: No shit Sherlock!

(May 7, 2014 at 8:10 pm)whateverist Wrote:

(May 7, 2014 at 6:14 pm)Chas Wrote: Don't be silly. Of course if one rejects the belief in any gods, then one considers religion and its claims as bullshit.

Only if you know more about gods than I do. I find nothing but conflicting reports regarding the nature of gods. I consider all assertions regarding gods to be nonsense including your own. But if indeed you think you have an argument against gods and religion, lets hear it. But do bring some evidence to the table so you can shoulder your burden of proof if you want to come off any better than your theist rivals.

(May 7, 2014 at 6:14 pm)Chas Wrote: god: Any gods ever defined
bullshit: your statement

I take it you didn't enjoy my statement. No fuck given here. I stand behind it. You would like to go on asserting what you cannot back up without being called on it. Too bad.

All of the god claims lack evidence, therefore the religions upon which they're based are absurd.

Your insistence that I have a burden of proof there is absurd.

(May 2, 2014 at 11:42 am)Mister Agenda Wrote: All you need to do to establish atheism is a belief system is to find two beliefs all atheists agree on because they're atheists.

Atheism is a belief like off is a TV channel or like not collecting stamps is a hobby. Sorry mate but atheism ain't a belief.

(May 2, 2014 at 11:47 am)Napoléon Wrote:

(May 2, 2014 at 11:35 am)Doggey75 Wrote: I don't claim to know if God exist or not. But I believe God does not exist.

I don't claim to known if God exist or not. But I don't believe God exist.

Am I just wording it wrong or are they the same thing? Can someone explain this to me?

The first sentence isn't atheism. Period.

The second sentence doesn't need the word "But" in there.

I beg to differ. The first sentence is agnostic atheism.

Gnosticism and agnosticism are positions on belief. Being a gnostic is a claim to knowing and being an agnostic is the opposite, not knowing.

Atheism and theism are positions on belief. To be atheist is to not believe in the existence of deities and theism is the belief in them.

Gnosticism/Agnosticism and Atheism/Theism are not mutually exclusive. So you can get a gnostic atheist. The claim there is that the person knows that gods don't exist. I think this position is as irrational as theism.

The OP expresses a lack of knowledge in the beginning of both sentences. They are the same and amounts to agnosticism. The second part of the first sentence amounts to a disbelief in gods. This is atheism. The second sentence is consequentially the same although worded differently.

Result: Both sentences are agnostic atheism.

(May 2, 2014 at 11:43 am)rexbeccarox Wrote: Agnosticism has to do with knowledge. So that statement would be: I don't know if a deity exists.

Atheism has to do with belief, so that statement would be: I don't believe a deity exists or I believe a deity does not exist.

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(May 2, 2014 at 11:43 am)Elskidor Wrote: Sound like the same thing to me, although I've never heard of an agnostic atheist.

The majority of atheists is agnostic atheists. You haven't done much reading around the forum, have you?

I thought Atheist meant does not accept the existence of a deity and agnostic meant a person was undecided about the existence of God(s). So to me the agnostic atheist is a contradiction. Here's another thought: Even if there is a God, I don't need God to explain anything that exists. God is irrelevant to my life. So there!

(May 10, 2014 at 11:04 am)Deepthought Wrote: I thought Atheist meant does not accept the existence of a deity and agnostic meant a person was undecided about the existence of God(s).

No, that's what some theists want you to believe

Seriously though, this conflation of definitions is one of the mechanisms used to misrepresent atheists.

Quote:So to me the agnostic atheist is a contradiction.

...and it seems to have worked, in your case! In fact, neither being an agnostic atheist nor being an agnostic theist is a contradiction. In the case of the former, one is uncertain about the existence of god but doesn't believe; in that of the latter, one is uncertain about the existence of god but believes. No contradiction in either case.

Atheism, in my opinion, is a state of mind.

If you really want to piss off an atheist tell them the truth. Atheism leads inexorably toward nihilism, whether they accept it or not. So in the end, they're really just nihilists

(May 12, 2014 at 11:41 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: If you really want to piss off an atheist tell them the truth. Atheism leads inexorably toward nihilism, whether they accept it or not. So in the end, they're really just nihilists

If you really want to piss of an atheist, lie about them. Generalise about them, and repeat religious propaganda about them.

Yeah, that works.

(May 12, 2014 at 11:41 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: If you really want to piss off an atheist tell them the truth. Atheism leads inexorably toward nihilism, whether they accept it or not. So in the end, they're really just nihilists

If you really want to piss off a theist tell them the truth. Theism leads inexorably toward sophistry, whether they accept it or not. So in the end, they're really just sophists

Obviously what Mr. Wooters has experienced must be generalizable to everyone. Why live your own life when Chad stands ready to tell you how it all turns out anyway. Where would we be without self appointed experts to spare us the chore of thinking or living for ourselves[/sarcasm]