is God a subset of god?

[Pyrrho]

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Since we cannot discount a "god" as a possible explanation of "things", we are agnostic.
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What do you mean by "god?"  Do you mean anything that anyone might call a god?  If so, when someone says, "Brad Pitt is a god," my guess is that not only will you not deny the existence of Brad Pitt, but you probably positively believe he exists.

As for your title question, very often "God" (capitalized) is used for a narrower range of options than "god" (not capitalized); notice the distinction separating definitions 1 & 2:

God
Definition of God in English:
noun
1(In Christianity and other monotheistic religions) the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.

2(god)(In certain other religions) a superhuman being or spirit worshipped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity:a moon godthe Hindu god Vishnu

2.1An image, animal, or other object worshipped as divine or symbolizing a god:wooden gods from the Congo

2.2Used as a conventional personification of fate:he dialled the number and, the gods relenting, got through at once

3(god)A greatly admired or influential person:he has little time for the fashion victims for whom he is a god

3.1A thing accorded the supreme importance appropriate to a god:don’t make money your god

4(the gods) informal The gallery in a theatre:they sat in the gods

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/defini...ctCode=all


I am confident that nothing exists that fits 1 or 2.  There are no gods in those senses of the word.  I am not agnostic about those.

In the case of 2.1, obviously, there are statues said to be gods, and 3, 3.1, and 4 obviously exist.  In the case of 2.2, I don't believe in fate, as typically understood, but it depends exactly on how one uses the term whether I would say that it is or is not possible.


In the context of this site, normally, definitions 1 & 2 are the only relevant ones.  And of them, I am confident that none exist.  Still, the exact degree of confidence varies, as I am certain that nothing exists whose proper description is self-contradictory, which eliminates the Christian God, as typically described.  The nonexistence of Zeus is less certain, as his description is not obviously self-contradictory.  But I am still practically certain that he does not exist.  If his home on Mount Olympus were found with his wine cup on his table, then it would be more reasonable to believe in him.  However, since lightning is understood (by some people, anyway), it can be known that Zeus is not the source of it, so his description is problematic and we can say very confidently that there is no Zeus as described, even if he were found on top of Mount Olympus.


When it comes to these sorts of things, when some people demand absolute certainty about God, and insist that otherwise one should be called an "agnostic," my reply is that the same standards should apply for God as anything else.  Are you an agnostic about leprechauns?  The tooth fairy?  Fairies living at the bottom of a well?  Whatever degree of certainty that is good enough to say, "no leprechauns exist," is good enough to say "no gods exist."