I'm thinking "hypocrite" or "self-deluded," but I'm open to other terms.
2007-06-28 09:32:19 · 47 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I'm using the term "God" generically. By definition, Atheists believe in no God(s), so you can fill-in-the-blank for my term "God," as they are all the same in the context of "Atheism."
2007-06-28 09:44:26 · update #1
As long as it came up, put me in the "agnostic" category.
2007-06-28 09:47:19 · update #2
The point of this Q is NOT to debate whether God/Zeus/Zarathustra or what-not exists - rather - the question is whether an Atheist can believe that a deity could exist. IMHO, the term "atheist" is incongruent with the belief that God could exist, so I'm searching for an appropriate pejorative.
2007-06-28 10:01:05 · update #3
Please limit your responses to actual answers. If you have a comment to make to me personally, my email info is available.
2007-06-28 10:02:40 · update #4
A realist.
2007-06-28 09:34:46 · answer #1 · answered by lottyjoy 6 · 6⤊ 2⤋
Wow, you got a lot of attention with this one. When you use the word "say" if you mean that like "prove" then the answer would be atheist and there is nothing hypocritical about that.
If you mean that you leave yourself open to the possibility that there may be a God and not committed to atheism or theism then many people answering here are correct and that would make you an agnostic.
Oh, and just for fun; a "hard agnostic" is a person that doesn't know and believes that mankind will never be able to figure it out either way-----a "soft agnostic" is a person that doesn't know, yet believes that there is a possibility that mankind may at some point find a definitive answer.
2007-06-29 14:08:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is Solly's unfortunate attempt to insult me, as he is emailing me asking me to prove that no gods exist. He therefore declares that I am a hypocrite when I say that I don't claim to have ultimate knowledge of the universe.
Solly, obviously, is new around here.
Myself, and 99% of all atheists do not claim to know everything about the universe, sparky. That is the job of the theist.
Atheists simply know what is wrong. And that is every single definition of a god that I have ever been exposed to.
I am an atheist. But for the record, that's not my word. It's the label I am given by people who find it strange that I'm not a member of their cult. I could also call myself "Captain Infidel" if I wanted to. But atheist covers a lot more ground.
Thanks for playing.
Edit - yes, any atheist that is not insane will admit that anything is possible. It is possible that leprechauns exist. It is however, extremely unlikely. Your definition of atheist is incorrect, as has been abundantly demonstrated here. And it is a common mistake. With that in mind, I hope you now understand that you are entirely unjustified in referring to someone as a hypocrite for being intellectually honest. An apology would be nice, too.
2007-06-28 09:55:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
No, they're not hypocrites or self-deluded. An atheist is someone who does not *believe* there is a God. No atheist claims to know with 100% certainty that there is *not* a God. Any atheist is perfectly open to the possibility, but those making the claim that there *is* a God need to provide some evidence to back up that claim. Atheists are not going to just blindly believe in something for which there is no evidence.
2007-06-28 09:48:27 · answer #4 · answered by Jess H 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Agnostic would be the correct term.
Agnostics are not certain that there is or is not a God. They also are not sure, assuming there is a God, which religion would be closest to truth.
In some ways I border on being Agnostic... becuse I think that most "flavors" of Christianity have problems.
2007-06-28 09:38:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
An atheist.
The definition of atheist is one who does not believe in gods. As a human one can never be truly certain about anything.
You could also call them rational but to be sure of that would possibly require more data.
You simply are using the wrong definition for atheist. A definition made up by bigoted Christians. The correct definiton can easily be seen from the word's makeup.
Atheism = (A) ( Theism ) = (Without ) ( God Belief )
Would you alow Nazi's to define Jewish? Why would you allow Christians to define atheism.
2007-06-28 09:36:09 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
Agnostic
2007-06-28 09:35:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
I would say an agnostic. Atheist implies a belief that there is no god, while an agnostic implies doubt as to the existence of God.
2007-06-28 09:36:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
One who believes there is no definitive proof regarding the existence of God would be called an agnostic.
2007-06-28 09:35:54 · answer #9 · answered by Caesar 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
LOL Oh that is clever. Bravo! Here, I have one for you
What do you call a self-described Christian that cannot say with certainty that God does exist? Hypocrite?
How about one that can say with certainty that God exists? Delusional?
As to your original question about atheists, I'd say the answer is: someone who does not have all the answers, just like everyone else.
2007-06-28 09:43:48 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Agnostic.
2007-06-28 09:35:16 · answer #11 · answered by * 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋