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Another atheist/theist poll...


CrazyCatLover

  

  1. 1. Do you believe in God/dess(es)?

    • Yes
      43
    • No
      81
    • Unsure
      21
  2. 2. Does God/dess(es) exist?

    • Yes
      34
    • No
      53
    • Unsure
      46
    • Other
      12

This poll is closed to new votes


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CrazyCatLover

I thought this would be an interesting poll -- how many people who have a belief about God are sure that s/he exists?

Just tick those boxes!

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I believe there's a god personally, but as for knowing that a god exists I don't think that's something anyone can know for sure.

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I don't believe that there are any gods.

As for the second question, that's more difficult - how does one prove or disprove such a thing? In fact, how does one prove anything exists? That said, on the assumption that things exist and can be proven to exist, I don't think mankind will ever discover evidence of a god and will, possibly, be able to explain everything without the need for one...but that doesn't mean it's impossible for one to exist, just extraordinarily unlikely.

Now I don't know what I want to vote - I feel certain there isn't one, but don't have the decisive evidence to back up my claim...which means I have to choose 'unsure', but that makes me sound really agnostic, which I'm not. :wacko:

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That is interesting; I'm not the only one who believes but isn't sure. That seems like a logical impossibility or a mental dichotomy or some sort of wall between emotion and mind, but what the hell. (Not literally because I don't believe in hell.)

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I believe in Schrodinger's diety.

Until we prove conclusively that God either does or does not exist, it both exists and does not exist at the same time.

As we can't prove that God either does or does not exists, God both exists and does not exist at the same time.

So, I didn't vote as there is no 'both' option.

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Guest Heligan

As an atheist I have to say No No.

This should not be taken as implying I am certain that gods do not exist... if I had to rate my certainty that gods do not exist I would have to rate it as around 99%

Ockams razor.

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Question:

When you ask 'does God definitely exist?' - is answering 'no' supposed to indicate that he definitely doesn't exist? Or just any response other than 'he definitely does'?

I don't know how or whether to respond.

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Can any of the people answering that they believe in a god but then also answering unsure on the second bit? I'm really curious about this, and it's not any kind of attack or anything. I can understand the logic behind people who don't believe in a god but are unsure as to an existence. I can't quite understand how one can actually believe though, but still not know? Doesn't that represent quite the crisis of faith?

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^^ i think you can believe in God but not be sure that he/she exists. isnt that kinda Agnosticism? or Agnostic Theism? belief that God(s) exist is based on faith not absolute knowledge...i got that idea from http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutagnosticism/a/what_2.htm

i voted unsure for both because i cant be sure as to whether God(s) definatly exist or dont exist. so i dont really feel either way about the topic, just that its possible that God(s) exist, but its also possible they dont.

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I tend to think of agnostics largely as atheists who sit on the fence. I can't say that I've run across a great many believers who would call themselves agnostics, which is why this intrigued me somewhat.

Of course a belief in god is based in faith rather than absolute knowledge, but I still can't understand the logic behind someone claiming not to know (when evidence points toward no god), and yet still spending their time believing.

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I believe..I really do!:)

I don't know if God is a woman or maybe a man, but I know for sure there's something more powerful than we are, and that someone leads our paths..

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Of course a belief in god is based in faith rather than absolute knowledge, but I still can't understand the logic behind someone claiming not to know (when evidence points toward no god), and yet still spending their time believing.

i do kind of agree but for some people they need to believe there is something..a 'higher power' or God, im not sure why and am curious as to why but for those that do believe in God they could say the same thing, that they cant understand why/how people dont believe in God(s). its just difference in opinion and belief.

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^^ i think you can believe in God but not be sure that he/she exists. isnt that kinda Agnosticism? or Agnostic Theism? belief that God(s) exist is based on faith not absolute knowledge...i got that idea from http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutagnosticism/a/what_2.htm

My understanding is that the academic definition, as opposed to widely assumed definition of agnosticism is along the lines of 'belief that it can never be known for certain whether gods exist or not'. Gnosticism/agnosticism addresses a different issue than theism/atheism. Atheism/theism is about whether any gods exist; agnosticism/gnosticism is about whether proof can ever exist. Many theists who say they feel certain of God's existence fit this definition of agnostic because they believe God has deliberately made it impossible for anyone to objectively prove his existence. And many people who are 50/50 about whether God exists are not agnostic, because they think it might one day be proved one way or the other.

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^^ i think you can believe in God but not be sure that he/she exists. isnt that kinda Agnosticism? or Agnostic Theism? belief that God(s) exist is based on faith not absolute knowledge...i got that idea from http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutagnosticism/a/what_2.htm

My understanding is that the academic definition, as opposed to widely assumed definition of agnosticism is along the lines of 'belief that it can never be known for certain whether gods exist or not'. Gnosticism/agnosticism addresses a different issue than theism/atheism. Atheism/theism is about whether any gods exist; agnosticism/gnosticism is about whether proof can ever exist. Many theists who say they feel certain of God's existence fit this definition of agnostic because they believe God has deliberately made it impossible for anyone to objectively prove his existence. And many people who are 50/50 about whether God exists are not agnostic, because they think it might one day be proved one way or the other.

oh yeah i agree with that. Agnosticism doesnt refer to those who are on the fence and cant decide on whether God(s) exist, it (in my opinion) refers to those who feel that they cannot know for sure if God(s) do or dont exist.

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CrazyCatLover
Question:

When you ask 'does God definitely exist?' - is answering 'no' supposed to indicate that he definitely doesn't exist? Or just any response other than 'he definitely does'?

I don't know how or whether to respond.

Just any response other than "s/he definitely does." I think I'm going to change that question to "does god exist."

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mad_scientist

I went "other" because i don't understand the question. To clarify, I'm equally sure that gods, the tooth fairy, and Russel's teapot do not exist.

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mad_scientist
^^ i think you can believe in God but not be sure that he/she exists. isnt that kinda Agnosticism? or Agnostic Theism? belief that God(s) exist is based on faith not absolute knowledge...i got that idea from http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutagnosticism/a/what_2.htm

My understanding is that the academic definition, as opposed to widely assumed definition of agnosticism is along the lines of 'belief that it can never be known for certain whether gods exist or not'. Gnosticism/agnosticism addresses a different issue than theism/atheism. Atheism/theism is about whether any gods exist; agnosticism/gnosticism is about whether proof can ever exist. Many theists who say they feel certain of God's existence fit this definition of agnostic because they believe God has deliberately made it impossible for anyone to objectively prove his existence. And many people who are 50/50 about whether God exists are not agnostic, because they think it might one day be proved one way or the other.

Which is why agnostic atheists are so common.

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Of course a belief in god is based in faith rather than absolute knowledge, but I still can't understand the logic behind someone claiming not to know (when evidence points toward no god), and yet still spending their time believing.

Well, as one of those people, I'll admit that it's not really logical. But that's sort of what religious faith is. Oh well, I don't lose sleep over it. ;)

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Being a pantheist I can pretty much reach out and touch God anytime I want. So I'm fairly confident it exists. The part I'm not so sure of is whether or not God is sentient or has some kind of plan or purpose for all this.

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Shockwave, I feel a similar experience with Om [God].

I believe there is a singularity in which the whole of reality exists, but whether this object is conscious or not it is the force which brings order and longevity to the space-time continuum.

I am not sure that this makes me a theist, I think I just have a spiritual connection to physics.

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Ockams razor.

Well, yes, but we're not multiplying entities unnecessarily, as Occam supposedly said (although someone proposed that before him, I think; can't remember). We're only talking about *one* possible identity, something we call God for the purposes of this thread.

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mad_scientist
Being a pantheist I can pretty much reach out and touch God anytime I want. So I'm fairly confident it exists. The part I'm not so sure of is whether or not God is sentient or has some kind of plan or purpose for all this.

On that note, this poll would make more sense if it included a definition for "god", since different people use different definitions that may not be intended by the creator. (I had one person try to convert me once by saying, "what if God is the Big Bang?" I said, "then what are you trying to convince me of apart from the ambiguity of words? If that's what you've been meaning all this time when you say 'god' then we don't disagree on anything," and left.)

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mad_scientist
Ockams razor.

Well, yes, but we're not multiplying entities unnecessarily, as Occam supposedly said (although someone proposed that before him, I think; can't remember). We're only talking about *one* possible identity, something we call God for the purposes of this thread.

I think you may have missed the point.

A deity is superfluous to requirements and not suggested by the evidence.

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