RE: Atheist vs. agnostic vs. agnostic atheist
May 29, 2013 at 7:19 pm
(This post was last modified: May 29, 2013 at 7:22 pm by Simon Moon.)
Yes, this has been done many times. Many here would say "done to death". I never mind addressing it, no matter how many times it comes up.
I'm a huge Tyson fan (I just heard he's going to do a new version of 'Cosmos'!), but he is wrong here.
I appreciate his worry concerning the baggage that is attached to the atheist label, but the way to eliminate it is to address it, not ignore it.
By calling himself an agnostic, all he is addressing is his position concerning what is unknown and/or unknowable. He is not addressing his beliefs.
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. Either one accepts a proposition or premise as true, or they don't. If someone does not hold the premise that a god exists as true, they are an atheist by definition.
Do you really think that Neil deGrasse Tyson holds the premise that a god exists as true?
Since you indicate your religious views as 'agnostic', I will ask you the same question. Do you hold the premise or proposition that a god exists as true?
I'm a huge Tyson fan (I just heard he's going to do a new version of 'Cosmos'!), but he is wrong here.
I appreciate his worry concerning the baggage that is attached to the atheist label, but the way to eliminate it is to address it, not ignore it.
By calling himself an agnostic, all he is addressing is his position concerning what is unknown and/or unknowable. He is not addressing his beliefs.
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. Either one accepts a proposition or premise as true, or they don't. If someone does not hold the premise that a god exists as true, they are an atheist by definition.
Do you really think that Neil deGrasse Tyson holds the premise that a god exists as true?
Since you indicate your religious views as 'agnostic', I will ask you the same question. Do you hold the premise or proposition that a god exists as true?
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
