[fadetree]

Originally Posted by Borak [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

There are a number of things that are vexing about this post. Allow me to explain.

I have been an atheist (note, no capital) for about 12 years now, before which I was nominally Catholic. At no point in my life, before or after deconversion, did I say to myself, "I'd like to be an atheist." I don't think that belief, or lack thereof, is something you can choose. I can't believe the sky is pink, no matter how much I want it to be so. I didn't want to become an atheist, actually the realization that I was one was quite jarring when it dawned on me. I became an atheist because it seemed like all the evidence available to me pointed in the direction of there being no credible evidence for supernatural beings.

Notice how I defined atheism. I did not define it as *knowing* that a god or gods do not exist. No atheist that I know in person defines being an atheist that way! Atheism to me, and to every other atheist I personally know, is simply the LACK OF BELIEF in the god proposition. It does not necessarily imply the absolute belief in the NO GOD proposition.

Yes this sounds like agnosticism. Guess what? Most atheists like myself would define themselves as agnostic atheists. What this means is that, even though I do not possess absolute knowledge about the (non)existence of a god or gods (the agnostic part), I do not believe a god actually exists (the atheist part). I would argue that a high percentage of believers are agnostic theists, who also lack absolute knowledge but believe the evidence points to god(s). The people that scare me, are the gnostic people on either side - gnostic atheists ("I know everything"), or gnostic theists ("god speaks to me").

I do not categorically deny that god(s) exist. I just find the probability so unlikely, especially given how they have been defined in ancient texts, that I ignore it, just as I ignore the possibility of me personally winning that $300 million lottery and save myself that $1.

Thanks Borak, that's a great post. This kind of atheism/Agnosti-whatever I could work with.