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Agnostic or Atheist?
Mar. 27th, 2008 12:21 amI had a discussion with someone at Eastercon who argued that atheists are just as bad as believers, and that the only tenable position is agnosticism.
I argued that the key difference between a believer and an atheist is that a true believer doesn't "believe", they know that their god exists, and no evidence to the contrary will change their mind. An atheist, on the other hand, believes there is no god, but in the majority of cases will accept that the non-existence of god is in fact unprovable, and would be will to change their position if the evidence changed.
However, a very good friend then insisted the position I describe is not atheism at all, and is in fact agnosticism.
For the record, I would describe agnosticism as fence sitting and saying "I don't believe or disbelieve as it's impossible to prove either way."
I'd like to hear other people's views on the topic, and would like to know if my understanding is off the mark.
I argued that the key difference between a believer and an atheist is that a true believer doesn't "believe", they know that their god exists, and no evidence to the contrary will change their mind. An atheist, on the other hand, believes there is no god, but in the majority of cases will accept that the non-existence of god is in fact unprovable, and would be will to change their position if the evidence changed.
However, a very good friend then insisted the position I describe is not atheism at all, and is in fact agnosticism.
For the record, I would describe agnosticism as fence sitting and saying "I don't believe or disbelieve as it's impossible to prove either way."
I'd like to hear other people's views on the topic, and would like to know if my understanding is off the mark.
