RE: Is atheism a belief?
March 1, 2019 at 10:06 am
(This post was last modified: March 1, 2019 at 10:15 am by The Grand Nudger.)
(March 1, 2019 at 10:02 am)bennyboy Wrote: Atheism-- a belief that God ideas do not represent real beings. If that's not your position, why mention it at all? How about just, "Hi. . . my name's Dave"?An atheist can believe that gods represent real beings. I do.
Quote:I lack a belief in magic space monkeys, but I don't go around claiming to be an a-magic-space-monkeyist.Do you, though? Or is your a-space-monkeyism actually about something else, some other positive belief you have?
Quote:"Ermmm. . . based on my knowledge of space and monkeys, and my general disbelief in magic, I believe that this Magic Space Monkey you are talking about is probably not real."
Quote:I really don't see the semantic advantage in saying it with kid gloves: "Well. . . I happen to lack that belief in Magic Space monkeys. Not saying I believe it's false, but definitely not saying I believe it's true. Just a general lacking in my sense of space-monkey-ness." It really doesn't make sense to me.Clearly, you do.
Quote:Let's say I'm an agnostic, as I am. I'll say, "I know enough about science to know that it answers most questions better than religious traditions, but that it leaves some very important questions unanswered. I've heard enough God ideas to suspect that they are all myths and therefore not representative of real beings, but I also find it plausible that some intelligence is responsible for the Universe and the order in it. I cannot collect enough information to determine whether some kind of God exists or not, so I will declare as agnostic."
Quote:And if I had to choose between Space Monkeyist or a-space-monkeyist on a form, I'd choose the latter.Would you?
Quote:I just don't see any semantic use in identifying a position against an "-ism," and then just pretending than you lack the "-ism." If I believed there were no gods, I'd declare as atheist. If I believed there were gods, I'd declare as theist. I'm not sure if there are gods or not, so I declare as agnostic.
Agnostic atheists aren't sure either..nor are agnostic theists. Apparently, your shared agnosticism is an accidental property of your respective positions on the status of your belief.
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