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Social sciences → Religions → Atheism
ANSWERS: 6
  • the Otter
    “Religion” is a set of one or more beliefs regarding God. Ergo, actively believing in the nonexistence of God is a religious belief. I thought that the word for this was “atheism,” but many years ago, an atheist friend told me that this is incorrect. She explained that since the prefix a- means "without," atheism is not a belief, but a *lack* of belief. Put simply, atheists do not believe in the nonexistence of God; they only fail to believe in the existence of God. * * * * * Do you agree with my friend? If so, how does atheism differ from agnosticism, and what *do* we call someone who believes in the nonexistence of God?
    1 comment
    • www.bible-reviews.com
      Frankly, I don't understand the difference between, "I don't believe that leprechauns exist" and "I believe that leprechauns don't exist". They seem EXACTLY identical in meaning. Likewise with atheists who attempt to draw that same line. I think it's just semantics.
  • wiseacre
    I think the otter is right with their assessment, where agnostic is affirmation of some god, but a god that can never be defined by any religion, regardless of testaments. Any more, I tell people I am Lutheran agnostic. Screw going to church, I pray at home.
    No comments
  • OrangeDonRump
    ATHEISM is the educated, intelligent conclusion that imaginary god creatures are not real and do not exist. AGNOSTICS don't know what to believe, and do not take a position. Many like to say that they are "still searching for answers."
    No comments
  • PeggyL
    Atheists absolutely do NOT believe in God or in any Gods. Agnostics are not quite so definite about there being NO Gods at all. They just don't know whether a God or some Gods exist.
    No comments
  • www.bible-reviews.com
    The atheist attests: "No deities exist" * * * * The agnostic attests: "As far as I know, no deities exist."
    No comments
  • Victorine
    "Agnostic" means essentially "no knowledge". An agnostic doesn't firmly believe in a god or not. He or she claims not to know whether there is one or not and is keeping options open, more or less. "Atheist" means "no god". Atheists state that there is no objective, empirical evidence for the existence of a god and therefore no reason to believe in one. They do not.
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