tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post1059814757428658552..comments2023-09-25T04:26:51.568-06:00Comments on The Barefoot Bum: Agnostic and/or atheistLarry Hamelinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08788697573946266404noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post-69547973459115284852008-01-22T13:51:00.000-07:002008-01-22T13:51:00.000-07:00It is nice to find other atheists anywhere. I woul...It is nice to find other atheists anywhere. I would consider myself a staunch atheist, as I consider the ideas of 'gods' and the 'supernatural' to be either contradictory, undefined linguistic nonsense, or logically absurd, and in all such cases, impossible.Justinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16430088254087648861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post-49438917130478040492008-01-20T18:59:00.000-07:002008-01-20T18:59:00.000-07:00it is clearly apparent that all gods under various...<I>it is clearly apparent that all gods under various religions are human inventions, and therefore, mere mythology. I'd call that a 'functional atheist.'</I><BR/><BR/>dbb, this is an excellent description of how I feel. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post-17954990340174865152008-01-19T20:26:00.000-07:002008-01-19T20:26:00.000-07:00Strictly agnostic with regards to the very idea of...Strictly agnostic with regards to the very idea of a god. But once I start questioning things I end up strictly agnostic as to the very existence of reality, so strict agnosticism here isn't a very useful position for me.<BR/><BR/>On a more day-to-day level, I'm a weak atheist w.r.t. gods in general, but a strong atheist about all the gods I've been confronted with to date.<BR/><BR/>I like the agnostic-knowledge/atheist-belief distinction. Keeping agnosticism and atheism orthogonal to each other is more expressive than putting them at opposite ends of the scale, as a number of people are inclined to do.<BR/><BR/>(Re-reading the comments above, I appear to be just rephrasing everyone else. Regardless, I'm another data point.)Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06153241381781786537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post-26723167241872381622008-01-18T17:05:00.000-07:002008-01-18T17:05:00.000-07:00The idea of "weak" and "strong" versions of ideas ...The idea of "weak" and "strong" versions of ideas has an impeccable pedigree: the the weak and strong anthropic principles spring immediately to mind.<BR/><BR/>As I mentioned to James, one can have different stances towards different conceptions of God: and since some conceptions of god are mutually exclusive, <I>everyone</I> is a weak atheist towards <I>some</I> gods.<BR/><BR/>A stance of strong agnosticism (presumably impossible or deeply impractical to know) towards Jehovah specifically does not, for instance, seem warranted: We <I>can</I> know whether or not Jehovah exists, and we <I>do</I> know he does not exist.<BR/><BR/>A stance of strong agnosticism seems more warranted towards Deism or Pantheism (the Deity might have signed His work on a solid gold asteroid orbiting a star in the lesser Magellenic cloud), but these kinds of gods, if they were to exist, wouldn't care a whit what we believe, so, absent evidence, why should <I>we</I> care?<BR/><BR/>My general stance is, "Tell me what you mean by God, and I'll tell you precisely why it's bullshit."Larry Hamelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08788697573946266404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post-9335298408188656652008-01-18T14:09:00.000-07:002008-01-18T14:09:00.000-07:00Strong agnostic, de facto weak atheist. I don't li...Strong agnostic, de facto weak atheist. I don't like the term "weak atheist"; it sounds as if there's a lack of character rather than a lack of absolute certainty.<BR/><BR/>I'm a proponent of Arthur C. Clarke's "third law":<BR/>Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. <BR/><BR/>And Michael Shermer's corollary (Shermer’s Last Law):<BR/>Any sufficiently advanced Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence is indistinguishable from God.<BR/><BR/>Actually, I don't think "Extra-Terrestrial" is even necessary. Although it appears <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S42XXU/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk4" REL="nofollow">Gary Numan</A>, along with the Raelians, has already converted.Steelmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09612062887585525213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post-6821259368846020192008-01-18T11:43:00.000-07:002008-01-18T11:43:00.000-07:00BB: See, you beat me to it. I was going to say th...BB: See, you beat me to it. I was going to say that really the question of atheism in the context of this country is really the question: Do you believe specifically in the Christian god? If you don't, you might as well be an atheist, even if you believe in Odin, Thor, and the rest of them, or the denizens of Olympus. Functionally speaking, in today's USA, either you believe in Jehovah and Jesus or you are an atheist (as far as the fundies are concerned). <BR/><BR/>Which means you need another item on the list, which is, regardless of whether you know whether or not (or can know) some generic "god" exists, it is clearly apparent that all gods under various religions are human inventions, and therefore, mere mythology. I'd call that a 'functional atheist.'DBBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17805375811782552873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post-59775181746253885692008-01-18T11:30:00.000-07:002008-01-18T11:30:00.000-07:00Keep in mind that one can have different attitudes...Keep in mind that one can have different attitudes towards different conceptions of "god".<BR/><BR/>It does seem possible and practical to know whether specifically Jehovah, the character depicted in the Christian Bible, actually exists, and therefore to know that no such character actually exists in reality.Larry Hamelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08788697573946266404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post-42235341358084906562008-01-18T11:24:00.000-07:002008-01-18T11:24:00.000-07:001: It is impossible to know "a god exists" or "no ...<I>1: It is impossible to know "a god exists" or "no god exists"</I><BR/><BR/>I'd say this is where I fall. I also contend that, given this, theism and inquiry into the existence of a god or gods is irresponsible to the point of fecklessness. We cannot know. To act as if we can or should feel so is a profound act of moral sloth.James F. Elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747033407956667363noreply@blogger.com