Showing posts with label atheist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label atheist. Show all posts

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Conversation On Agnosticism vs Atheism

OU812 wrote:
It staggers the mind, if you think about it, that so, so many of our 'enlightened, intellectual' class pass by the label of Agnostic in order to proudly label themselves Atheists. Why not be content with being Agnostic if you, as an intellectual, cannot prove any conclusive position on this point? It seems calling yourself an Atheist is a cheap and easy way to secure an appreciation of your intellect - in certain circles, anyway. I am not using this as a means of starting a theological debate, but to me, the lack of consistency exemplifies, so blatantly, human failings. Would any Atheist 'intellectual' conclude that there is no life on other planets simply because there is no proof that there is?
Gnosticism deals merely with knowledge, not belief. That's where theism comes in. Everyone is agnostic, since NO ONE knows for sure. Saying you're 'agnostic' is a nonsense statement in a sense since it says nothing about what you believe. Even the most religious person on earth is agnostic, no matter what they say. So when someone asks if you believe in god(s) if you're one of those people who shrugs their shoulders and thinks "I dunno" that's not what they asked.

The right answer (and this is where people start getting annoyed and whatnot but it's just true) is that you don't currently hold a positive belief in god, aka you're an agnostic atheist. If you think 'I dunno' when someone asks if you believe in god you're definitely not a theist......which makes you an atheist. There's no third middle option. That middle option people think of is actually the answer to a separate question (do you KNOW a god exists).

Theism= belief in a god.
Prefix 'a' denotes the lack of something.
A-theism= the lack of a belief in god.

Gnosticism= knowledge of god's existence.
Prefix 'a' denotes the lack of something.
A-gnosticism= the lack of knowledge of god's existence.

Two different things. It's not agnostic or atheist; those are two different answers to two different questions. I am an agnostic atheist.

OU812 wrote:
That may be accurate in a literal sense, but i don't think most people, particularly those in the public eye who voice their opinion on the matter, go any further into the definitions of atheist, agnostic and believer/theist than as I had originally argued. That would certainly make sense since I believe those in the forefront of politics and popular culture, the opinions I am hearing and evaluating, are the pseudo-intellectuals Sowell so elegantly swipes at in his books.
You, Sowell, and those like you are all making the same mistake. Let me quote you to show you what I am talking about:

OU812 wrote:
Now both believers and non-believers require the same level of proof to come to their conclusions -- none. It is the Atheist, however, who claims the intellectual high ground for his position, ridiculing those who disagree.
The problem with this is that the burden of proof is always on those making a claim. The axiomatically correct stance in any case of the asserted existence of some thing is the null hypothesis until proven otherwise. This position should only be changed to belief/acceptance of the claim when sufficient evidence is given to them by those making said claim. So, in the case of the existence of a god, the human who says "hey, a god exists" to a second human, or a group of humans, must then prove that this is true. Much like the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court case, the god believer must demonstrate to the people he is preaching that the god in question exists and he must do beyond all measure of reasonable doubt. If they fail to do this, the 'atheist' is holding the correct position- that of disbelief. He need not defend this disbelief nor is it correct to accuse him of holding a faith based position. It is in fact the philosophically correct one.

Sowell is wrong and imo, he just gets off on writing off the atheists as angsty pseudointellectuals. It's lazy.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Moderate Muslims Don't Like Being Lumped In with Extremists? Well, Differentiate Yourselves!!

NOTE: This is an old entry that was sitting in my drafts and I decided to upload it as it reflects the state of mind I was in at a specific time in my life. Glancing over it, I guess it must have been during the Danish cartoonist controversy. Edit: No, the South Park controversy. 

So, in this blog I am going to be frank. I find myself harboring quite the distaste for Islam as of late, and I feel as though my opinions of it are becoming biased to an unfair degree. Now, I do, 100% acknowledge that the vocal majority is actually a minority, but damn it, I'm not hearing too many voices from the moderate camp coming up to try and join the conversation. I mean, it might be tough to hear them over the explosions, but the-

See?

That's not nice.

Or isn't it? It's fucking true, is it not?

See?

This is what I mean.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Judge: A Muslim Has The Right to Attack an 'Offensive' Atheist


Martin further dressed down Perce for his insensitive behavior, going so far as to call him a doofus and telling him that in Muslim societies he could have been put to death for mocking Muhammad.
“Having had the benefit of having spent over 2 and a half years in predominantly Muslim countries I think I know a little bit about the faith of Islam,” Martin said. “In fact I have a copy of the Koran here and I challenge you sir to show me where it says in the Koran that Mohammad arose and walked among the dead. I think you misinterpreted things. Before you start mocking someone else’s religion you may want to find out a little bit more about it. It makes you look like a doofus… In many Arabic speaking countries something like this is definitely against the law there. In their society in fact it can be punishable by death and it frequently is in their society.”
Sgt. Brian Curtis handled the incident aftermath. Curtis explained that Elbayomy admitted to grabbing Perce that October night.

Is this any different than a judge telling a woman that she was "asking for it" due to her chosen manner of dress?

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Myth: Albert Einstein Believed in God

Claim: Albert Einstein Believed in God

I see this claim being propagated by some in the religious community (including, surprise, surprise, my old friend Ray Comfort). It's quite popular amongst apologists, especially ones of the Christian persuasion. It's also one that could so easily be discovered to be false by these people if they did 5 minutes of homework, assuming of course they don't already know and are just lying to lend some credence to their cause (not that it actually would, but appeals to authority are very popular amongst the religious crowd).

So, what's the real story?

Thursday, July 21, 2011

My Own Religion- An Atheist Creates His Own Religion

My Own Religion- An Atheist Creates His Own Religion

So, if an atheist were to start a religion, what would this religion be like?

This is a question I have been thinking about on and off for some time. Sure, this wouldn't ever really happen, as a religion without a god is not a religion, but it's an interesting thought experiment that I think brings up some valid points and demonstrates how lacking the existing religions really are (not that there are not good ideas contained within; there are). So, what would my religion be like, exactly, if I were to create one?

Let's find out!

Friday, June 17, 2011

1984 Becoming a Reality?

Okay, I freely admit that the title of this post was purposely sensationalistic, but in all seriousness, is America becoming more and more Orwellian as time goes on, or am I crazy? Let's examine a couple of news stories:

Monday, May 23, 2011

Are Outspoken Atheists Fundamentalist? What about Militant?

“Atheists are as fundamentalist as those they rally against!” “Militant atheism on the rise.” Sentiments like these are heard on a daily basis now, in response to the “rise of the new atheism,” a concept I have some issue with, but will let fall by the wayside for the purpose of this particular post. So what do these words mean, and does their usage as applied to atheists constitute a fair charge, or are they charges falsely levied?

Let's find out, shall we? We'll start with fundamentalist atheism.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Ask an Atheist Project: PseudoEsteem (Pseudo on This Blog)

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "PseudoEsteem" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to PseudoEsteem`s Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs;  Psuedo is also an author here on The Thoughtful Gamers).

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to PseudoEsteem  for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks. (For now, though, you can have a link to my (magx01's) entry (hey, I started the damn thing!)

Monday, April 18, 2011

Ask an Atheist Project: Crescent

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "Crescent" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to Crescent`s Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs, which are usually either rants, animé reviews, or rants about animé :)

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to Crescent  for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks. (For now, though, you can have a link to my (magx01's) entry (hey, I started the damn thing!)

Ask an Atheist Project: Rick

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "Rick" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to Rick`s Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs.

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to Rick  for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks. (For now, though, you can have a link to my (magx01's) entry (hey, I started the damn thing!)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Ask an Atheist Project: Venomous

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "Venomous" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to Venomous' Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs and his fantastic game reviews (he's a professional (magazine) game reviewer).

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to Venomous  for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks. (For now, though, you can have a link to my (magx01's) entry (hey, I started the damn thing!)

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Ask an Atheist Project: PaladinSkyeGodEatr

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "PaladinSkyeGodEatr" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to Paladin's Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs, such as his blog about Homeopathy, or his examination of Pantheism (a blog on which I believe you still owe me a comment, buddy ol' pal!) both of which i enjoyed).

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to Paladin for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks.

Friday, March 11, 2011

9 Reasons Why We Don't Believe in Religion

Here are a collection of 9 reasons to help the religious understand why we don't buy into their belief systems. This is neither all encompassing nor to be taken as some finalized mission statement. I wouldn't consider this the most compelling list I could write, but it hits a fair number of things and does a few of them decently.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Atheism: Revelation!

Note: This is an old forum post that I made many months ago as a follow up to the previous blog detailing my 'story' in terms of my atheism.

I....had an experience this morning. I have been wrong my whole life............

Friday, March 4, 2011

Atheism: My Story

In this blog I will share with you my story. Why I am an atheist (although the answer is rather simple), how those around me handle(d) it, and the beliefs of those I associate with. I will frame it as an interview (why....I dunno). So, let's begin, shall we?

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Religious Antagonist: God vs. $20 Debate

An interesting discussion is taking place over at the Atheist Experience blog. The discussion centers around the following video, entitled God vs. $20, in which this guy named Mike, who brands himself "The Religious Antagonist," offers $20 to a destitute family (who is panhandling in a Wal Mart parking lot) to cross the word 'god' off of their sign (it read 'God Bless You' at the bottom of it):



Debating Religion with Theists: Pointless? (Short Post)

CLAIM:

Arguing with theists about religion is pointless. It never goes anywhere, and accomplishes nothing. 'Tis futile and a big waste of time!

RESPONSE:

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Woman Whipped In Public For Wearing Trousers. Get Ready to Get PISSED OFF

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Atheist Ministers Struggle With Leading the Faithful

Atheist Ministers Struggle With Leading the Faithful
Two Active Ministers Say They No Longer Believe in God but No One Knows

From abcnews.com.
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/atheist-ministers-leading-faithful/story?id=12004359

Monday, November 8, 2010

Eternal Torment and a Just God

As you read this blog, please keep in mind that while this does not take into account the idea/doctrine of repentance, it's not relevant here, so please ignore that and focus on the people that DO end up in hell. Including nonbelievers, which, according to the bible, commited the only unforgiveable sin (nonbelief). Also, this is only directed at the subset of christians who believe in eternal hellfire. Those who prettied up their theology need not apply.

So, allow me to ask you a series of questions: