Frustrating

[Shuffle]

You know what really frustrates me? Everytime I ever have a conversation with a person about religion, atheist or not, the first thing to come up is atheism vs. agnosticism. "Are you an atheist, like there is no god, or are you a agnostic, like you don't know or belive or whatever." It is like clockwork. And every freakin time I need to use my leprechaun analogy (do you believe in leprechauns? No? Do you know for certaing? No?).

I just needed to vent, because it has happened 3/3 conversations this month, 2 times with atheists and 1 time with a christian.

Thanks!

[Cyberman]

Tell them you're an agnostic atheist (assuming you are) and watch their heads explode.

[Losty]

You can't just be agnostic. It doesn't make sense. You can be gnostic/agnostic atheist, gnostic/agnostic theist, or gnostic/agnostic deist. I think those are all the options.

[Minimalist]

What's wrong with the Leprechaun analogy?  It's simple enough so that even a theist can understand it.

You gotta keep things simple for those simpletons.

[Shuffle]

Tell them you're an agnostic atheist (assuming you are) and watch their heads explode.

I do. "YOU CAN'T BE BOTH" is always the next thing they say. And then I have to give the leprechaun analogy and then they change the topic to how science is fallible, quantum theory, or cosmology.

[Shuffle]

You can't just be agnostic. It doesn't make sense. You can be gnostic/agnostic atheist, gnostic/agnostic theist, or gnostic/agnostic deist. I think those are all the options.

Yup. You are right. The problem is how to get everyone else to understand that.

[Shuffle]

What's wrong with the Leprechaun analogy?  It's simple enough so that even a theist can understand it.

You gotta keep things simple for those simpletons.

It is unless they say that they KNOW that leprechauns don't exist. That sort of screws up the whole: "Agnostic Aleprechaunist.

[Cyberman]

A/gnosticism pertains to what you know or claim to know; a/theism to what you believe or claim to believe. If they claim to know that leprechauns don't exist, or that their pet god does, ask them how they know that.

[Napoléon]

You can't just be agnostic. It doesn't make sense.

This. I said the same on the NDT thread where he chooses to simply identify as 'agnostic'.

Agnostic on its own only refers to knowledge, pretty sure everyone knows this, but as an answer to the question "do you believe in god?", it's a completely worthless answer.

You can say "I don't know" (agnostic), but that in essence is as good as saying you don't believe. You can't neither believe nor disbelieve. You either do or you don't.

[Cyberman]

I think it's reasonable to say that the majority of people would identify as agnostic a/theists.