One of the questions on this site when I signed up was if I believe in God or gods, and then it asked for a percentage. I was going to put down 100% no but I saw that 99% was also an option, which I selected. I decided to give up 1% because of a quote in a book by Victor J. Stenger. "This still leaves open the possibility that a god exists who may have created the universe in such a way that did not require any miracles and did not leave any imprint of his intentions." My brain likes that quote but my heart tells me to go with a 100% certainty that there is no God or gods.
Precisely my thoughts as I switched from an initial 100% down a notch to 99%. Not only do I feel comfy with uncertainty, but am an atheist because the idea of gods is just unconvincing.
after messing around with calling himself various labels, including humanist and rationalist, which are fine labels, except he was using them to avoid calling himself an atheist, isaac asimov had this to say:
“I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn't have. Somehow, it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time.”
since 99.999999999 percent is closer to 100 than to 99, my level of certainty, as i suspect from the above asimov's was, is 100. i don't mind rounding up under the circumstances!
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It depends what kind of god you're thinking about, If it's the on who made the Earth in the center of the universe 6.000 years ago, I 100% do not believe in that.
If it's the deistic, non-magic kind who made the universe and then left right after - a percentage pick is hard because there is no information to work with.
I'm not one for labels, but when pressed, I say I am an Agnostic Atheist.
Atheist, because I really don't see, or have seen any emperical evidence showing that one exists. the Agnostic part is that I can't prove it either way.
Oh, but one that I do go by is, Anti-Theist. I despise religion with every fiber of my being.
Human 1: "How do you think the universe came to be?"
Human 2: "Well I know, it was Spiderman who lives in a cave in the center of Mars who spun a web for the entire universe, here's a ton of other stuff I know about it for no discernible reason."
Human 1: "Well there's always a chance..."
Bullshit.
The reason I'm 100% certain is simple, because reality doesn't give a shit what I believe and simple logic dictates that all of the bullshit theists made up is just that.
The only advantage of the 1% option is, should you face a God in the afterlife you can claim that you were only 99% an atheist, so God might make a discount and only condemn you to 99% of eternal suffering. Every little bit helps, right?
100% er here
Unless god likes 100% atheists, which would seem to be its most likely position, if it is that kind of god.
No, it's a matter of actual knowledge tied to belief. I see no evidence for a god, so have no belief, but realize I don't know everything & therefore cannot be absolutely sure from a knowledge standpoint.
I believe what you are experiencing probably has to do with ambiguity surrounding the word "God".
I'm absolutely certain, for instance, 100% knowledge, that a god exists. The pantheist's god definitely exists. The thing is, since it is not a god to me, I remain atheist.
we cannot be "certain" that there is "nothing", but "there might be something" isn't enough for me to go "well, then whatever that something is might be god". unless they can tell me what it is, what it is like, what qualities it possesses, then I can dismiss it as an unknown that is beyond my conjecture.
I feel that if you go 100% and tell believers you are 100% sure of no god existing that you have shifted the burden of proof to yourself. If I am 100% certain there is no god then I am no different that the theist who is 100% certain that there is a god. Now where is the evidence? Neither of you would have any. If I am 99% sure there are no gods I can debunk the Buybull and the Abrahamic god giving what evidence I have that just possibly it is not so. Certainly it is not so just because it is written in a book.
Since there is no scientific evidence of one or many " gods" and still the definition of that word is inconclusive, I can definitely say that in my current existence, there is no god. However, I am always scientific in y thinking which means that if I am presented with evidence of such I will not totally dismiss it out of hand.
I like the perspective that there is uncertainty in everything. Your quote from Victor Strenger is a good example of how it is impossible to be 100% certain. We simply were not 1st person witness. But if I search for the truth it just doesn't make sense. Every single god that man has ever worshipped has been too ignorant of the real nature of the world and universe. How powerful is an idiot God? And gods in general seem like such an anthropomorphic explanation because they don't know the a answer.
So sure I'm not absolutely certain but I'm way closer to 100% than 99% so I will stick to that. It might be an interesting exercise to calculate the actual possibility of a supernatural deity based on empirical evidence.
I wouldn’t say 100% assuring is reasonable though. On any idea we can only be pretty (51-99%) sure but there is always the possibility that you are wrong? Be open to the possibility and be open minded (though not so open minded that your brain falls out). The only people I know who are 100% convinced of something don’t tend to listen to opposing information and often will stay 100% sure in spite of it. Just be careful before espousing such certainty.
There is a vast interval between 99 and 100. Just start putting 9s after the decimal point and you will see what I mean. Maybe somewhere in there you will find a sweet spot that satisfies both head and heart.
My post was really meant to be ironic. I have no belief in God or gods. Victor Stenger's comment was tongue in cheek and to me, basically said that people can believe in a creator if they choose but there's no science behind it. Thanks for your comment!
I, also, went with 99%, & I will change that if any evidence ever comes to light that leads to a conclusion for a 'creator god'. I haven't seen any convincing evidence yet, & no need for a god in the scheme of things. I won't put 100% as I realize I don't "know" everything & can't even know all that I don't know. So, I take the label of an agnostic atheist (along with skeptic, humanist, etc). The Universe is vast & we are still infants just scratching the surface of understanding. I'm willing to be proven wrong in this, but don't see it happening any time soon, if ever.
I don't know whether there is a god or not, so really I should put 50%. I then ask the question "Why would there be a god or gods?". And can find Zero reasons: which takes the answer nearer 100%. Asking the question, "Why wouldn't there be a god or gods?" is a bit like speculating that the moon might be made of green cheese. Even before anyone went there it was highly unlikely. So my answer to the god question is "highly unlikely". Thus, 90% certain there are no gods.
@SeriouslyNobody When there is a total lack of evidence, all that's left is to guess.Which is is what I am doing in this case. Don't you ever do that?
As most skeptics, we arent opposed to the existence of a being that create a galaxy, or a solar system, or even one planet and everything on it. Qe just require that such an extraordinary claim be baked with sufficient evidence.
The question is "what if God came before you and did whatever thing was needed to prove he was God and hes real, what then?".
My answer is simple. "Good for you. Go away".
this shy god is virtually equal to no god as far we can now.
There is no way to know his intentions, or what it/they want.
That is why atheists and agnostics are in day-to-day life equal, this 1% is just a philosophical preciosity without practical applications.
Although I am 100% certain that there is no deity, that is not a statement I'm willing to make. Not because of any uncertainty on my part, but because I also know that it is a question still. It is important to realize that any assertion of such surety must be backed by concrete evidence that is irrefutable. To the best of my knowledge, there is no such evidence and even though there is adequate evidence for me to form an opinion, there is not enough evidence allowing me to make the assertion.
I am an atheist for all practical purposes and a follower of the epistemology of evidentialism where 'evidence' is couched in scientific terms.