Comments on: Theism, agnosticism and atheism http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/ Resources for skeptical, de-converting, or former Christians...... Sun, 19 May 2013 17:17:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: nullifidian http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-651 Sat, 21 Apr 2007 19:52:11 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-651

Theists, Agnostics and Atheists are all embrionic Gods in the making and do not have full enlightenment . Jesus and all the saints who are no longer in this earth plain are full blown Christians. They have their full annointing of the light (Christ).

And the woo will set you free?

]]> By: Richard T Scott http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-414 Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:43:56 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-414 Perhaps it’s possible to calculate a relative probability of the existence of God. Obviously the 50% calculation is rather arbitrary. But there are obvious hurdle in finding definate quantities with which to ascertain this probability… for instance, where do we start?
The difficulty lies in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The conclusion of which lead to a revolutionary view in science that because no quantity can be absolutely and precisely measured all things: laws, occurances, etc… may most accurately be described in terms of probability.
So, where to start? Well, there is a similar formula already in use to calculate the probability of extra-terrestrial life in the universe namely the Drake equation. Obviously there are more concrete means of calculation for “E.T’s” than for the elusive “God”, but I could see this a starting point for forming such an equation.
Also, you might find it interesting to read THE SCIENCE OF GOD by Gerard L. Schroeder. He explores this terrain both from the scientific perspective and the faith-based perspective. So, given that he states an obvious bias at the beginning (as we all have being subjective by nature), I find his argument interesting and compelling.

]]> By: Doris Tracey http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-266 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 13:51:36 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-266 Theists, Agnostics and Atheists are all embrionic Gods in the making and do not have full enlightenment . Jesus and all the saints who are no longer in this earth plain are full blown Christians. They have their full annointing of the light (Christ).

]]> By: Wolterkabolter http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-253 Tue, 03 Apr 2007 22:06:13 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-253 A funny quote from Life of Pi by Yann Martel:

It is not atheists who get stuck in my craw, but agnostics. Doubt is useful for a while. We must all pass through the gardem of Gethsemane. If Christ played with doubt, so must we. If Christ spent an anguished night in prayer, if He burst out from the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” then surely we are also permitted doubt. But we must move on. To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.”

To think about…

]]> By: mysteryofiniquity http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-222 Sat, 31 Mar 2007 17:44:38 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-222 Thinking Age,
I like them bananas. Great answer!

]]> By: Thinking Ape http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-218 Sat, 31 Mar 2007 06:51:57 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-218 “By agnosticism, I’m referring to the belief that there is roughly a 50% chance God exists.”

This definition of agnosticism is very foreign to me. I doubt there are many philosophical agnostics (very different than spiritually apathetic people) that would think that agnosticism has anything to do with probability. Thomas Huxley coined the term in the 19th century as an opposition to gnosticism – instead of someone WITH knowledge, it is someone WITHOUT knowledge.

When we speak of agnosticism, there are several modes of agnostic interpretation. You probably know all about the different sorts of agnosticism – strong, weak, apathetic, ignosticism, model, theistic, and atheistic. None of these have anything to do with the chances of God’s existence. Rather, it is based on the interpretation of first, what “knowledge” is, and second, what your personal “belief” is. I am somewhat of a Kantian in my epistemological stance, and so I must reject any notion of “knowledge” of God, since it is a philosophic impossiblity for a finite being to “know” an infinite being. Philosophical Agnostics are simply those that recognize this distinction.

The problem with atheists and theiest, I biasly suggest, is that both believe they have “knowledge” when they really don’t. They may have knowledge concerning their own belief systems, but they don’t have “knowledge” of the subject (God).

How do you like them bananas?

]]> By: pastorofdisaster http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-217 Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:26:30 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-217 Were you trying to make me convert to fairyanity? Because I am afraid that I did crush my fairy. Oh well, at least I kept its pixie dust.

As always I enjoyed the thoughts.

]]> By: brian t http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-215 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:25:47 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-215 I might call myself an agnostic in an academic, philosophical sense, but the real world demands that I make decisions, take a position and stick to it. I don’t see why the academic possibility of gods – somewhere, sometime – should carry any weight in making such decisions – any more than any other supernatural theories.

It still comes down to evidence, which is just not there. Even if there was, what use is a “god” who doesn’t DO anything useful?

]]> By: Adam http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-214 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 18:36:35 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-214 I define atheist as simply without belief in a god. So if you’re an agnostic, you’re still either an atheist or a theist.

]]> By: nowoo http://de-conversion.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-213 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 15:47:15 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/theism-agnosticism-and-atheism/#comment-213 Dawkins criticizes the idea that agnosticism is something halfway between theism and atheism, as if the existence of the deity in question was equally likely to exist or not exist. As your fairy example shows, we can imagine lots of invisible beings, but that doesn’t mean there’s a 50/50 chance that each of them is real. Are you really agnostic about the monsters under your bed? Or do you live your life on the assumption that they don’t exist?

]]>