11 thoughts on “Atheist or Agnostic? What are you ?”
I’m an atheist, having concluded that there are no gods or god, since there is no evidence.
The argument that I have to know everything to know your god doens’t exist fails since your god has quite definite characteristics and I would not need to examine every aspect of reality to find it. The only way this claim could work is if your god has no characteristics at all.
This vague god seems to be becoming a common christian excuse for their god, so they may avoid how ignorant, violent and lacking of existence it has.
Thank you for your comments. Appreciated. In your view, on a scale of 1 to 9), what is the probability that God exists? (1=highly unlikely;9=highly likely).
Hello, John. If you are speaking about the bible god, I would give it a 1 that it does not exist. As I indicated before, that’s the problem with a god that has many attributes assigned to it as well as actions assigned to it.
For vague claims of a god, like the vague god of deism, perhaps a little higher like a 3. Still no evidence for that kind of god either, but if we play around with the definition of god then the probabilities increase.
Again. Thank you for your response. Your civil response during a challenging topic is appreciated. A score of between 1 and 3 indicates a strong opinion that is unlikely that God exists. Does this position not leave open the remote possibility that God may exist? We are not talking about proof but remote probability.
You make a very interesting comment: , “but if we play around with the definition of god then the probabilities increase”. Could you expand on the comment? It is a pleasure communicating with someone who thinks seriously about these important questions.
Again, thank you.
John
Yes, I am of the very strong opinion that no gods exist, includign the christian one, which I assume you mean by “God”.
Why should I assume such a being exists with no evidence for it? The christian god has many attributes that should make it obvious, and yet it is not. Chsitians have to make up the claims of a “hidden” god to explain why they can’t present it.
unless you make your god so vague that it cannot be defined, and thus not found, religion fails.
for example, I could claim a “god” really means a worm under a rock on Ceti Alpha V. Then I would admit that I cannot be absolutely sure that this worm doesn’t exist. However, with the attributes of the Christian god, I can be sure since there is no evidence where there should be per the claims in the bible.
Thank you again for your comments.
What do you think of the following point of view (from Ai)?
“Empirical reasoning, which relies on observation, experimentation, and evidence derived from the senses, is a powerful and widely accepted method for acquiring knowledge about the natural world and many aspects of reality. It has been instrumental in advancing scientific understanding and technological progress. However, whether it is the only way to truth depends on the nature of the truth being sought and the domain of inquiry.”
AI is just a program that gathers things from the internet and thus is just as likely to give false information as true.
It is nothing new to have theists desperately try to pretend there are other “means of knowledge” and unsurprisingly, they have yet to provide any. This is often proposed by things like “non-overlapping magisteria” the baseless claims of Gould that his religion should be considered seperately from anything else that requires evidence. Unfortunately, the claims of theists often, if not always, try to make claims on how their gods influence the material world. If they do that, then they should be able to be found.
What do you consider another means of acquiring knowledge and how to you propose to test it?
Again thanks for the comments. I share your concerns about AI. I don’t know much about AI but it may be difficult for the creator of the algorithm to exclude personal bias!
You raise important questions. I hope to come back to you shortly with some ideas. Thank you.
I do not believe I am either. I believe religious people will label me how they like when their arguments are not convincing. If there were no Theists making claims that are based on assumptions there would be no word for Atheist or Agnostic. Religion invented gods and the terms for People and or Person who they couldn’t get to the offering plates.
johnbartels.com 
I’m an atheist, having concluded that there are no gods or god, since there is no evidence.
The argument that I have to know everything to know your god doens’t exist fails since your god has quite definite characteristics and I would not need to examine every aspect of reality to find it. The only way this claim could work is if your god has no characteristics at all.
This vague god seems to be becoming a common christian excuse for their god, so they may avoid how ignorant, violent and lacking of existence it has.
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Thank you for your comments. Appreciated. In your view, on a scale of 1 to 9), what is the probability that God exists? (1=highly unlikely;9=highly likely).
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Note that this is a question about probability not certainty.
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Hello, John. If you are speaking about the bible god, I would give it a 1 that it does not exist. As I indicated before, that’s the problem with a god that has many attributes assigned to it as well as actions assigned to it.
For vague claims of a god, like the vague god of deism, perhaps a little higher like a 3. Still no evidence for that kind of god either, but if we play around with the definition of god then the probabilities increase.
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Again. Thank you for your response. Your civil response during a challenging topic is appreciated. A score of between 1 and 3 indicates a strong opinion that is unlikely that God exists. Does this position not leave open the remote possibility that God may exist? We are not talking about proof but remote probability.
You make a very interesting comment: , “but if we play around with the definition of god then the probabilities increase”. Could you expand on the comment? It is a pleasure communicating with someone who thinks seriously about these important questions.
Again, thank you.
John
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Yes, I am of the very strong opinion that no gods exist, includign the christian one, which I assume you mean by “God”.
Why should I assume such a being exists with no evidence for it? The christian god has many attributes that should make it obvious, and yet it is not. Chsitians have to make up the claims of a “hidden” god to explain why they can’t present it.
unless you make your god so vague that it cannot be defined, and thus not found, religion fails.
for example, I could claim a “god” really means a worm under a rock on Ceti Alpha V. Then I would admit that I cannot be absolutely sure that this worm doesn’t exist. However, with the attributes of the Christian god, I can be sure since there is no evidence where there should be per the claims in the bible.
that make it any clearer?
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Thank you again for your comments.
What do you think of the following point of view (from Ai)?
“Empirical reasoning, which relies on observation, experimentation, and evidence derived from the senses, is a powerful and widely accepted method for acquiring knowledge about the natural world and many aspects of reality. It has been instrumental in advancing scientific understanding and technological progress. However, whether it is the only way to truth depends on the nature of the truth being sought and the domain of inquiry.”
LikeLike
AI is just a program that gathers things from the internet and thus is just as likely to give false information as true.
It is nothing new to have theists desperately try to pretend there are other “means of knowledge” and unsurprisingly, they have yet to provide any. This is often proposed by things like “non-overlapping magisteria” the baseless claims of Gould that his religion should be considered seperately from anything else that requires evidence. Unfortunately, the claims of theists often, if not always, try to make claims on how their gods influence the material world. If they do that, then they should be able to be found.
What do you consider another means of acquiring knowledge and how to you propose to test it?
LikeLike
Again thanks for the comments. I share your concerns about AI. I don’t know much about AI but it may be difficult for the creator of the algorithm to exclude personal bias!
You raise important questions. I hope to come back to you shortly with some ideas. Thank you.
LikeLike
that is true about bias. That’s why when someone trots out somethign from “AI” and claims it is all that, there is no reason to accept that claim.
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I do not believe I am either. I believe religious people will label me how they like when their arguments are not convincing. If there were no Theists making claims that are based on assumptions there would be no word for Atheist or Agnostic. Religion invented gods and the terms for People and or Person who they couldn’t get to the offering plates.
LikeLiked by 1 person