greywolf90

i've noticed that some agnostics here consider themselves pretty much atheist regarding most of the major religions while others consider themselve significantly different from atheists (and also getting offended if a religious person mistakingly considers them the same as an atheist).

i am the second one . sometimes i have a hard time explaining to people that i am not a christian or atheist, and that agnostic is not the same thing as atheist.

so feel free to put where you think you fall into, and any thoughts you have on the agnostic/atheist distinction.

__________________
"is all that we see or seem
but a dream within a dream?"- poe

romansh

OK I'll bite.....

Theistic religions make no sense to me (from a god point of view) ... so I suppose I am atheistically inclined towards those. But like BRussell, on a technicality, I can't rule them out.

regarding whether god exists or not..... how on earth are we to decide on that, other than gut feel?.... So it depends on the quantity and quality of chicken vindaloo I have eaten?

The evidence for god .... the universe is really an amazing place. This of course anthropomorphizes god and god's nature and assumes we know what we are talking about.

The evidence against god ...lots .... but see the second sentence of the last paragraph.

So that leaves me a devout agnostic.... at least in my book.

any other evidence anybody?

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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

Jasen777

I think atheists are just as wrong as theists.

Buddha

agnostic or atheist? Hmm, I'm leaning towards ignostic.

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Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission
Ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite
All of which are american dreams

romansh

what's your definition of an ignostic?

__________________
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 an atheist until one can define god with evidence and observation.

Define god. Back it up with observation.

__________________
"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

greywolf90

since becoming agnostic, my personal definition of god has become increasingly vague. to put it simply, god is whatever is responsible for life, existance, etc. this would also make god the purpose of life and existance. to me god could possibly be a physical being with a conscience that surpasses our own, or god could be simply be a human concept meant to explain what we do not understand.

of course, we cannot physically observe god any more than we could observe a soul, which is why god remains in philosophy and cannot be considered a part of science.

as for what i consider to be evidence: i do believe that all life is related through evolution, but i do not think anyone will deny that as humans, we are unique to any other life on earth, which makes me question whether this was meant to be. i do not want to use the "we are complex so god must exist" argument becaues that sort of logic annoys me, but i do think that the nature of our existinance is worth considering. and of course there is my favorite question: "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" for all the cycles of life, where was the beginning? now i know this is not necessarily evidence of god, but for me, it is enough to consider god a possibility.

__________________
"is all that we see or seem
but a dream within a dream?"- poe

Buddha

Well, It was explained to me like this.

An atheist would say, "I don't believe God exists"
An agnostic would say, "I don't know whether or not God exists"
An ignostic would say, "I don't know what you mean when you say, 'God exists'*".


I don't know if it's correct or not, but I like it. I don't belive "god" is definable.

__________________
Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission
Ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite
All of which are american dreams

romansh

Thanks Buddha ... I think I know what you mean.
But when you use the word "god" (say in your definitions) the word must have meant something to you?

I would agree with you that god is undefinable in reality, at least for me; but, I have concepts what it can and cannot be. These concepts I have to test against the available evidence ... called the unviverse.

__________________
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

November Rain

I'm an Agnostic with one foot on the Atheist side of the fence. I think it's possible that some sort of higher power could exist, but I see no reason to believe it, at least until I can see God for myself.