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I have to disagree... agnosticism requires no faith.
Agnosticism allows for faith while atheism doesn't.
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Atheism demands that you believe that there is no possibility of a god or higher power.
Not at all. What you are thinking of is what's come to be known as militant atheism which does well beyond what atheism actually means. Atheism is the lack of positive theistic beliefs. That's it.
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That requires faith, by my definition of faith.
Militant atheism certainly requires faith in something for which there is no evidence. I'm certainly not a militant atheist.
Agnosticism allows for faith while atheism doesn't.
Not at all. What you are thinking of is what's come to be known as militant atheism which does well beyond what atheism actually means. Atheism is the lack of positive theistic beliefs. That's it.
Militant atheism certainly requires faith in something for which there is no evidence. I'm certainly not a militant atheist.
Then what is the difference between agnostic, who says that there's no way to tell either way, and an atheist that simply doesn't believe there is a higher power?
Then what is the difference between agnostic, who says that there's no way to tell either way, and an atheist that simply doesn't believe there is a higher power?
The agnostic may still believe. The atheist doesn't believe. The terms can overlap.
The agnostic may still believe. The atheist doesn't believe. The terms can overlap.
This is incorrect. If you believe in a god or spiritual power or whatever, you are not an agnostic, you are a theist of some sort. Agnosticism is uncertainty. If you believe in a god, then you have certainty and you have theism.
I also disagree with the statement that atheists have faith. They come to the conclusion with certainty that there is no god based on the complete lack of evidence for one. That is not faith, that is a logical conclusion. Faith is a belief in something without any evidence for it existing. Once you introduce hard evidence, then it is evidence-based and not faith.
All the theists who claim they have evidence all around do not in fact have any evidence at all since everything they claim to be evidence has a rational, non-supernatural explanation for it. Just because they choose to interpret something thru a filter of faith that there is a supernatural explanation does not change this fact.
Agnostics look at the lack of any evidence for a god and do not believe in a deity but still allow that there could be things we do not yet know and that a god could possibly exist outside the realm of known facts. That is a far cry from belief in a god.
I also disagree with the statement that atheists have faith. They come to the conclusion with certainty that there is no god based on the complete lack of evidence for one. That is not faith, that is a logical conclusion. Faith is a belief in something without any evidence for it existing. Once you introduce hard evidence, then it is evidence-based and not faith.
I disagree with this statement. There is not enough scientific evidence to base any claim, be there a god or no god. It's not a logical conclusion to think that it's in no way possible that our universe was created... no matter how small that possibility may be. To me that is faith to put yourself on either side.
This is incorrect. If you believe in a god or spiritual power or whatever, you are not an agnostic, you are a theist of some sort. Agnosticism is uncertainty.
An agnostic questions his knowledge and recognizes that he doesn't have evidence but doesn't necessarily disbelieve. An agnostic may consider that whether there is a God is unknowable but may still believe for whatever reason.
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If you believe in a god, then you have certainty and you have theism.
Not necessarily. You can believe in something while acknowledging that ultimately you don't really know whether what you believe in truly exists.
I disagree with this statement. There is not enough scientific evidence to base any claim, be there a god or no god. It's not a logical conclusion to think that it's in no way possible that our universe was created... no matter how small that possibility may be. To me that is faith to put yourself on either side.
If you begin to consider "however small that possibility may be" as a litmus test for the presence of faith then you must consider that you have faith regarding invisible unicorns, flying spaghetti monsters, etc. We certainly don't have proof that they exist but somewhere somehow they may exist.
Agnosticism allows for faith while atheism doesn't.
Not at all. What you are thinking of is what's come to be known as militant atheism which does well beyond what atheism actually means. Atheism is the lack of positive theistic beliefs. That's it.
Militant atheism certainly requires faith in something for which there is no evidence. I'm certainly not a militant atheist.
IMO Militant atheism is a practice of actively campaigning for atheism and forcing down other religions and any religious practices. That's opposed to the passive atheist who neither toots his own horn or puts down other religions unless in a debate.
IMO Militant atheism is a practice of actively campaigning for atheism and forcing down other religions and any religious practices. That's opposed to the passive atheist who neither toots his own horn or puts down other religions unless in a debate.
Does this mean that everyone who is not passive about their Christianity and whether others should consider it is a militant Christian?
If you feel the need to shove your religion (whatever religion that might be) in others face, then your a militant person. If you go to peoples homes uninvited to shove it in their face, your militant. If you comandeer conversations and push your religious talk into the conversation, then your militant.
All it does to people like me, is makes me STAY AWAY.
You guys would be alot MORE of an influence if you just lived what you supposedly believe.
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