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Hello!
October 27, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Hello, I am currently trying to write an endographic essay on Atheism. While I am not an Atheist myself, I would like to meet a few of you to help me better understand what Atheism is all about. I have a few questions that I would like to ask to any of those who are willing to participate. I know way am I trying to debate your beliefs. I merely would like to have a better understanding. To those of you who are willing to dedicate a small amount of your time, please private message me, or feel free to reply to the thread!
Thanks!
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RE: Hello!
October 27, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I don't see anything mutually exclusive between atheism and agnosticism, which is why I am an agnostic atheist. I don't believe in gods (atheist), neither do I make any claim to know anything about them (agnostic).
Atheism is very simply the disbelief in gods. No atheist believes in any form of god. This is perhaps the only thing we have in common with each other.
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RE: Hello!
October 27, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Hi, nice to meet you.
I am fine that you are not trying to debate my beliefs. But, of course, my atheism doesn't even come into my beliefs because my atheism is an absence of belief in God, not a belief  .
Welcome.
EvF
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RE: Hello!
October 27, 2009 at 11:35 pm
That could be interpreted as a belief in not believing (Eg. without evidence) 
Please give me a home where cloud buffalo roam
Where the dear and the strangers can play
Where sometimes is heard a discouraging word
But the skies are not stormy all day
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RE: Hello!
October 27, 2009 at 11:40 pm
It could be interpreted as a giant blue cow that is eating purple mushrooms; depending on the way you see something, you can interpret it any way, that is why there is so many legalities, and fine print and whatnot. Obviously the affore-mentioned example is the interpretation of someone on LSD or something, but how do we know any hypothetical person-in-question is not.
Welcome Imaginepeace, good luck on the essay, hope we can help.
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys" - P.J. O'Rourke
"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." - Margaret Thatcher
"Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success." - Christopher Lasch
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RE: Hello!
October 28, 2009 at 4:14 am
Hi Imaginepeace,
This might well be the shortest essay you will ever write.
Do you believe in a god or gods?
Any other answer than a positive response is atheism. Pure and simple. There is no maybe involved, you either believe in goblins or you don't. You either believe in fairies or you don't. Gods are no exception.
"I don't know" is agnosticism, but that is not the question of atheism, we ask whether we believe in gods or not, not whether we know there to be.
Best regards,
Leo van Miert
Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall --Torque is how far you take the wall with you
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RE: Hello!
October 28, 2009 at 8:07 am
Actually, it is possible to positively believe that there's no God, that's Gnostic atheism of course.
@ Sae. No, absence of belief is not a belief, it is the opposite. If I don't collect stamps that doesn't mean I'm dedicated to not collecting stamps, it just means I'm not a stamp collector.
Maybe it could be interpreted that way, but incorrectly.
EvF
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RE: Hello!
October 28, 2009 at 10:03 am
(October 28, 2009 at 8:07 am)EvidenceVsFaith Wrote: Actually, it is possible to positively believe that there's no God, that's Gnostic atheism of course.
No, Gnostic Atheism is knowing there is no god, and therefore not believing in one either.
Best regards,
Leo van Miert
Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall --Torque is how far you take the wall with you
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RE: Hello!
October 28, 2009 at 10:08 am
To claim that you know that God doesn't exist, is a positive claim that requires evidence, and is to positively believe he doesn't exist, I thought?
To disbelieve is different to believing something positively isn't so. If you claim to know that God doesn't exist then that means more than merely disbelieving, yeah?
EvF
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RE: Hello!
October 28, 2009 at 10:14 am
(October 28, 2009 at 10:08 am)EvidenceVsFaith Wrote: To claim that you know that God doesn't exist, is a positive claim that requires evidence, and is to positively believe he doesn't exist, I thought?
That is what the gnosticism covers in gnostic atheist. Gnostic = knowing, agnostic = not knowing. It is possible to be and agnostic theist, you don't know if your god really does exist, but you believe it to be the case.
And EvF, look out for your capitalization of the word god, theism and atheism doesn't cover just one particular god.
Best regards,
Leo van Miert
Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall --Torque is how far you take the wall with you
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