Atheists Claim Agnostics are Atheist

[Something completely different]

He never said you did.

He used the term "Atheists" thereby stating that atheists generaly do so.

If he had writed "Some Atheists" then he wouldnt have thrown them all into one single bucket.

[pocaracas]

People like to generalize!

[Gilgamesh]

He used the term "Atheists" thereby stating that atheists generaly do so.

Yep. Key word: Generally.

By the way, I'm sure you've never said "Theists say _____" and when you didn't say that, I bet you didn't mean it generally speaking only.

[Something completely different]

Yep. Key word: Generally.

It is not not the key word. The key word is the use of the term Ateist in plural form.

By the way, I'm sure you've never said "Theists say _____" and when you didn't say that, I bet you didn't mean it generally speaking only.

It is to you to find such a phrase and confront me with it before you can make any kind of judgement.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

All,

I find it interesting and somewhat ironic that atheists continuously make the claim that all agnostics are essentially atheist. While I understand the distinction many atheists have made, I do not agree! Atheism pertains directly to the BELIEF, or in this case the lack thereof, of any gods or god, the afterlife, the supernatural, and so forth. In contrast, agnosticism pertains the lack of KNOWLEDGE in the previously mentioned categories. As an agnostic, I have not committed to the concrete stance that I do not believe. I have also not made the assertion that I do believe. In my opinion, it is entirely acceptable to not have committed to one stance or the other; therefore, I am undecided and would not label myself an atheist. Whether atheists are willing to accept this or not it is my opinion that is much more logical to maintain the "middle ground" in this respect. Anyways, those are my thoughts.

-Mike[/i]

I, and 99% of atheists on this board, are agnostic atheists.

[wolf39us]

My understanding is this

Atheism = lack of belief in God/Gods

Agnosticism = assertion that we cannot know the answer


A-Gnosticism = literally "without knowledge"

An Agnostic that doesn't believe In a God is automatically by definition an Atheist

[Simsim]

All people are agnostic by nature. (except some fundies who can't think enough to to not know. )

[bennyboy]

I'm agnostic about God in much the same way that Schrodinger is agnostic about his cat: he neither lacks nor firmly holds a belief about either the cat's survival or demise. He sees both answers as simultaneously true/false.

The dirty trick that some people use to force a default by allowing only a particular question: "Do you have an active belief that God exists?" doesn't work for me. I see both God and not-God as viable possibilities, and am completely unable to weight the probabilities of either outcome. God is both real and unreal for me, until I get a chance to open the box. This is NOT a lack of a belief-- it is an unresolved conditional belief-- and it's rude to force someone in this state to see it otherwise.

[little_monkey]

I'm agnostic about God in much the same way that Schrodinger is agnostic about his cat: he neither lacks nor firmly holds a belief about either the cat's survival or demise. He sees both answers as simultaneously true/false.

The dirty trick that some people use to force a default by allowing only a particular question: "Do you have an active belief that God exists?" doesn't work for me. I see both God and not-God as viable possibilities, and am completely unable to weight the probabilities of either outcome. God is both real and unreal for me, until I get a chance to open the box. This is NOT a lack of a belief-- it is an unresolved conditional belief-- and it's rude to force someone in this state to see it otherwise.

Just about anybody will say that there a possibility of God or no God ( ok, exception for the insane who knows everything), but the question of belief is a different matter. I don't know if there's a god or not, but I choose to believe there isn't one mainly because there is no evidence or convincing arguments to believe in one. Note: it's a choice that requires no proof on my part. And I can always choose differently, but in my case, I would need such extraordinary evidence or such convincing arguments that it would be impossible for me to continue along this present choice.

Joe

[The Magic Pudding]

I believe gods exist.
I define gods as a fanciful human inventions.
Such fanciful human inventions are out there.
They're in here too, they're all over the place.