Comments on: Agnosticism & Atheism http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/ Resources for skeptical, de-converting, or former Christians...... Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:35:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Jersey http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-14813 Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:55:19 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-14813 I think perhaps 99.99% of the gods we claim of existence can’t really be shown to exist or not. Buddha, on the other hand, while some may worship him as a deity-type figure, we know for a fact he never claimed deity-ship, that all he was was human.

]]> By: Simen http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1882 Tue, 22 May 2007 06:07:59 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1882 I very much doubt dictionaries in general have a bias that isn’t present in the population at large. If the population at large is theistic, their vocabulary is likely to have a “theistic bias”, as you call it.

The usual definition is “disbelief”, which can include both belief in the opposite and lack of belief.

]]> By: Dan Barnett http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1871 Tue, 22 May 2007 02:26:41 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1871 Pedro, I’m not trying to start a fight, but using one verse to make a huge argument is a far cry. Who is to say that it was God’s will for Judah to defeat them?

Beepdude, I think you read into the definition a little too much. To not believe is to deny. What is the difference? Do you really feel that the whole Christian world is out to get you? Is it a big conspiracy that the Christians twisted the dictionary just so you would look wrong?

I do enjoy watching the discussions on this site. It gives me insight into why some of you believe what you do. I appreciate your welcoming of Christians to participate in it, Aa.

]]> By: beepbeepitsme http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1870 Tue, 22 May 2007 00:34:18 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1870 A word like “atheist” has its roots in the word “theist.” In other words, there is no need to describe what an atheist is except for the fact that we define what a theist is.

So, to simplify it I look at it this way. If a theist is a person who believes in the existence of a god or gods, then an atheist is a person who doesn’t.

The dictionary definition of “theist” is this:- “noun
1. one who believes in the existence of a god or gods ”

I am somewhat amused as to why the opposite of this then becomes – “noun
1. someone who denies the existence of god ”

Perhaps it is because dictionaries have a theistic bias. ;)

]]> By: Simen http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1854 Mon, 21 May 2007 13:46:48 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1854 Heather said:

I’ve always found that one of the dangers in saying that man is made in God’s image and likeness is that man too often looks to him/herself to see what God is like. Which is why I think why God is so tribal in much of the Old Testament — God was just like the people back then, only omnipotent.

I think there’s been a steady abstractification (is that even a word?) of gods at least from the earliest written records of mythology. Early on, gods were just like people imagined themselves to be, if they’d been that powerful: a band of extremely exaggerated, extremely powerful people living where ever they themselves couldn’t reach (e.g. in the sky, atop a great mountain).

Now, God is so abstract that anything can pass for “god”: love, the universe, some great old dude in the sky.

]]> By: Epiphanist http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1849 Mon, 21 May 2007 10:05:12 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1849 “Of all the senseless babble I have ever had occasion to read, the demonstrations of these philosophers who undertake to tell us all about the nature of God would be the worst, if they were not surpassed by the still greater absurdities of the philosophers who try to prove that there is no God. ”
Interesting man that Huxley, thanks for the introduction.

]]> By: Pedro Timóteo http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1848 Mon, 21 May 2007 09:39:59 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1848 “Omnipotent”? What about Judges 1:19? :)

]]> By: Heather http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1837 Mon, 21 May 2007 04:15:28 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1837 **The God described in these books is far from perfect but really have very human characteristics. Hmmm…. I wonder why?**
I’ve always found that one of the dangers in saying that man is made in God’s image and likeness is that man too often looks to him/herself to see what God is like. Which is why I think why God is so tribal in much of the Old Testament — God was just like the people back then, only omnipotent.

]]> By: agnosticatheist http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1836 Mon, 21 May 2007 04:09:46 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1836

I can then call myself an agnostic atheist. There are some gods that I am absolutely, positively sure do not exist, either because they’re logically impossible or because they would leave evidence.

I 100% agree. I would definitely say that the God of Judaism, Christianity, & Islam as described by the Bible & Koran absolutely does NOT exist. It is logically impossible for this “God” to be perfect, merciful, compassionate, & kind yet be jealous, angry, promote evil, & commit the atrocities ascribed to him. The God described in these books is far from perfect but really have very human characteristics. Hmmm…. I wonder why?
aA

]]> By: HeIsSailing http://de-conversion.com/2007/05/21/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1834 Mon, 21 May 2007 04:05:24 +0000 http://agnosticatheism.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/defining-agnostic-atheism/#comment-1834 Hello Simen, and welcome to the agnosticatheism site!
I was unaware of Huxley’s definition of agnosticism, but it most closely describes how I think. I consider myself agnostic, in the sense that I don’t think there is any way to know if there is a divine presence in the universe.
Also, the evidence of a creator of some sort does me little good. If tomorrow, I came across irrefutable evidence of a god, (gods, divine presense, creator, designer, whatever…) I would not know what to do with that information. OK, there is a god – but I still know that the Bible is mythology, so where does that information leave me? Absolutely nowhere.
I am agnostic – there may very well be a god, but there is just no way to know one way or the other. So it is best to rely on what is tangible here in this mortal realm.

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