There is no such thing as Agnosticism. Agnostics do not exist!

by nicolaou 92 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  cyberjesus

  This will never end. Or at least not for a long time, but if the topic keeps coming up more frequently it means that more and more people are questioning and its in the issue is now important.

  Sometimes I just call myself an atheist in front of people just to see their faces, its like a ghost just popped up, they are scared they judge they dont know how to react, and yet I just started wearing a big cross in my chest.

  If I want to be left alone then I wont tell anybody about my beliefs or lack of them. But I feel better sharing my questions and helping other people come up with their own questions. Getting the ball running. being active for the change.

  i dont care what you believe of my beliefs. I care if my thoughts help you analyze yours. and at the same time I keep analyzing mine.

  So I think I am dropping the term Atheism because as was said before I dont want a title on me for the things I lack belief on.

  If I was born in the jungle by myself what would I be? The concept of Theism or atheism would be foreign to me. I wouldnt be none of them.
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  nicolaou

  I'm bumping this in response to Joey Jo Jo's thread. The agnostic debate comes around quite often as once clamped minds start to open which can only be a good thing. In the context of an ex-jw recovering from cult indoctrination though, I feel it's just a cul-de-sac that folks need educating about and steering away from.

  But hey, we're all free to make our own choices right?
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  Joey Jo-Jo

  Thanks nicolaou, I will have some more reading to do. I think it's a healthy discussion provided it does not get heated in childish puns and slurs.
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  NewChapter

  I have a bit of trouble understanding the term agnostic. As an atheist, I believe there is no evidence for a god. If evidence comes along to prove me wrong, I will accept that evidence. It seems an agnostic is a bit more willing to entertain the idea that a god can exist, but it doesn't matter since we really can't know. In which case, evidence is not the number one factor in their decision, since they believe that god can exist without evidence, and maybe we don't have evidence because that god is not interested in revealing itself to us.

  So perhaps the difference is quite subtle. Atheist: no evidence, no god. Agnostic: No evidence, possibly a god chose not to leave any, so we can't know either way.

  I don't know.
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  Joey Jo-Jo

  NewChapter wrote- As an atheist, I believe there is no evidence for a god.

  Does that mean that there is evidence for not believing in a god?
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  NewChapter

  Does that mean that there is evidence for not believing in a god?

  There are so many things to not believe in---we simply believe in what we have evidence for. I don't think we like to get caught up in all the negative belief stuff---for instance, there is no evidence for: unicorns, fairies, trolls, hobbits, etc. Is there evidence for NOT believing? I don't go there. It would be like chasing rainbows, and checking for a pot of gold---a waste of time. So there is no evidence for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow---no one has ever found one. If I want evidence that there is NOT a pot of gold, I would get caught up in searching. I don't need to do that.

  However there is a great deal of evidence for not believing that the God of the bible either does not exist, or if he does, is not who he says he is. As the bible declares this god is love, and then proceeds to tell the deeds of genocide in the past, and plans for genocide in the future---that pretty much debunks the myth that this particular god is love. So it's a relief that he is mythical.
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  nicolaou

  Bumped for EdenOne . .
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  Vidiot

  But... but I'm (mostly) agnostic, and I exist...

  ...don't I?
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  LoveUniHateExams

  There is no such thing as Agnosticism. Agnostics do not exist! - how sure are you about that?
  
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  slimboyfat

  This idea of atheism only appears to deal with a certain kind of God about whom specific claims are made. The kind of God JWs have. I don't think this definition of atheism takes negative theology into account. That God can exist and not-exist, or neither, without being bound by definitions. When I think of God I think of God in these terms, or not in these terms, as the case may be.

  http://religiondispatches.org/way-beyond-atheism-god-does-not-not-exist/
  

  The atheisms of most committed, principled atheists are often not more than mirror images—inversions—of the theisms they negate. In On Interpretation, Aristotle wrote, “Affirmations and their corresponding negations are one in the same knowledge”; therefore, one can discern from many atheisms their corresponding affirmative theologies.

  Turner also writes that, very often, the theisms attacked by atheists are not very interesting; therefore, the atheisms of most committed, principled atheists are not very interesting. Why this is so is not clear; perhaps it is because in many cases theism was abandoned before it was allowed time to develop into something of substance.