Agnostic Atheism? Your opinions..

[Angrboda]

I've always been of the opinion that agnosticism is nothing more than a category error. The question is, do you believe? Your arcane opinions on the tractability of the epistemic question are fascinating, but quite beside the point. There are plenty of things I hazard we will never know, such as what happened 1.0x10^-1,000 seconds after the big bang, if there is life on other planets, or what the actual state of reality is. I don't go around inventing labels for these things, and if I did, I'd not blame people for thinking me a nut, or just somebody trying to impress. And if you don't believe it is possible to know whether there is a god or not, any position but atheism would be silly and irrational. The other side of the equation is those -- whom I only suspect -- whose agnosticism is nothing more than a cloak to allow them to sit on the fence. Daniel Dennett claims to have interviewed a number of atheist theists; if you're not ready to take the leap, unwilling, or unable, I'd imagine agnosticism can be rather appealing. But, imho, it is a cheat; nothing more. (Though I rather doubt many here fall in the latter category.)

Launch the yard-a-pult! *thwang!*