I feel like, if there is a god, they don't take attendance...

Depends on where you live I think. You are in or close to the bible belt. I am on the left coast. Around here, religion isn't much of a topic for discussion, and most of my friends are atheists or agnostics.

LOl, I've been using that argument for a week now. The only problem with the "sitting on the fence concept," is you're either in or out. God won't except half measures.

Not me Agnostic.

Atheism is not the assertion that there are no gods. Atheism is not accepting the proposition that there is a god. If your assert that there are no gods that is anti theism, which is a position I often hold depending on the god claim, but that isn't atheism. Don't adopt a burden of proof unnecessarily.

Lucas20520, you are correct, so I propose we come up with a new name for those who adamantly deny the existence of god, or is there one already.

@Arasmuson God is forgiving, why should you be the one to take him to court for religious discrimination?

@Lucas20520 Dictionary definition of Atheism: "disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods." What is the proportion of those who do not accept the proposition of a god to those that assert there is no god? Can you provide us with the evidence so that we can see that there is a significant difference in the numbers of people who can perceive the difference?

If your position is "there is no god" you are an anti-theist. That definition is correct. Disbelief and lack of belief are the same thing. If you lack belief then you disbelieve. That is atheism. But not believing that a proposition is true is not the same as believing it's false. Atheism is the default position on any god claim. It is not an assertion of knowing there are no gods, it is the assertion that there is no justification to accept the god proposition as true. Belief is a subset of knowledge. Theism and atheism represent what you profess to believe. Gnosticism and agnosticism represent what you profess to know. So you can be in Gnostic theist, an agnostic theist, a gnostic atheist, or an agnostic atheist. Anti-theist is another term for Gnostic atheist. But whatever label you choose it all depends on the claim being put forward. If someone tells me their coffee cup is a god I will believe their coffee cup exist and if they choose to give it the god label then so be it, I believe in that god. That's a silly example but it gets the point across. And lastly, dictionaries are not authorities on what words mean. That is prescriptivist. Dictionaries describe how words are used. And almost every word in the dictionary is going to have multiple usages to it. That is why I find it important to have a thorough understanding of the differences and how they're used in context.

Does my response suffice?

@Arasmuson Perhaps they should choose another God instead of your particular God. One a mite more inclusive for those they want in heaven.

@Treasurehunter

My God?????

Tis confusion!.!. Lol. What you talking bout Treasure?

@Arasmuson God won't accept half measures. Others have concepts of purgatory etc. to make up for deficiencies.

I think I am agnostic perhaps because the thought that there could be a benevolent saving god is appealing but I am not hopeful nor convinced there is one.

@Treasurehunter you're an atheist. Belief is the end point of the mind becoming convinced that a proposition is true or likely true. If you are not convinced that a god actually exists then you are an atheist. Congratulations! Lol

[facebook.com]

I trust Merriam-Websters version.

Definition of atheist
: a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods : one who subscribes to or advocates atheism

@bingst - Hell, even this staunch atheist says we don't know everything there is to know and possibly never will. My not believing in any sort of supernatural presence or force does NOT mean I know there is none. It just means that I don't accept the notion. I remain open for any evidence that may be presented. The fact that there is none yet, does not make me know something.

Now I feel like an outsider.

E echo ViuctoriaNotes' accepeting remarks.

@VictoriaNotes You took my comment far too seriously. I will however answer you seriously, first in response to Walt's comment. Firstly, I'm not an agnostic who is simply not sure, thus I'm an "outsider" on that issue. Secondly, being agnostic puts me in the minority on agnostic.com, which also kind of makes me feel like an outsider. Degrees matter to me because this is not atheist.com. When I first got here, I had certain expectations just from the name of the site, one of which is that I would be among my own kind, but soon felt I was in the minority. Especially since I've felt attacked. There have been times when I felt I didn't fit in on this site at all.

Cool answer...

I heard it in my mind. I thunk it....LOL

@atheist perceived invalid or valid, which is temporary. Things are valid til they aren't, and invalid til they are. Credibility is also an opinion. It can be a strong opinion, but it is just an opinion. It turns out, if you look throughout history, things exist when we think they don't, and us having 'credible evidence' didn't effect whether it existed or not.

@atheist often, what we thought happened in an experiment, turns out not to be true...we assume that the cause of something was one thing, when it was completely another...so you perceived it as one thing, but a completely other thing was happening. And then we discover that the thing we thought was happening now, is way more complex then originally thought....quantum theories are awesome for this...how about that electron? Or the higgs-boson? Or atomic structure? You can decide that because something has been done 100 times by different people that the subject is closed, I look at it as 'that's interesting, wonder what will happen after the millionth time? Or what if what we think is happening isn't really what's happening at all? Could be, could be.'

@atheist good thing 'think tanks' don't work within your parameters...whether something is proven or not, does not hamper it's existence, it only effects how your perceive it to exist. Good thing your perception is only limited to you.

@atheist could be, and your opinion/'credible proof' of god doesn't effect whether god exists or not. Nor does mine. Though, you are effected by 'god' every day....you are even typing on a board that only exists because of 'god'. I guess there is a lot of evidence to say that 'god' exists, but the fun question is in how 'god' exists.

@atheist ahhh, sorry you feel backed into a corner....this would have been the point where the debate moderator would have probably disqualified your argument. You might want to look to why you are frustrated. I would. I had the epiphany that I consider your view point the 'worker bee' view point, which is very necessary. And it doesn't probably help the worker bee to look about and think beyond it's linear methodology. Hey, that rhymed.

@atheist did this last statement have a point to it? I hear you shaking your fists and holding your breath, attempting mild put downs without having any real point. I am sure your 'patience is wearing thin'. But perhaps look inward. But it is good we are both amused. I enjoy the threats, though....not sure how they are supposed to have any effect. It is the 'i'll take my ball and go home' gambit, but you don't have the ball....haha. I think you think your argument is wearing thin (though, I don't think so, I haven't disagreed with your argument, I have just pointed out it's limitations, in my opinion...but maybe your intolerance of opinions is significant in to the argument?) And now back to my 'day job'...which oddly enough, today, actually is a sort of poetry....hehe

@atheist and I consider your opinion the opinion of a a brick layer who cannot see beyond the next brick. Which is great, if you are a brick layer. Too much creativity, and it makes you question why you are laying those bricks. So carry on with your brick laying. It is a very valuable asset to society.

@atheist A question: If you have a theory (or it can be data, if that helps) that is dismissed by 9 out of 10 scientists, how valid is that theory/data? This is a hard one for me to answer, but from your perspective it might be easier.

@atheist and if they haven't come to their conclusions via your required methodology, but are assured of their findings?

@atheist It is a hard question to answer, that is for sure. I loved the cold fusion revelation back in the late 80's early 90's...that was fun. I wonder what value came out of it...I didn't really follow it, much. It was low on my probability scale, and no one else I knew at the time was interested in it either. The paranormal ability claim is fun also, but I remember thinking that what if paranormal (paranormal....by definition doesn't exist, right? Because if it does, there is nothing 'para' about it...hehe) worked like a short in a short in a massive electrical system that is on again/off again at intervals that are difficult to measure to the random factors being effectively variable. It would like saying your brother-in-law that you have never met doesn't exist because you can't prove when he is coming over. Not the best analogy, but a free flow analogy...I type all of my things free flow...

@atheist Sorry about some of the words in that last post...my cat woke up and began attacking my hands...it is his play time...haha