i dont really "want" it. unless i am being asked to believe. people ask why i reject their beliefs, and i simply tell them there is no evidence. they dont seem to underrstand that i can reject their gods the way they reject roman gods. they wouldnt ask anyone to show why those gods are ludicrous. nobody asks me for proof those gods dont exist. yes and a basic understanding of human brain function shows why this is to be expected and common. again i point out that i seek these answers in the same sense that others seek answers about native american rain dances or faith healing or tarot. there just isnt anything there. nothing to examine. no evidence. nope. they have no clue. how could they possibly know that they are seeing a spirit? but given the big picture and a understanding of human nature, you are aware that people are apt to believe crazy things that are not true. they have, always. so you are left back where you started, with no evidence. how am i to know the difference betwen person X who claims they know jesus, and person Y who claims they know allah, and person Z who claims they know martians? i cant. all claims without evidence are equal. (i could of course find real evidence of the cause of a headache)
you really dont want it? you seem more obsessed about other's belief in god than themselves. yes because you understand this basic brain function about as well as you do spirituality. one doesnt exclude the other anyhow. maybe there is for them much the same way they know they are happy or sad. you can tell them otherwise but it doesnt make it so. the other things have nothing to do with them. maybe they feel it the same way they have intuition. its abstract. indescribable. something you havent experienced, like an orgasm. until you experience it, theres no way to explain it. still doesnt dismiss anyone personally. their experiences are their experiences. your comprehension of it is irrelevant. whoever you choose to believe is also irrelevant. you shouldnt care what anyone believes regarding this.
Martin, you are confusing athiesm with agnosticism. Athiest uncategorically do not believe in the existence of a supreme being. Agnostics claim there is no proof either way and seem to be more open to the possibility of a supreme being than are athiests. Agnostics hold that that the existence of God is probably unknowable and are not commtted either way to believing or not believing in God. Athiests clearly reject the idea of a supreme being.
Labeling your beliefs is not important. Just make it clear "you don't believe" or "you don't know". Seems pretty easy. Leave religion out of it. Religion is the bane of all of society. Always has been, Always will be. As for me, "I don't know". Give me some proof. I know if there is a God looking down at us, he doesn't much care what we do. Just look around, it's obvious. And don't give me that "spiritual" crap. I can get the spirit at the next concert I attend. Miracles are written about, never proven. It's just a way to control the masses and get little kids to strap TNT across their body and blow up other people.
MESSAGE! Your concept of my concept of God is childish. I don't believe God is an old bearded man sitting on a throne in the clouds looking down on me waiting to answer my prayers. My main plea is those who need proof continue to be critical thinkers, but instead of dismissing religion, parse it for relevence. Get over your prejudices about what you assume spiritual words like "God" mean and try to find a deeper meaning in there. At the very least, don't assume all of us who feel a connection to God aren't critical thinkers who have a childish vision of what it means to be alive.
Webster's Third New International Dictionary: Agnosticism: 1a~The doctrine that the existence of any ultimate reality is unknown and probably unknowable or that any knowledge about matters of ultimate concern is impossible or improbable. b. a doctrine affirming that the existence of a god is possible but denying that there are any sufficient reasons for holding either that he does or does not exist. Atheism: 1a~a disbelief in the existence of God or any other diety. b. the doctrine that there is neither God nor any other diety.
i want real god to be real the way you want the myths to be real. there is nothing there for me to nbe concerned with. i am more fascinted with why everyone else is so desperate to lie to themselves. Originally Posted by Bengal Buddy Agnostics claim there is no proof either way right. one thing i think we forget is that just because we do not know either way, that doesnt mean there is an equal chance of each possibility. like the world might blow up tomorrow, or it might not. i dunno either way. but i am not going to pretend there is any evidence whatsoever for the blowing up theory. and again, if i asked you if the world is going to blow up tomorrow, you would say definitely not. but technically you couldnt be definite. and this is the technicality that people that do not understand atheism exploit. constantly.
why would anyone bother defining themselves by what they know for sure? nobody knows anything. that is a given. we are defining ourselves by what we believe. and there is no reason to believe. so the question for human is this: are you willing to be honest that you know nothing, that there is no evidence, that any assertion on your part is made up and has no truth value. given an honest rational person, there is one choice, to admit ignorance about the big questions. and that means no belief in anything crazy. and that means atheism. case clizzozed.
