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My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 8:27 pm
by Chris OConnor
My belief system could best be described as...Results (total votes = 19):atheist&nbsp12 / 63.2%&nbsp agnostic&nbsp4 / 21.1%&nbsp theist&nbsp0 / 0.0%&nbspdeist&nbsp1 / 5.3%&nbsp other&nbsp2 / 10.5%&nbsp  "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them"

Re: My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2004 10:31 pm
by ecstian
I am a skeptical freethinker who currently holds no belief in a god.Eric

Re: My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2004 10:47 pm
by Naturyl
I am a dialectical monist who lacks belief in anthropomorphic gods, but I am not opposed to some naturalistic and/or pantheistic conceptions of reality which may include 'spiritual' elements.More info on my belief system can be found by using the link below.

Re: My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 10:03 am
by Chris OConnor
EricWell, then you checked "atheist" I hope. You can call yourself any title that suits your own personal interest, but if you lack the belief in a God you are an atheist.Chris "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them"

Re: My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 3:18 am
by NaddiaAoC
I selected atheist, but I could equally have selected agnostic. I hold no belief in god but I also hold no certainty in the nonexistence of a god. Agnostic atheist best describes my view.Cheryl

Re: My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 9:15 am
by CSflim
I have no evidence for the existence of invisible purple llamas. At the same time, I have no actual evidence for their non-existence either. Doesn't make me "agnostic" on the issue of whether they exist or not. The burden of proof is most definately on attempting to show evidence that they do exist, not the other way around. Quite clearly the rational attitude is to positively assert that they simply don't exist.

Re: My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 10:19 am
by ecstian
Quote:Well, then you checked "atheist" I hope. You can call yourself any title that suits your own personal interest, but if you lack the belief in a God you are an atheist.Chris,Yes, I checked atheist. Either a person has a belief in a god and is a theist, or they do not and they are an atheist, such as myself. I see agnosticism as a term used by people who want to clarify for those who do not understand the term atheism. It simply expresses the fact that they are an atheist, but they are willing to accept evidence (not opinion or dogma, though) for a god if given. I would guess that this applies to a majority of atheists.Eric

Re: My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2004 11:59 am
by tarav
I am an atheist.

Re: My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2004 2:41 pm
by CSflim
So what *is* an agnostic, and how does (s)he differ from an atheist?I had this argument with a friend of mine a while back. I refer to myself as an atheist, but I don't claim to "know for a fact" that God doesn't exist. I don't claim to have any evidence/proof. I conceed that it is a logical possibility that God exists.My friend claimed that I was therefore an agnostic (like he is) and I was incorrectly labbeling myself.I tried to explain that if you were to follow that line of reasoning then NOBODY would be an atheist.So then what is an agnostic?

Re: My belief system could best be described as...

Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2004 3:43 pm
by Katala Au
Besides the "sitting on the fence" definition, I've also heard agnosticism being defined as believing that we *cannot* know one way or the other whether there's a god. I think we should coin a new term that doesn't connotate the absolutist position that particularly athiesm is most understood as. A word for which the definition is something like: "the belief that there is currently no appropriate evidence to support the existence of (X) with an implied willingness to evaluate such evidence were a sincere attempt made at meeting the burden of proof at a level of high scientific standard." (hmm maybe someone can think of a better way to say that!!)Any suggestions?