mkmyers45: Well although many won't admit it so many atheists on here are actually agnostics so i will like to throw this question out to everyone...What are the features/characteristics/nature/personality you are looking out for in a God?

Okija_juju:



Sort of like what Alusi Okija is..

1. A physical Presence that can be felt, percieved, seen and heard.. None of that spiritual bullshit!

2. An egalitarian God. One that considers all men equal and treats them the same. No hierachy's nothing!! All men equal, answerable to only him.

3. A God of instant justice.. The sould that sins should die. Not wait for some phantom heavenly court appearance.. Straight out drop dead.

mkmyers45: Well although many won't admit it so many atheists on here are actually agnostics so i will like to throw this question out to everyone...What are the features/characteristics/nature/personality you are looking out for in a God?

jayriginal:
As LogicBoy jokingly put it, an agnostic is an atheist without b[i]a[/i]lls.

Purist:

Although I do realize that this is meant to be a joke, I hope you also realize that it is grossly misleading.

jayriginal:

Clarify please.

jayriginal:

An agnostic is an atheist.

An agnostic does not believe in god.

As LogicBoy jokingly put it, an agnostic is an atheist without b[i]a[/i]lls.

obadiah777: what the heck is an agnostic atheist ?

Purist:

The fact that one is unsure does not mean they don't have balls. I believe that agnosticism is a very intellectually honest position. You don't know, you don't pretend to know, and sometimes, you just don't care. Simple as that. Nothing to do with balls.

mkmyers45:

I have to strongly disagree strongly with you... Agnosticism can also infer that someone is not ready to choose sides on the God subject doesn't necessarily make them a coward..

jayriginal:

Well, it depends on how you look at it. Being unsure of whether there is a god or not still makes you an atheist as it means you dont believe. Thats really what is important ; whether you believe or not.

Its not to say that there is anything "dishonest" about calling oneself an agnostic.

If you accept that an agnostic does not believe in god, then you accept an agnostic is an atheist. Afterall, you cannot believe in something you are unsure about (or can you).

Now about the balls part, atheism comes with many negative connotations in the eyes of the religious and so one might take the softer option and declare oneself to be an agnostic since it seems to be less offensive than atheism (generally).

Declaring oneself an agnostic may be due also to a genuine misunderstanding of what atheism is (very common) and not a lack of balls.

However, the way I read that quote of LogicBoy, I understood it to mean that an agnostic is an atheist who wishes to avoid the repercussions that come with declaring oneself an atheist.

Purist:

Agnostic atheism, also called atheistic agnosticism, is a philosophical position that encompasses both atheism and agnosticism. Agnostic atheists are atheistic because they do not hold a belief in the existence of any deity and agnostic because they claim that the existence of a deity is either unknowable in principle or currently unknown in fact.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_atheism

Russell's teapot typifies this position quite well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_teapot

Purist:

Well, there's a reason why there's that distinction in the first place. While I agree with you that some agnostics may label themselves so to avoid the unpleasant tag of atheism in the eyes of the religious, the fact still remains that there is a distinction between both positions to begin with - that certainty/uncertainty aspect. The typical atheist is cöck-sure that there is no god of any kind anywhere. The agnostic on the other hand, either thinks that there is a possibility, however slight, of there being a deity; or that such knowledge is currently beyond us - basically, we're not yet "smart" enough to know whether there really are gods or not.

"Afterall, you cannot believe in something you are unsure about (or can you)." - Well, you cannot disbelieve in something you are unsure about either (or can you?)

jayriginal:

Your bolded is wrong and that is a major source of confusion on this issue. There is no "typical" atheist. An atheist is one who does not believe in god, not one who believes there is no god. Indeed, there are atheists who believe there is no god but that is not what qualifies them as atheists.

jayriginal:
As for your coloured, it is not necessary.
All you need to answer is the question: does an agnostic believe in god ?

If your answer is no, he/she is an atheist.
If your answer is yes, then an agnostic can not possibly be an atheist.

You may feel free to answer "An agnostic does not believe in god but does not disbelieve either", however only the first half of the reply is relevant to determine whether or not the person is an atheist.

jayriginal:
I seem to recall having this discussion with you a while back.

Purist:

It's not wrong. Positive atheism, Strong atheism, Explicit atheism. Do those terms sound familiar? There, you have the "typical atheist" I refer to.

There's this atheist page I subscribed to on Facebook and they once made a poll asking their followers to vote on a scale of 1 - 10 how "atheistic" they are: 1 being very religious and absolutely believing just about everything their religion says literally. And 10 being completely atheistic -- completely convinced that gods of any kind do not and cannot possibly exist, leaving absolutely no room for doubt. It may surprise you to know that Option 10 got the highest vote.

Callotti: For starters:

Free from arrogance and sadistic megalomania.
One who can have his own children without borrowing the phallus of a "Holy Ghost"!
One who can phock without getting jealous of Adam and Eve!
One in my own image and likeness, with a FREE WILL.
Not a Chistian God or a Muslm Allah.

mkmyers45:

where have you been? Your oga dey hide you ni?

Callotti:

The man dey hide me with lovuuuuuuu!!!! Too much loooooovuuuuuuu and kisssssses and errrrrrrm. . . .
Was just waiting for "trolls" to be dealt with. Now, I can read a lot of 'hidden posts'. Mu he he he he he heeeeh!!!!!


Nice topic!

mkmyers45:

Thanks...You don come abi you go soon leave us

jayriginal:

An agnostic is an atheist.

An agnostic does not believe in god.

As LogicBoy jokingly put it, an agnostic is an atheist without b[i]a[/i]lls.

Delafruita:

an atheist does not believe there is any deity.he doesnt believe in any god or the idea that a god exists.

an agnostic on the other hand doesnt completely rule out the idea of a god.he just doesnt accept any of the religions around him and the god they preach.

many a time,agnostics dont accept some theories put forward by atheists such as the theory of evolution simply because such theories have not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

agnostics dont transfer disbelief in one entity into belief in another.they want proof for any theory and wont just accept a scientific theory as proof just because it negates the god theory.

agnostics are generally receptive of all ideas and sometimes embrace all religion and beliefs without committing to any

musKeeto: wow.. delafruita.... thanks a lot..

jayriginal:

To test for atheism only one question is necessary; "Do you believe in god ?". The rest na jara.

So, would you say an agnostic believes in god?

jayriginal:

You seem to think that I am attacking the concept of agnosticism. I'm not. I'm only pointing out a popular misconception.

musKeeto:
Do you believe THERE is a GOD? not believe IN..

to this an atheist would say NO. an agnostic would answer MAYBE...

musKeeto:
Not at all. I only thanked Delafruita for pointing out a popular misconception..