(March 20, 2016 at 9:55 pm)The Gentleman Bastard Wrote:(March 17, 2016 at 9:17 am)Stimbo Wrote: Theism: having a belief in god(s)
Gnosticism: professing knowledge of god(s)
Agnosticism: not professing knowledge of god(s)
Atheism: not having a belief in god(s)
Atheism = not theism
Agnosticism = not Gnosticism
Really, why is this such a problem for some?
Because it doesn't fit their pre-conceived notions or their canned arguments.
Religions consist not only of the beliefs of their adherents but also include a number of stereotypic behaviors and reactions such as:
Confirmation bias
Willful ignorance
Pure bull headed stubbornness in the face of overwhelming evidence (faith and denial)
Banning iconoclasts or non-conformists from their society, gatherings or fora.
Proselytizing and recruitment.
These serve to enforce and preserve the religion as a persistent pattern of information over time subject to evolution by natural selection.
The successful ones grow and colonize new minds. The failures fade away..... Anyone on the board worship Zoroaster? anyone?
So how, exactly, does God know that She's NOT a brain in a vat? 
