Belief versus Knowledge: Class is now in session

[Rick Dawkins]

There's a huge disconnect between real definitions and street definitions for terms like atheist and agnostic. I thought I'd lay the groundwork.

mrgreen Belief:

Theists accept a claim as true.
Atheists are everyone else:
- Weak Atheists are anyone who just lacks belief in claims. Babies are weak atheists, they have no notion of theistic claims
- Strong Atheists actually refute those claims, there's a difference

Example: In criminal cases the verdict is either "guilty" or "not guilty," so if you doubt even a little that the suspect is "guilty" or you think they're innocent, you still have to rule "not guilty." Most people will use the term Agnostic on the street to say that they're not sure what they believe, which brings me to my next point.

stressed Knowledge:

Gnostics think we can know that God exists through personal experience and revelation.
Agnostics think we can't know or prove a particular claim. Agnosticism has nothing to do with what you believe and everything to do with what you think we can know.
Ignostics say we have to define our terms before discussing claims
Apathetic Agnostics don't care if we can or can't know

Example: I refute belief in Thor, but I'm not sure we can prove away his existence entirely so I'm a strong atheist agnostic in terms of Thor. I refute Christianity, I'm not sure we can prove away God's existence yet, and I also say it would be horrible if their claims were real. I'm a strong atheist agnostic, and an anti-theist with regard to the Christian God. talk2hand  

[-GS-Sailor Nemesis]

I'm an anti-theist as well. Theism is what'll destroy this planet some day unless we can somehow beat it out of everyone.  

[Tenth Speed Writer]

-GS-Sailor Nemesis

I'm an anti-theist as well. Theism is what'll destroy this planet some day unless we can somehow beat it out of everyone.

Or unless someone worth their salt can start manipulating it.  

[Rick Dawkins]

I have to say I love Christopher Hitchens, we disagree on some aspects of the Iraq war, but otherwise I agree almost entirely with him on a ton of stuff. I think he's really the one that began to champion the term "anti-theist." I found a talk he did on his book that was pretty good. What a damn good speaker.

Authors@Google: Christopher Hitchens

cheese_whine Here's to you Hitchens, you brilliant and drunk b*****d cheese_whine  

[CaprinaePsi]

Strong atheist agnostic and anti-theist (hey, we should make a club... wait, we already did!).

Sure, I am of the opinion that no one can prove anything about religion except for what is physical and its effects on people, but when it comes to what I believe, I don't believe in s**t. I'll accept that possibility of some kind of "force" (no, not THAT force) "exists" and we can not nor could we ever hope to explain it, but when it comes to the traditional definition/image of a god/goddess, NO.
As George Santayana once said, “My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests.”

As for the anti-theism bit: the time for religion is over, nothing good can come out of its continued existence and anything it does offer (community, emotional help, etc) is offered by a million other groups.  

[Rick Dawkins]

I love Spinoza, and I completely agree with that quote. We may not be able to disprove the existence of A supreme being, but we can rip the Christian god to shreds since they've had over 2000 years to add all kinds of conflicting attributes and ideas to him (because we all know the Christian god is a HE).

Religious societies lead to more teen pregnancies, higher infant mortality rate, higher STD infection rates, higher violent crime rate, etc:
http://moses.creighton.edu/jrs/2005/2005-11.html

Screw it, I'ma post this in a new thread too.  

[Teoka]

Strong atheist and anti-theist right here heart

I know for damn sure that the Abrahamic (Christian/Jewish/Islamic) God isn't real, and neither are the other deities that man has created. Theism will be the downfall of the world, if it already hasn't been.

If only Christopher Hitchens were President...

((I'm working on building my position that there isn't a God PERIOD. If anyone can help me with that, let me know!!))  

[-GS-Sailor Nemesis]

I'm such a strong atheist I make firewine look like thinned water.