(May 31, 2013 at 2:17 pm)whatever76 Wrote: I think that agnosticism is "soft atheism", meaning the person doubts the existence of God, whereas "hard atheism" is the claim that there is no God.
Agnosticism is the position that the existence of a god us unknown, and most likely unknowable.
Agnosticism only concerns what can be known or knowable. It does not concern what ones beliefs are.
Atheism and agnosticism are answers to different questions.
Quote:There are people who go to church every Sunday who are agnostic. If we were all being honest, I think that most people in modern society are agnostics. It is increasingly difficult to be a true believer and live in a secular culture.
It is true that agnostic atheism is a legitimate position to hold, but I don't think it is as prevalent as you believe.
Quote:What defines someone as atheist, I think, is someone who argues that all religion is detrimental to individuals and society because of its irrational basis. Whatever benefits we get from belief can be obtained without the nasty side-effects.
What defines someone as an atheist is whether or not they hold the proposition that a god or gods exists to be true. Full stop.
I have several friends that are atheists that don't debate at all.
What you are describing is an anti-theist.
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.
