Quote:The universe does not require a prime mover. I agree. But there might be one or more anyway...no matter that we agree it is not a requirement.
The universe has laws...and no gods are required. But there might be one or more anyway...no matter that we agree it is not a requirement.
The "god loves you" bullshit sickens me. But there might be a god anyway.
I also do not "believe" any gods exist...just as I do not "believe" there are no gods.
Here are two different ways of describing the difference between atheist and agnostic.
1) Agnostic/Gnostic refers to whether the existence of gods are personally known, or can in general be known. Theist/Atheist refers to belief/lack-of-belief in gods.
One is a question about knowledge, the other is belief. I am an agnostic atheist. I do not think that the question of gods/no-gods can be proven either way, but I don't believe in any of the them. As for unknown gods - Why would I believe in what I can't define or know?
Some are gnostic atheists, who believe that the existence of gods is both knowable (should they exist), and such beings have failed the tests for existence (based on the standard definitions of gods, and the evidence in our possession).
2) There is a sliding scale of belief (as per Dawkins) where at one end is a belief that God almost certainly exists, at the other is a belief that gods almost certainly do not exist, and somewhere in between describes most people. This does not distinguish between knowledge and belief, and I therefore find it less useful.
The single term "agnostic" for describing one's belief is not useful, IMO. If you are describing belief, are you really half-way in between believing and non-believing? If you are describing knowledge (that we can't know either way), then you are saying nothing about your belief. Does an agnostic pray to every deity, just in case? Of course not. Does an agnostic worry that they are going to hell? I hope not. Saying "I don't know" is really telling us nothing about how you interact in your life with the god concept.
