Anonymous asked:
How can you be agnostic and atheist? Agnostics don’t know whether there is a God or not. Calling yourself an atheist cancels that out
Hi there, fair question.
"Atheists are 100% sure no gods exist and agnostics are on the fence" is a common misconception.
You see, Agnosticism and atheism aren't mutually exclusive.
Gnosticism and agnosticism has to do with knowledge (gnosis) whereas atheism and theism have to do with belief:
The only position out of the four that doesn't have a burden of proof is agnostic atheism, since the position isn't claiming anything, it's just the neutral* position.
So if you come across a gnostic atheist (they're rarer but do exist) then you can absolutely hold their feet to the proverbial fire regarding their beliefs since they're making a claim.
It's also worth pointing out that you can be, say, agnostic atheist in general but gnostic regarding a specific deity or deities. This is the case with me regarding the Abrahamic god described in the Bible, for example. Why am I sure I KNOW it's not real?
Because a triomni god breaks basic rules of logic, as demonstrated by The Problem of Evil, or Epicurus' Trilemma:
“If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful. If God is not aware of evil taking place he is not all-knowing. If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good. If God knows evil is taking place and is willing and able to prevent evil then why does evil exist?"
Or, in meme form:
* This is due to something in epistemology (the study of knowledge) called the Null Hypothesis, which in turn is a fancy term for the concept that not believing things until they're proven to be true or likely true is the default for everyone (though what is considered good evidence for belief will vary from person to person).
atheostic reblogged
“We are all atheists when it comes to other people’s gods”
(Literally, “We are all atheists with the gods of others”)
ATEA is short for the Brazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics (Associação Brasileira de Ateus e Agnósticos)
"I have a great love and respect for religion, great love and respect for atheism. What I hate is agnosticism, people who do not choose."
Orson Welles
Orson, buddy, this may quite possibly be the first ever quote of yours I don’t agree with.
And mainly because you don’t seem to understand that agnostic and atheist are not mutually exclusive terms (or agnostic and theist, for that matter!)
That’s okay, it’s a common enough misconception. I still love you.
atheostic reblogged
“As to the gods, I have no means of knowing either that they exist or do not exist.”
— Protagoras (c. 450 BCE, quoted in Plato’s “Theaetetus” c. 369 BCE
Agnosticism in a nutshell.
Indeed. Protagoras phrases it nicely.
My addition to his quote, which would likely turn it into agnostic atheism, is that since we have no means of knowing whether the gods are real there is no practical difference between gods that exist and gods that don’t until such time as the gods prove themselves to exist.
What such evidence would entail I do not know, but as gods, they should (unless they are not omniscient gods, such as the Greek gods, but in either case, the burden of proof is on them and that’s their problem, not mine/ours).
“We are all atheists when it comes to other people’s gods”
(Literally, “We are all atheists with the gods of others”)
ATEA is short for the Brazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics (Associação Brasileira de Ateus e Agnósticos)
#atheism#brazil#atheist society#agnosticism#agnostic#atheist#religion#zeus#greek mythology#greek gods#jesus christ#christian mythology#muslim mythology#shiva#hindu mythology#thor#scandinavian mythology#norse mythology#aset#egyptian mythology#isis#abrahamic religions#viking mythology#quotable quotes#quote of the day
If it is to be established that there is a God, then we have to have good grounds for believing that this is indeed so.
Until and unless some such grounds are produced we have literally no reason at all for believing; and in that situation, the only reasonable posture must be that of either the negative atheist or the agnostic.