Atheist vs. Agnostic


Recommended Posts

as far as i see it jonathon,i am an atheist due to a lack of belief.i am an agnostic due to lack of evidence, and therefor lack of belief.i too try to avoid the stupidity of some who wish to argue.

 

maybe one day i will grow up and not care what title people think i am and even care less what evidence people think they have.

Link to comment
41 minutes ago, mark 45 said:

as far as i see it jonathon,i am an atheist due to a lack of belief.i am an agnostic due to lack of evidence, and therefor lack of belief.i too try to avoid the stupidity of some who wish to argue.

 

maybe one day i will grow up and not care what title people think i am and even care less what evidence people think they have.

 

Just curious, can you or have you ever been able to believe in anything without evidence? It seems that the commonality between Agnosticism & Atheism is an inability to trust anything that can't be proven.

Link to comment
2 hours ago, mark 45 said:

as far as i see it jonathon,i am an atheist due to a lack of belief.i am an agnostic due to lack of evidence, and therefor lack of belief.i too try to avoid the stupidity of some who wish to argue.

 

maybe one day i will grow up and not care what title people think i am and even care less what evidence people think they have.

 

 

Just so.  I tend to regard religion as an intoxicant.  Most people drink responsibly and in moderation.  I have no problems with that.  Much joy may it bring them.  Other people are sloppy drunks.  I hate being around drunkards.  Or the pushy pious.  For much the same reason.  They stink up the place.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Dan56 said:

 

Just curious, can you or have you ever been able to believe in anything without evidence? It seems that the commonality between Agnosticism & Atheism is an inability to trust anything that can't be proven.

 

 

I'll take this one.  If my good friend Bob, tells me that milk gives him the runs -- I'll take his word for it.  The evidence would be easy to provide.  I don't need such evidence.  His word is good enough.

 

If Bob wants to change my vote in the next election -- at minimum, I expect a reasoned argument.

 

If Bob wants to change my religious beliefs -- I need compelling evidence.

 

The more that is at stake -- the more extreme the assertion -- the stronger the evidence needs to be.

 

On that note, Dan.  Merry Christmas.  May it bring you comfort, joy and all good things.

 

Jonathan

:bye:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
7 minutes ago, Dan56 said:

Thanks....... I feel the same way about Christ as you do Bob; 'I don't need such evidence.  His word is good enough'.

(no religion intended)

 

 

Bob is a fictional character.  I made him up to help with the argument.

:birgits_giggle:

 

I did not plan Bob, with this discussion in mind.  I don't have such foresight.  It simply worked out.

:coffee:

 

If you really do regard Jesus, the same way I regard Bob -- then welcome to Atheism.

:birgits_giggle:

 

Sorry.  It was a cheap shot.  I couldn't resist.

:mellow:

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
On 12/25/2020 at 11:35 AM, Jonathan H. B. Lobl said:

 

 

Bob is a fictional character.  I made him up to help with the argument.

:birgits_giggle:

 

I did not plan Bob, with this discussion in mind.  I don't have such foresight.  It simply worked out.

:coffee:

 

If you really do regard Jesus, the same way I regard Bob -- then welcome to Atheism.

:birgits_giggle:

 

Sorry.  It was a cheap shot.  I couldn't resist.

:mellow:

 

 

You wrote that IF Bob told me, I'd believe him. Jesus did tell us, and I believe him. So the fact that you would believe a made-up fictional character verses myself believing a non-fictional person, makes you what?

And people think Christians are delusional? :)  

Link to comment
48 minutes ago, Dan56 said:

 

You wrote that IF Bob told me, I'd believe him. Jesus did tell us, and I believe him. So the fact that you would believe a made-up fictional character verses myself believing a non-fictional person, makes you what?

And people think Christians are delusional? :)  

 

 

It was a rhetorical device.  Never mind.     :sigh2:

 

:boredom:

 

:mellow:

Link to comment

Considering all this I'm actually getting more and more surprised that apatheism didn't get more credit. There seem to have been a lot of important/significant historical people who were apatheist  like (a lot of the founding fathers of the USA come to mind) Copernicus, Galilei, Newton, Erasmus and Spinoza... to name "a few"... :coffee:

Link to comment
10 minutes ago, RevBogovac said:

Considering all this I'm actually getting more and more surprised that apatheism didn't get more credit. There seem to have been a lot of important/significant historical people who were apatheist  like (a lot of the founding fathers of the USA come to mind) Copernicus, Galilei, Newton, Erasmus and Spinoza... to name "a few"... :coffee:

 

 

You're taking us into history.  Interpretation becomes difficult.

 

Spinoza  was the father of modern Pantheism.  A religious philosophy.  God as Nature.  God as the Universe.  Spinoza cared a great deal.  He was excommunicated by his Jewish community.  It broke his spirit.  He died shortly thereafter.  We can argue the relevance of Pantheism.  I'm not at all clear that it's the same as not caring.

 

Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine followed Deism.  Another religious philosophy.  A creator God who does not answer prayer, guide events or grant revelation.  Paine wrote, The Age of Reason.  A foundation of Deism.  Jefferson took a blade to the Bible -- literally, a blade -- and cut out the supernatural parts associated with Jesus.  We can argue the relevance of Deism.  I'm not at all clear that it's the same as not caring.

 

I'm puzzled by your inclusion of Newton on this list.  He was as renowned for his theology, as his greatness in math and science.  A man of great piety.

 

I think we also need to be cautious, when speaking of the early Catholic astronomers.  Yes, they came into conflict with their church.  That does not mean that they were conflicted about God.

 

:bye:

 

 

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.