Atheists, are you CERTAIN there is no god?

Question

(Ignoring the fact that all agnostics are either theist or atheist):

Some agnostics claim that atheists are certain there is no god, therefore they believe atheists are as arrogant as theists.

Do you atheists agree with this?

Certain as in if there was (a large amount of) evidence found of any theistic religion's god, you would still not believe. 100% sure no matter what.

*Note, I am atheist.

"So, you cannot be an agnostic and believe in god (be a theist), nor can you be an agnostic and be an atheist. These terms are not synonymous."
True, Quincy. They're not synoyms. But agnostic just means "without knowledge". It provides no stance on belief or lack of belief in a god.

Answer 1

Not all atheists are certain. I am, but I know PLENTY who aren't.

By the way, I'm certain in that I know evidence cannot be found to validate God's existence because the god concept is logically impossible. It's nonsensical at times, contradictory at others, ridiculous at others... there's no way such a thing could exist, so I know evidence cannot be provided to prove that such a thing does exist.

And Quincy, from the definition YOU provided, it defines "agnostic" as: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable. Therefore, an agnostic can either believe in a god regardless of their view that it's impossible to know for sure or can lack belief in god either by actively rejecting the notion despite their view that it's impossible to know for sure or because they refuse to decide, in which case they default to atheist (a lack of belief).

All agnostics DO fall into either the "theistic" or "atheistic" categories. They may put themselves there or they may fall into the fitting category not by choice but by mere default.

Answer 2

I am agnostic, and the textbook definition of agnosticism is that you do not believe in god, but you do not deny the existence of one either. So, you cannot be an agnostic and believe in god (be a theist), nor can you be an agnostic and be an atheist. These terms are not synonymous.

I don't feel that that being an atheist (or a theist for that matter) makes you arrogant. Being arrogant, makes you arrogant. I am NOT certain that there is or is not a god, and I am not concerned with either answer on a day to day basis. I too am searching for truth like many others, I just prefer that truth be supported by fact and logic.

Edit: My response to that would be that you are using the etymology of an agnostic as the definition. An agnostic does have a stance on god, and it IS that they do not commit to either stance. It does not mean that we don't know anything. I personally know and understand many arguments for and against god's existence, I choose the stance that neither are worth committing myself to.

Answer 3

At this point there is no evidence of any god, the same goes for any holy book, and the length of time that is written over is directly correlated to its contradictions.

I don't look at atheists, agnostics or theists as arrogant, at least not as groups, individually or some statements perhaps.

If a reasonable amount of proof was found for any given god, I'd have to believe the evidence, all further judgments are conjecture until then.

Answer 4

People who claim to know what other people believe or think about things are not exactly the most reliable of sources.

Also, to say "all agnostics are either theist or atheist" is incorrect. You need to do some research as you are making horrible generalizations based on nothing more than your opinion. Having an opinion is fine, but you need to clarify.

God is imaginary.

Atheist.

Answer 5

Nobody in their right mind is certain that there is no god. We atheists simply have seen no evidence that there is or ever was a god so we consider it delusional the think there is one. I am an atheist and have never nor would I ever say that I am certain that there is no god or anything else for that matter. Christians and other faithful are the ones who are certain. So in effect you have the chance of being wrong but I do not since I acknowledge that there is a chance, minuscule as it is, that you are right.

Answer 6

no, I don't claim to know everything about the universe. One thing I know for sure though, is that i find certain doctrines of the Abrahamic religions offensive and ridiculous and if I did believe in God I would never believe in the God of the Abrahamic religions. But that really has nothing to do with whether or not I believe in some sort of higher power, although personally I don't think one exists

Answer 7

The term "god" can mean so many different things in so many differing language games.

I am not certain we know what is being talked about when we use the term "god."

So the term "atheist" is too broad.

"Agnostic" is really too broad. There are things that I at least think that I know.

Answer 8

There is no evidence of a God, other than a book that claims there is. People could write such a book today and that would not make a God exist. One could claim there are people on Mars, and that would not make people exist there. Of course, humans are capable of higher things, like healing by sharing their energy, but that is an extra ability of humans and animals, not evidence of a God.

Answer 9

I'm not certain of very much. I don't believe there is a God. I hope to never be proven wrong, but in my mind, I don't believe that the Christian God makes any sense whatsoever, and I've read the book. And if he was truly responsible for all the deaths the bible and his followers give him credit for, He's extremely sadistic and cruel. Why would I worship that?

Answer 10

i'm not absolutely certain of very much at all. i'm sure enough that there are no gods that i live my life as if it were true (yep, that means babies for breakfast, puppies and kittens for dinner). if someone claims to know for sure there are no gods, i would think that's not entirely justified, but that's not the same as arrogance. i couldn't agree with an agnostic who might say that all unevidenced entities are equally likely to exist.