romansh

by that logic strong and weak atheist definitions are the same?

existence .. correct

__________________
There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. ........... Douglas Adams

Vinterland

Sorry for triple posting here, but hopefully this will clear somethign up: change the word 'disbelieve' to believe and see what we have:

I do not believe God exists (weak atheism only)
I believe God does not exist(strong atheism only)

Both are only atheistic statements, now add the prefix and the opposite becomes true: both are theistic statements.

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And on we walked. Suddenly we heard a voice crying, "This is the sea. This is the deep sea. This is the vast and mighty sea." And when we reached the voice it was a man whose back was turned to the sea, and at his ear he held a shell, listening to its murmur.
And my soul said, "Let us pass on. He is the realist, who turns his back on the whole he cannot grasp, and busies himself with a fragment."
—Gibran Khalil Gibran, “The Greater Sea.”

Vinterland

you'll have to specify, i'm multi-tasking here.

*edit - ok I see my err, the former statement is one does not have the conviction of the latter. Thanks for pointing that out.

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And on we walked. Suddenly we heard a voice crying, "This is the sea. This is the deep sea. This is the vast and mighty sea." And when we reached the voice it was a man whose back was turned to the sea, and at his ear he held a shell, listening to its murmur.
And my soul said, "Let us pass on. He is the realist, who turns his back on the whole he cannot grasp, and busies himself with a fragment."
—Gibran Khalil Gibran, “The Greater Sea.”

greywolf90

thanks for explaining. the wording is complicated.

__________________
"for there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so."- Hamlet

romansh

I agree with the above

as an agnostic of either the fence sitting kind or sans knowledge kind
(If I don't have the evidence , I can't have any knowledge of, therefore: ) I don't have any belief or disbelief in the existence of god.

__________________
There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. ........... Douglas Adams

Vinterland

Well, this is fun, really but yo ucontinue to confuse me. You agree with this statement: "I do not believe God exists (weak atheism only)", so is it not true that you do indeed disbelieve in God?

*edit: I've confuzzled myself enough for one day - see ya in a few Romans!

romansh

If I don't know whether god exists (or not) then the statement
I don't disbelieve god exists ..... the weak theist statement is true for me

exactly the same way the weak atheist statement is true.

I don't see why both weak statements can't be true for someone who does not know?

__________________
There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. ........... Douglas Adams

Gettin' In Tune

I am a strong atheist. Why?

Every conception of god is man made. There is no empirical evidence for any conception of god.

__________________
"But to find the truth we need imagination and skepticism both. We will not be afraid to speculate, but we will be careful to distinguish speculation from fact."--C.Sagan

jamgirl86

I'm not atheist because I really dont know whether God exists or not, I think they may be a supernatural being somewhere....maybe...but I'm not convinced there ISN'T a god.

Vinterland

You've acknowledged that they are opposite statements, however. Since they are contradictory, they both cannot be true to you.

There's gnosis involed in your atheism. How did you find out that 'God is man made'? It seems like a rather prideful remark considering there is no evidence. However, it seems you consider lack of evidence, evidence for the nonexistance. Elaborate please. I'll respond in about a week.
You already are an atheist because an atheist doesn't need to be convinced there is no God similarly a theist does not need to be convinced there is a God. This is actually common sense to me. Being either is not conditional on level of conviction.