what do you believe?

[frank_garrett]

i just wanted to know what the majority of this from believe in.

my way of thinking is like 4 but not compleatly. because i also hate fanatic religious people from all kinds and i love to argue with them and proove that they worng with thier aganda.

because even if there is god i dont believe the people religion is really his way.

[Vizsla]

I would prefer, ‘accept the theory of evolution’ rather than, ‘believe’ in it.
I accept gravity as well. I don't go around worshipping it.

[frank_garrett]

I would prefer, ‘accept the theory of evolution’ rather than, ‘believe’ in it.
I accept gravity as well. I don't go around worshipping it.

by believing i dident meant worshiping it i meant by believing its true.

[cardnals100]

I'm an Atheist and accept evolution.

[Requies]

"In Science I trust". so I'm an atheist...

[Borgoroth]

Where is the option Agnostic? Only option I can relate to is Atheist i believe in evolution theory, but being an agnostic, I neither believe in evolution nor god, I don't believe anything. I accept what seems most likely to be true through reason, logic and scientific experiments, but to believe in evolution is, in my opinion, the same type of mentality that applies for believing in gods.

[Himster]

Where is the option Agnostic? Only option I can relate to is Atheist i believe in evolution theory, but being an agnostic, I neither believe in evolution nor god, I don't believe anything. I accept what seems most likely to be true through reason, logic and scientific experiments, but to believe in evolution is, in my opinion, the same type of mentality that applies for believing in gods.

That makes you an atheist. Theists believe in god/gods(me), atheists are everyone else. Gnostics know there is a god, agnostics(me) are everyone else.

I'm a theist that accepts evolution as currently the best explanation for speciation.

[Borgoroth]

That makes you an atheist. Theists believe in god/gods(me), atheists are everyone else. Gnostics know there is a god, agnostics(me) are everyone else.

I'm a theist that accepts evolution as currently the best explanation for speciation.

I am not an athiest, because I do not reject the possibility that deities can/have/does in some way exist/live/influence life and everything else, an Athiest does. An athiest rejects the very notion of deities (many people that consider themselves atheists don't agree on that point, but then you are not an atheist) and to reject the possibility of deities requires a leap of faith, but most importantly, belief. Belief that theism is wrong/false, for that is what it is, belief, as there is no known way to prove or disprove the theories, you can not claim to know that there are no deities. (however a religous person can make claims unhindered by any laws, rules or science, as it does not apply to a deity. That is enhanced by their belief.) So it seems to me logical that in order to be an atheist, one must have belief, conviction without proof.

The words meaning, according to the dictionary is below if anyone is uncertain what they mean officially. However, words may have a fixed meaning in the dictionary, but words are only what they are made to be, I tend to agree with Bob Marley & The wailers when they sang "We're sick and tired of your ism and skism game". You be you and let me be me is my motto.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

the·ism

  /ˈθiɪzəm/ [thee-iz-uhm]
–noun 1. the belief in one god as the creator and ruler of the universe, without rejection of revelation ( distinguished from deism).

2. belief in the existence of a god or gods ( opposed to atheism).





a·the·ism

  /ˈeɪθiˌɪzəm/ [ey-thee-iz-uhm]
–noun 1. the doctrine or belief that there is no god.

2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

But I do like talking about the topic, it is fascinating and good to understand views that differ greatly from my own.

The reasn I asked for the option of Agnostic, is that I do not agree with theism or atheism, I learn what has been claimed, has it been testet, listen to arguments claiming it to be true , any flaws, search for explanations for it, but most importantly, practical application!. How does it apply to my life, will I benefit from accepting that this claim is accurate enough to help me understand something or perhaps give me an advantage/better life experience, if yes, then I accept that it is accurate enough to life after. For example, I accept evolution in the sence that I recognize it to be highly plausible, but in no way would I claim it to be true. I could write much more as to why I have this opinion about not being able to know for sure, but I have already written much more then I intended, I hope it was not all to confusing.

[Himster]

I am not an athiest, because I do not reject the possibility that deities can/have/does in some way exist/live/influence life and everything else,

That doesn't mean you're a theist.

an Athiest does.

Not neccessarily.

This is a simple language issue thanks to American disctionaries, and english dictionaries that copy them.

I'll explain how these words work using other words: Moral people have morals. Amoral people are everyone else (including immoral people). Gnostic people know a god exists. Agnostics are everyone else. Theists believe in a god/gods. Atheists are everyone else. Biogenesis is the process of life forms producing life forms. Abiogenesis is non-life material producing life forms. Pathy means suffering or feeling. Apathy means a lack of feeling or suffering.

"A" comes from the greek meaning without, it doesn't mean a rejection of all possibilities, as you say.

Anti-theism is the belief that theism is wrong.

Belief that theism is wrong/false, for that is what it is, belief, as there is no known way to prove or disprove the theories, you can not claim to know that there are no deities.

That's called atheistc-gnosticism or explicit-atheism, it's pretty common, but not all atheists are gnostics or anti-theists, most are agnostic-atheists or implicit-atheists.

the·ism

  /ˈθiɪzəm/ [thee-iz-uhm]
–noun 1. the belief in one god as the creator and ruler of the universe, without rejection of revelation ( distinguished from deism).

2. belief in the existence of a god or gods ( opposed to atheism).


a·the·ism

  /ˈeɪθiˌɪzəm/ [ey-thee-iz-uhm]
–noun 1. the doctrine or belief that there is no god.

2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

Both of those definitions are wrong. Theism is not the belief in one god, that is monotheism which is a sub-set of theism. Atheism is a non-belief by definition. Explicit atheism is a belief and anti-theism is a belief, but these are sub-sets of atheism, not atheism as a whole.

[Borgoroth]

First I'd like to apologize for using the terms as I did, I knew that the true definition might be different to the ones I have come to see them as and what most dictionaries explains them as. But set aside the correct names for the described viewpoin, most people go by the easily available dictionaries or heard it from someone in a conversation, am I completely wrong in my explanation/statements/claims?


Question: "Gnostic people know a god exists. Agnostics are everyone else"

A gnostic person is someone who knows, agnostic everyone else (and the opposite would be someone who never knows?)

Not neccessarily.

This is a simple language issue thanks to American disctionaries, and english dictionaries that copy them.

I'll explain how these words work using other words: Moral people have morals. Amoral people are everyone else (including immoral people). Gnostic people know a god exists. Agnostics are everyone else. Theists believe in a god/gods. Atheists are everyone else. Biogenesis is the process of life forms producing life forms. Abiogenesis is non-life material producing life forms. Pathy means suffering or feeling. Apathy means a lack of feeling or suffering.

"A" comes from the greek meaning without, it doesn't mean a rejection of all possibilities, as you say.

Anti-theism is the belief that theism is wrong.

In my country non-believers are majority, I guess I never used any word for them but after reading your post the majority would be Atheists, but if you would ask 100 of them if they consider themselves to be an atheist I think majority would say no, many would be confused because its not really something they think about, and some would say yes.

But, line up 100 people that claims to be an atheist, vast majority will claim there is no deities, with absolute conviction (=belief) and that's what I consder an atheist, eventhough you just told me black on white that I'm dead wrong, it makes more sense to use the term in this way (where I have been, lived and people I've spoken to, can't speak for other places), I suggest that because my impression is that the majority thinks of terms like this in that way, while I recognize that you are correct and do not dispute it, don't get me wrong. Just seems simpler

That's called atheistc-gnosticism or explicit-atheism, it's pretty common, but not all atheists are gnostics or anti-theists, most are agnostic-atheists or implicit-atheists.

Would be very grateful if you could tell me the term for me.

I would describe myself as this: I never claim something to be.. Static, certain, unchangable, 100% accurate. I recognize that regardless of my pesonal opinion and logic I can never fully dismiss anything to be false or true 100% (applied with common sense ofc ) And it is most likely that there exists no deity, the origins of.. Everything is simply beyond our capacaty of understanding (at the moment) Life is objective and can be described as pointless apart from having kids, its origin seems pointless (no special reason for it, it just is)

What term is the accurate for me?

Both of those definitions are wrong. Theism is not the belief in one god, that is monotheism which is a sub-set of theism. Atheism is a non-belief by definition. Explicit atheism is a belief and anti-theism is a belief, but these are sub-sets of atheism, not atheism as a whole.

You are correct, the dictionary I used as source described the terms inaccuratly.


Note, English isn't my native language, so if I used the wrong words sorry, any word hinting that I claim something to be true is jsut me using wrong word I'm to lazy to read it through ^^

[Barry Goldwater]

Christian, though I accept evolution - I prefer 'accept' to 'believe in'. Evolution's not a religion or a deity, you know.

[♔Goodguy1066♔]

Believing in evolution is accepting a fact, believing in Christianity is just being stupid.

I'm not a Christian but at least they mostly have the common decency to repsect others beliefs.

[NotYetRegistered]

Agnostic.

[Vizsla]

I'm not a Christian but at least they mostly have the common decency to repsect others beliefs.

If I criticise religion (with reasoned argument and such), I am deemed to be being intolerant.

If a religious person criticises my beliefs (usually with ad hominems), they are deemed to be defending their beliefs – which happen to contradict mine.
This seems unreasonable.

[boofhead]

If I criticise religion (with reasoned argument and such), I am deemed to be being intolerant.

Not by me. Go for your life. I only take objection to tard statements like ''You are stupid, end of story'', which generally refer precisely to the utterer of the remarks. If anyone has thought out their stance on the matter, and explains it, well how can I call that intolerant? Each man can think what he wants.

[♔Goodguy1066♔]

If I criticise religion (with reasoned argument and such), I am deemed to be being intolerant.

If a religious person criticises my beliefs (usually with ad hominems), they are deemed to be defending their beliefs – which happen to contradict mine.
This seems unreasonable.

When do Christians attack atheism? You said believing in Christianity is stupid, that's pretty intolerant. We have a saying that goes "ish be'emunato yihyeh", which is basically the same as live and let live only about personal beliefs. What do you care if someone believes in God and you don't? And why are they stupid for doing so?

[knight of virtue and valor]

When do Christians attack atheism? You said believing in Christianity is stupid, that's pretty intolerant. We have a saying that goes "ish be'emunato yihyeh", which is basically the same as live and let live only about personal beliefs. What do you care if someone believes in God and you don't? And why are they stupid for doing so?

I totally agree. atheists (or whatever else they wish themselves to be called) deserve not to screamed at of hellfire and damnation or called idiots, so the Christians deserve not to be called malignant names.

[PointOfViewGun]

I'm not a Christian but at least they mostly have the common decency to repsect others beliefs.

Of course this statement is backed with centuries of tolerance of other religions...

[Achilla]

Voted 4, but ideally I'd say: 'most people know what a God probably isn't, but nobody knows what he truly is'. I'm also not sure how being associated with any religion is a necessary step in order to intellectually comprehend an idea of God, something unexplainable, a paradox within a paradox or human imagination, unable to be either proved or disproved in an elegant and sufficient manner.

I don't like to label myself either as atheist, deist, gnostic, agnostic or any other group, I don't feel connection with any of them and I don't stick to beliefs, ideas and concepts which are alien to me, because they feel wrong or don't make much if any sense.

The closest group I'd associate with is a sceptic, going by the line 'I know that I know nothing', as far as rational thinking goes. In terms of subjective feelings, I believe in concepts and ideas, but not intelligent being or matter which has any effect on our lives. It simply is, just like we breath oxygen every day or drink water - it's irrelevant to our existence, as we already exist.

Nevertheless, I don't feel like arguing at the moment with people which claim that no God exists outside religion and that everyone not following an institutionalised agenda is an atheist. We simply have different definitions of what God is, or what God isn't ... on a basic level I'm against ridiculous fable tales of a man in the clouds which has any particular connection with human species, which is a fundamental reason why I dislike most religions.

[Plant]

Evolution is not something you believe in, in the same way you can believe in a god. You shouldn't use the same words for either. And there are more scope for "beliefs" than those that you have listed.