(August 10, 2015 at 9:47 pm)Pyrrho Wrote: It is only the sissy weak atheists who do not rule out a higher power. Strong atheists rule out a higher power. If those weak atheists would just spend a bit more time working out, they, too, might become strong atheists.
If by ruling out you mean to be 100% certain that it is impossible for a higher force to exist or, in a more extreme case, to refuse to ever believe in it even if evidence was presented by a reputed source - Then I'd say no. I think both strong and weak atheists rule out higher powers, it's just that higher forces are usually not as visibly inconsistent and ridiculous as some religions. I consider myself a strong atheist. I'm not 100% sure, but I think we can claim some level of knowledge on the existence of god. I don't agree that weak atheism should be the standard.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you
