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Politics : Should God be replaced? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Krowbar who wrote (1884)	10/19/2000 4:27:26 PM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 28931

Well- I don't think conditional beliefs are silly. That seems to be what you are talking about. I DO think that believing in the absence or presence of a God or Gods IS silly- but perhaps that's too harsh. Let me say then, that I think it is rash. But I have always thought atheists had the better footing since you aren't expected to have to prove a negative. That said- I have always understood atheism as the belief that there WAS no God. atheist \A"the*ist\, n. [Gr. ? without god; 'a priv. + ? god: cf. F. ath['e]iste.] 1. One who disbelieves or denies the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being. Compare with: ag·nos·tic (g-nstk) n. One who believes that there can be no proof of the existence of God but does not deny the possibility that God exists. I do NOT see how you can be both at once. You are saying you can believe in something that you consciously realize may not be true. Belief means you believe. If you realize your belief may not be true can you still believe it? how can you say I do NOT believe that God exists yet not deny the possibility that God exists? If you were a multiple personality I suppose you could do that, but otherwise what you really are is an agnostic. Come out of the closet Del. It's OK to be an agnostic. Say this with me: "I'm an agnostic and I'm PROUD." hehehehehe

To: Krowbar who wrote (1884)	10/19/2000 5:48:34 PM
From: cosmicforce	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 28931

Edit: This is largely a restatement of what X said. Read if you wish. Atheist is a statement of certainty for the nonexistence of something. This is tantamount to the accepting a proof of a negative ( a logical impossibility). As an agnostic, at most you can express an uncertainty about the existence of God otherwise you are expressing a "firm belief" (if it can't be proven, it must be a belief). You could be an "agnostic that leans toward atheism", but if you step over the line and say you are an "atheist" (i.e., expressing a certain position that you can't hold by logic alone), then you have admitted a "firm belief" and are no longer operating under one of the requirements of agnosticism, doubt.