never say never
 

If I never say never does this make me an agnostic. At this point in time I dont beleive in god. but if some point in the future god would make himself known to me than my opinion may change. what once was not a fact becomes a fact therefore it becomes real.

Re: never say never
 

Being an atheist doesn't mean you wouldn't accept it if God made himself unquestionably known. It means that you don't believe that will ever happen because God doesn't exist.

Re: never say never
 

so does that make me an atheist? i just never know what to put in the space that says religon. i usually just put none.

Re: never say never
 

If you don't believe in God, you are an atheist. But, if that makes you uncomfortable, you won't go to hell if you decide to put down agnostic (there is no hell). [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

None is fine too. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: never say never
 

An agnostic is a person who answers the question "does god exist?" with "I don't know".

There are two basic reasons for saying "I don't know":

1) because it's impossible to know (strong agnostic)
2) because I don't know right now but might in the future (weak agnostic)

An atheist is a person who answers the question "do you believe in god?" with the answer "no".

There are two basic reasons for saying "no":

1) because god does not exist (strong atheism)
2) because I don't actively believe in any god (weak atheism)

One can an agnostic and an atheist at the same time.

Re: never say never
 

It is possible to change your beliefs. Seems pretty basic. You can be an atheist now, change your mind later and become a theist.

Re: never say never
 

[ QUOTE ]
At this point in time I dont beleive in god. but if some point in the future god would make himself known to me than my opinion may change.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a fertile enough imagination, yet I've never came up with a situation that would convince me that the xtrian god exists. In a nutshell, I'd say I think along Hume's lines in that regard.

luckyme

Re: never say never
 

There are two types of atheists, in my opinion and experience.

There is the Metaphysical atheist, who is concerned mostly about the existence of god/s. "There is no god."

Then there is the Epistemological atheist (myself) who is concerned more about knowledge and belief of god/s. "I don't believe in god."

Consider this hypothetical, (which also happens to be the Christian concept):
God exists but human knowledge of god does not exist. In order to be a theist, one must have faith/ belief in god without actual knowledge.

Problem: how does one muster up belief in something they have knowledge about? Think about it. Can you have faith in a table or chair? No, you just believe it exists. Would the most rational argument dissuade you of your belief in a table? No (unless you're sickly and nutso like Descartes, but that's another story...)

What about something non-tangible...love? Can you have faith in love? Sure. But don't you also have knowledge of it? From mommy or from a lover. Consider people who don't have some knowledge of love. They don't have faith in it, do they?

So, how can you have faith in someting you have no knowledge of? Or rather, how can you not have faith in something you do have knowledge of? It simply comes down to whether or not you have faith. Either you do or you don't. And you know the answer. You can't create something from nothing.

So give yourself a break. You're an atheist until proven otherwise. What passes as proof is up to you. But, give yourself credit, you'll know, just as you know about other things you believe in, such as tables and love.

Re: never say never
 

The biggest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

Re: never say never
 

Why did God do the same thing?