Stu playing games against the dictionary again. STU changes his definition of atheism and replaces it with agnosticism. Then he tells you, you have the blinkered views of a Christian. His deceptions are comedic. Note, you have the educated view of a person who uses accepted definitions of language to have a debate. STU changes definitions and refuses to admit to even the most basic statements. Ask him if he has proof there is no God. Instead of admitting a fact any rational being would admit, he plays games with defintions. he has been playing this pathetic game ever since he took of the handle from the real stu. This STU sure acts alike a guy who once went by the handle axeman.
I'm a believer and at times a very devout one at that (monastic training). However to be intellectually honest I must also claim to be agnostic. Oh btw when I do achieve gnosis I won't be sharing it with atheists. Something about pearls and swine comes to mind.
absolute agnosticism is a cop out. You conceding that you are not competent enough to make a rational analysis based on fact. There is no absolute certainty in this world, yet it is safe to make general assumptions based on proven facts. I know there is no big foot, I know there are no wizards and witches or god, because I put my trust in the concept of verifiable evidence.
Actually you don't know either logically or factually that there is "no big foot, no wizards and witches or God"... ...but you sure as heck seem to believe it. Let me guess, you were a true dogmatic believer in your theism before you atheism, right?
Both you and stu appear ignorant of how the word "agnostic" was coined. Agnostic (Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge) was used by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1860 to describe his philosophy which rejects all claims of spiritual or mystical knowledge. note: belief & knowledge are not the same So it's perfectly rational to be agnostic independent of your beliefs.
Dictionary.com (all 3 definitions that appear) atheism 1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God. 2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings. atheism 1. Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods. 2. The doctrine that there is no God or gods. atheism - Denial that there is a God.
It's always fun to watch theists try to get a grasp on atheism. First of all, the dictionary is wrong on atheism. Unsurprising, given the first dictionary was written by a theist. According to dictionary.com, atheism is the opposite of theism. This is illogical. Would the opposite of acceptance be apathy or antipathy? The opposite of theism is not atheism, it is antitheism, a word that should be in dictionary but isn't because the theists want to brand atheism (nonbelief in gods) as the opposite of theism. Atheists don't believe in gods. That doesn't make them anti-god. Does nonbelief in unicorns make you an anti-unicornist? Of course not. Unless you wish to go around breaking all unicorn statuary and burning all books about unicorns, simply not believing in them doesn't mean you're against unicorns. Most likely you don't give a thought about unicorns during a typical day. But if you lived in a world full of mass psychosis where the pro-unicornists tried endlessly to shove their unproven belief in unicorns down your throat, you might get pissed off at unicornism rearing its illogical head virtually everywhere you turned. Atheism is apathy towards the concept of god or gods, just as we are apathetic towards the concept of all beings with extremely doubtful existence. But monotheists almost always regard those who are apathetic towards their god no differently than they regard those who are antipathetic towards their god. What else is new? By the way, while it may be impossible to prove that no gods exist, that 's not the same for disproving a specific god. And theists almost never believe in a generic god or gods, they almost always have very specific god(s) in mind, complete with name(s), history(s), the whole nine yards. Disproving a specific god has a track record of being is rather easy.