Can someone be an atheist and theist at the same time? I think so.
Huh??
Nice article, @Patrick .
I know you don’t believe in God, but what if there is, indeed, One Who believes in you?
Honestly not trying to be smarmy, just friendly.
Cheers!
@EricMH please elaborate.
Thanks, over the years I have had the great fortune of several people who have believed in me.
That’s a really good thing. Kudos!
Frank Schaeffer does have a book “Why I am an atheist who believes in God”.
One can definitely be an agnostic and a theist at the same time. Agnosticism is a statement about knowledge, and theism is a statement about belief. What we know and what we believe are two different things. Therefore, an agnostic theist doesn’t know if God exists, but still believes in God.
Oppy, a philosopher of religion, puts forward these definitions in his book Atheism and Agnosticism
Under these definitions, its seems to me that a person cannot be both an agnostic and an atheist.
In philosophy, the starting point for analysis of knowledge defines knowledge as Justified True Belief. As best I can tell, the linked post is not using this definition.
In addition to belief, knowledge requires both truth and justification. A justified belief can still be false and hence not knowledge.
Those are poor definitions. For starters, atheism is a lack of belief in gods. This is different than believing there are no gods. It’s a subtle, but important difference. I like the way the American Atheist organizations states it:
That’s because you aren’t thinking like a scientist. Suppose I said that the probability of there being no god is 95%. Would I be an atheist, an agnostic, or something else?
Something else. Delusional, maybe? : )
How about an intelligent happy person.
With an exaggerated sense of their own math abilities, maybe, sure. : )
Not exaggerated at all. Just a human in the 21 century living comfortably due to the creativity, innovation, of the millions of humans of the past million years. Thanks Homo Erectus!
Thanks, but that was intended as an example, not as my actual position. I’d actually put it closer to 99.99%. Does calling people delusional fit the community standards? Would it be OK if I called you delusional? I’d really like to, if so.
Why is “lack of belief in gods” a better definition of atheism than “belief that there are no gods”?
Especially when the latter has just been cited as the definition from a prominent (atheist!) philosopher of religion?
Because lack of belief in gods is more apathetic.
Who is this prominent atheist philosopher of religion?