Jay520 said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism The atheism you're referring to is a specific category of atheist. The broadest definition of atheism encompasses all people who don't believe in God. There is a group within that group which asserts that there is no God; this what you're referring to. These people are called strong atheists or hard atheists. Agnosticism has nothing to with belief. Agnosticism has to do with knowledge. If you're an agnostic, then you assert that you don't know if God exists. If you're a gnostic, then you assert do know if god exists. It has nothing to do with belief. Atheism and theism deals with belief. There's a difference between knowledge and belief. If you're a theist, then you believe that God exists. If you're an atheist, then you don't beleive God exist. Agnostism and Atheism aren't mutually exclusive. Nor are agnostism and theism. As an atheist, you can be either agnostic or gnostic. Similarly, as a theist, you can be either agnostic or gnostic. You can be one of four categories: Gnostic Theist: You believe in God, and you know that there's a God. |
There is also an agnostic, agnostic, who hasn't form an opnion and their stand is they don't know. My view allows for there to be someone who isn't a theist, but also isn't an atheist. It would be the fifth category. In short, the person doesn't have an opinion on the subject. If one wanted to define everything as just theism or atheism, then you can do that, but I do believe there is a quantifiable category for the person who flat out just doesn't know, and won't say one way or the other. I was just preferring to have it so that everything wasn't defined via whether or not the person is a theist, which is what your four categories do.
And I will do this, because knowing and believing are nearly inseparately connected, because under all systems of knowing is beliefs about things, or certain levels of trust. It is just a matter of what one accepts as a valid measure for things. I know there is a longing to have such a strong piece of information or facts or "truth" that anyone who said to care to accept truth will be forced to do it, but one would be hard pressed to find anything like this.
Under what I describe, you have belief and non-belief towards a lot of things, based upon the degree of confidence you have in that thing being true, real, existing etc... This can happen with not just God, but anything else, like UFOs, ghosts and other paranormal. Some people can end up deciding they have no decision, and remain neutral. They can say, flat out, they do not know either way, and claim to be without knowledge (agnostic) in that area.
