Is There a God?

[Person012345]

See, this has been explained before. Theism/Atheism are positions on belief. Gnostic/Agnostic are positions on knowledge. You can be an agnostic atheist. If you are agnostic in the "I don't know if god exists" sense then you are an atheist (because you do not positively believe that god exists).

Atheist is a certainty- it says that there is certainly no God. To be an agnostic is to mean that certain claims are, at the moment, unknown, and, at the moment, unknowable. By saying that you are an Atheist, you are saying that you do know the truth of a certain claim, ie there is definitely no God.

You are wrong and this has been explained multiple times.

[Demphor]

I believe in God, I just believe that he takes care of the universe in general.

I mean, its obvious there's alien planets out there, maybe he let science take its course, let us develop and then pop in every couple thousand years.

Maybe he got the Big Bang started, after all, its just a theory.

Maybe God plays a role in creation.

[Person012345]

I believe in God, I just believe that he takes care of the universe in general.

I mean, its obvious there's alien planets out there, maybe he let science take its course, let us develop and then pop in every couple thousand years.

Maybe he got the Big Bang started, after all, its just a theory.

Maybe God plays a role in creation.

Maybe. Why do you believe that?

[Desperate Measures]

Atheist is a certainty- it says that there is certainly no God. To be an agnostic is to mean that certain claims are, at the moment, unknown, and, at the moment, unknowable. By saying that you are an Atheist, you are saying that you do know the truth of a certain claim, ie there is definitely no God.

You are wrong and this has been explained multiple times.

I had a huge amount of trouble with this long ago. It's hard to understand when you don't realize that there are differing degrees of atheism.

[Llyddfyd]

Atheist is a certainty- it says that there is certainly no God. To be an agnostic is to mean that certain claims are, at the moment, unknown, and, at the moment, unknowable. By saying that you are an Atheist, you are saying that you do know the truth of a certain claim, ie there is definitely no God.

You are wrong and this has been explained multiple times.

You are wrong, in that you do not understand the definition of the word 'Atheist' before applying it to yourself. Being agnostic about the existence of God is different from believing that there is no God- the latter position is called 'Atheist' while the former is an Agnostic position. One cannot be agnostic if one holds a definite claim.

[Person012345]

You are wrong and this has been explained multiple times.

I had a huge amount of trouble with this long ago. It's hard to understand when you don't realize that there are differing degrees of atheism.

I find it quite simple - Positively believe that god exists? Theist. Not a theist? Atheist.

[Person012345]

You are wrong and this has been explained multiple times.

You are wrong, in that you do not understand the definition of the word 'Atheist' before applying it to yourself. Being agnostic about the existence of God is different from believing that there is no God- the latter position is called 'Atheist' while the former is an Agnostic position. One cannot be agnostic if one holds a definite claim.

Call me whatever the fuck you want to call me. Ok, if you're so adamant to remain ignorant lets roll with it, I'm an agnostic.

Now, why do you hold your irrational belief in god?

[PapaJacky]

Gonna jump in on a cesspool of opinions and semantics and say I'm Agnostic and don't think with a high probability of a God but do assume a small probability of a God.

[Demphor]

I believe in God, I just believe that he takes care of the universe in general.

I mean, its obvious there's alien planets out there, maybe he let science take its course, let us develop and then pop in every couple thousand years.

Maybe he got the Big Bang started, after all, its just a theory.

Maybe God plays a role in creation.

Maybe. Why do you believe that?

Because nothing is certain, I believe in God, but I don't believe that there isn't science around us. God plays a role, he just chooses when he wants to, maybe he's sending a clone army of Jesus's to all planets of the Universe.

That would be fucking awesome.

It's my own theory about Gods role in the Universe, I believe in God, I'm a Catholic, but I disagree with my Church when it comes to science, homosexuality and alien lifeforms.

[Xeng He]

You are wrong, in that you do not understand the definition of the word 'Atheist' before applying it to yourself. Being agnostic about the existence of God is different from believing that there is no God- the latter position is called 'Atheist' while the former is an Agnostic position. One cannot be agnostic if one holds a definite claim.

Call me whatever the fuck you want to call me. Ok, if you're so adamant to remain ignorant lets roll with it, I'm an agnostic.

Now, why do you hold your irrational belief in god?

I should note that some universes very different from ours, including--though I'm not exactly certain, I haven't delved into this in detail--ones with gods, exist.

Plus, since when was having a hypothesis irrational?

[Nouvelle-Albion]

I had a huge amount of trouble with this long ago. It's hard to understand when you don't realize that there are differing degrees of atheism.

I find it quite simple - Positively believe that god exists? Theist. Not a theist? Atheist.

So, I am not entirely certain that God exist, but I believe that he probably exist, and that he probably thought in French and probably hates Britons and, more generally, hates the English. Now, am I an Atheist?

[Person012345]

Maybe. Why do you believe that?

Because nothing is certain, I believe in God, but I don't believe that there isn't science around us. God plays a role, he just chooses when he wants to, maybe he's sending a clone army of Jesus's to all planets of the Universe.

That would be fucking awesome.

It's my own theory about Gods role in the Universe, I believe in God, I'm a Catholic, but I disagree with my Church when it comes to science, homosexuality and alien lifeforms.

You didn't really answer my question. "Nothing is certain" really doesn't tell me why you believe in god. Do you believe in god because you like the idea of god?

[New England and The Maritimes]

Call me whatever the fuck you want to call me. Ok, if you're so adamant to remain ignorant lets roll with it, I'm an agnostic.

Now, why do you hold your irrational belief in god?

I should note that some universes very different from ours, including--though I'm not exactly certain, I haven't delved into this in detail--ones with gods, exist.

Plus, since when was having a hypothesis irrational?

Learn words, please. You don't have a hypothesis, you have an (unfounded) assertion.

[Person012345]

I find it quite simple - Positively believe that god exists? Theist. Not a theist? Atheist.

So, I am not entirely certain that God exist, but I believe that he probably exist, and that he probably thought in French and probably hates Britons and, more generally, hates the English. Am I an Atheist?

If you believe that he exists, no.

[Xeng He]

Learn words, please. You don't have a hypothesis, you have an (unfounded) assertion.

...which is what a hypothesis is, until it's tested.


You learn words.

[Desperate Measures]

I had a huge amount of trouble with this long ago. It's hard to understand when you don't realize that there are differing degrees of atheism.

I find it quite simple - Positively believe that god exists? Theist. Not a theist? Atheist.

I wanted to say, "I don't know if there is a God" and I didn't want to be identified as someone who knows there is no God. That's where the trouble came in. Instead of using the real definition of atheism, I was attached to the common usage and my perception of the word. It's easy to understand now, however.

[Nouvelle-Albion]

So, I am not entirely certain that God exist, but I believe that he probably exist, and that he probably thought in French and probably hates Britons and, more generally, hates the English. Am I an Atheist?

If you believe that he exists, no.

The key word is probably.

[PapaJacky]

It's not an unfounded assertion, a hypothesis only needs to have the ability to be tested (in theory, you can test for the existence of a God, it's just not likely it'll respond in any definitive and repeatable way).

On a side note, we humans need to use the word hypothesis more, so that instead of calling every assertion we make a theory (which is stating a lot), we'd be honest and say that it's a mere hypothesis and is yet to be definitively proven.

[Person012345]

Call me whatever the fuck you want to call me. Ok, if you're so adamant to remain ignorant lets roll with it, I'm an agnostic.

Now, why do you hold your irrational belief in god?

I should note that some universes very different from ours, including--though I'm not exactly certain, I haven't delved into this in detail--ones with gods, exist.

Plus, since when was having a hypothesis irrational?

Believing a hypothesis is irrational. Because a hypothesis is before it's met it's burden of proof (although most hypothesis are based on evidence, religious ones aren't)

And the multiverse is speculation. There's no solid proof that it's even real.

[New England and The Maritimes]

Learn words, please. You don't have a hypothesis, you have an (unfounded) assertion.

...which is what a hypothesis is, until it's tested.


You learn words.

A hypothesis is an intended explanation which is specific and can be proven objectively. Learn words.

[Person012345]

If you believe that he exists, no.

The key word is probably.

That depends on how probably you think it.

Hypotheticals don't work that well, because the question that needs to be asked is "do you actually believe in it". If the answer is yes, then you are a theist. If no, an atheist.

[Demphor]

Because nothing is certain, I believe in God, but I don't believe that there isn't science around us. God plays a role, he just chooses when he wants to, maybe he's sending a clone army of Jesus's to all planets of the Universe.

That would be fucking awesome.

It's my own theory about Gods role in the Universe, I believe in God, I'm a Catholic, but I disagree with my Church when it comes to science, homosexuality and alien lifeforms.

You didn't really answer my question. "Nothing is certain" really doesn't tell me why you believe in god. Do you believe in god because you like the idea of god?

I believe in God because:

a) Every time I pray for something, it happens, not like things that I could easily buy of course, more like simple things like surviving things I'm not sure I would survive or guidance through life changing decisions, in which I end up making the right decision.
b) If I didn't believe in him and it turns out he exists, I would probably end up in hell, therefore that would suck.
c) To totally reject atheism is idiotic, I accept the fact that if I die, I might rot in the ground.

[PapaJacky]

I'm sure you've considered that it probably isn't God that's guiding you and it's more than likely yourself?

[Person012345]

Note that scientists don't "believe hypothesis", that would be unscientific (by my understanding of what a hypothesis is, and it seems to be the definition being used here).

[Norstal]

b) If I didn't believe in him and it turns out he exists, I would probably end up in hell, therefore that would suck.

I'm not sure God is happy that his followers turns him into some kind of betting game. Maybe that's just me.