I have some questions for the posters here.

[Frank Apisa]

You guys might as well get as many insults in as possible as quickly as possible. Arewethereyet has already issued a warning to me...and my guess is that I will be given the boot in short order.

She has already said that she wanted to ban me for a long time...even though I have only been here four days.

It has been good talking with all of youse (I'm from New Jersey). Sorry it got so acrimonious so quickly, but the agnostic position gets the heave-ho quickly in these atheist forums. 

Until that happens, though...we can still do all the talking we can.

[Paleophyte]

I you went into a religious forum and had a problem with everyone else...would the odds be that they are not the problem?

Yes. Oddly enough I don't tend to have that difficulty.

My take is different from most atheistic thinking. 

There is no "atheistic thinking". There's just the strawman that you've invented so that you can tell people that what you think they think is wrong.

Most atheists seem to think that either there are no gods...or it is more likely that there are no gods than that there is at least one.

I think that is illogical. 

That's a fascinating belief, and no, inserting the word "think" into it doesn't make it any more baseless or incorrect.

That causes some friction. I think the friction is NOT my fault

Funny how telling people what they think and why what you think is better causes friction. And that couldn't possibly be your fault.

I have no problem with those kinds of guesses being made, but that is all they are...guesses.

Like your "guesses" that your guesses are better than everybody else?

I have no idea of how you came to your gullibility. 

So you believe that I'm gullible. Because I don't agree with you...? Please continue. This is getting funny.

And what I think is not a "belief." It IS what I think.

Putting the word "think" in the sentence doesn't demonstrate any thought. It just shows that you're good with semantic games.

I am not hurling insults.

You have a very selective memory. Or you don't understand that you're insulting. Are you on the spectrum?

And I am attempting to have meaningful conversations.

By calling people gullible and insulting their screen names? Does that seem like a good strategy to you?

I do not tell people what they think or believe.

"Most atheists seem to think that either there are no gods...or it is more likely that there are no gods than that there is at least one."

That is you telling us what you think most of us think.

So you want to tell me what to write and how to write it?

No, I'm just trying to show you that it can be done without starting a fight.

I have a wager for you Frank. Send me a PM with a link to any religious site that you belong to. I bet that I, a died in the wool atheist, will have less difficulty interacting with them than you will in spite of my greater difference in world view. This should help you figure out where the problem lies.

[Frank Apisa]

There is no confusion.

I am not an atheist.

Whatever. This is dumb.

There is a real discussion to be had. Do you want to have that discussion or not? A real criticism to be leveled at the position: "I deny the existence of god(s)." Do you want to make that criticism or not?

In effect, I already have.

You can deny anything you want. Can you show a logical, reasonable basis for the denial?

If you are saying, "I deny the existence of gods" the onus of proof falls on you.

[arewethereyet]

You guys might as well get as many insults in as possible as quickly as possible. Arewethereyet has already issued a warning to me...and my guess is that I will be given the boot in short order.

She has already said that she wanted to ban me for a long time...even though I have only been here four days.

It has been good talking with all of youse (I'm from New Jersey). Sorry it got so acrimonious so quickly, but the agnostic position gets the heave-ho quickly in these atheist forums. 

Until that happens, though...we can still do all the talking we can.

Poor Snookums...are you scared?

[The Grand Nudger]

You guys might as well get as many insults in as possible as quickly as possible. Arewethereyet has already issued a warning to me...and my guess is that I will be given the boot in short order.

She has already said that she wanted to ban me for a long time...even though I have only been here four days.

It has been good talking with all of youse (I'm from New Jersey). Sorry it got so acrimonious so quickly, but the agnostic position gets the heave-ho quickly in these atheist forums. 

Until that happens, though...we can still do all the talking we can.

Hard for poor ham sandwiches like us to catch on break on internet message boards.  Though, to be fair, none of the other soft ham sandwiches seem to be having the difficulty you are.

Meanwhile, you've already been shown at least one logical reasonable basis for the denial of existent gods. I gather you disagree, but your disagreement doesn't render a thing illogical or unreasonable, see; ham sandwiches.

[Paleophyte]

I AM NOT AN ATHEIST.

Yes, you are. Trust me, if there was any way we could disqualify you we'd have done it already.

[Frank Apisa]

I you went into a religious forum and had a problem with everyone else...would the odds be that they are not the problem?

Yes. Oddly enough I don't tend to have that difficulty.

My take is different from most atheistic thinking. 

There is no "atheistic thinking". There's just the strawman that you've invented so that you can tell people that what you think they think is wrong.

Most atheists seem to think that either there are no gods...or it is more likely that there are no gods than that there is at least one.

I think that is illogical. 

That's a fascinating belief, and no, inserting the word "think" into it doesn't make it any more baseless or incorrect.

That causes some friction. I think the friction is NOT my fault

Funny how telling people what they think and why what you think is better causes friction. And that couldn't possibly be your fault.

I have no problem with those kinds of guesses being made, but that is all they are...guesses.

Like your "guesses" that your guesses are better than everybody else?

I have no idea of how you came to your gullibility. 

So you believe that I'm gullible. Because I don't agree with you...? Please continue. This is getting funny.

And what I think is not a "belief." It IS what I think.

Putting the word "think" in the sentence doesn't demonstrate any thought. It just shows that you're good with semantic games.

I am not hurling insults.

You have a very selective memory. Or you don't understand that you're insulting. Are you on the spectrum?

And I am attempting to have meaningful conversations.

By calling people gullible and insulting their screen names? Does that seem like a good strategy to you?

I do not tell people what they think or believe.

"Most atheists seem to think that either there are no gods...or it is more likely that there are no gods than that there is at least one."

That is you telling us what you think most of us think.

So you want to tell me what to write and how to write it?

No, I'm just trying to show you that it can be done without starting a fight.

I have a wager for you Frank. Send me a PM with a link to any religious site that you belong to. I bet that I, a died in the wool atheist, will have less difficulty interacting with them than you will in spite of my greater difference in world view. This should help you figure out where the problem lies.

Problem?

Here is my take:

I do not know if any "gods"** exist or not;
I see no reason to suspect gods CANNOT EXIST...that the existence of gods is impossible;
I see no reason to suspect that gods MUST EXIST...that gods are needed to explain existence;
I do not see enough unambiguous evidence upon which to base a meaningful guess in either direction...

...so I don't.

**When I use the word "god" I mean "The entity (or entities) responsible for the creation of what we humans call 'the physical universe'...IF THERE IS SUCH AN ENTITY."

I have no problem.

[vulcanlogician]

Fine then. Say something substantive about gnostic atheism and let's talk..

[Frank Apisa]

Fine then. Say something substantive about gnostic atheism and let's talk..

Fuck gnostic atheism.

So?

---

I AM NOT AN ATHEIST.

Yes, you are. Trust me, if there was any way we could disqualify you we'd have done it already.

I am not an atheist. I understand how much you guys would like to have me as one of you, but...can't happen. I'm not that gullible...and I can't fake it. 

My guess is that I am going to get the boot soon, so you will have to find your fun somewhere else.

[Paleophyte]

You guys might as well get as many insults in as possible as quickly as possible. Arewethereyet has already issued a warning to me...and my guess is that I will be given the boot in short order.

Happens a lot does it?

It has been good talking with all of youse (I'm from New Jersey). Sorry it got so acrimonious so quickly, but the agnostic position gets the heave-ho quickly in these atheist forums. 

You can stop playing the martyr card. Drich hasn't managed to get himself banned so if the big mean atheist mods give you the boot it was your doing.