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Old 12-29-2015, 01:48 PM   #394 (permalink)
The Batlord
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Janszoon View Post
Nah, it's atheism—a lack of belief in a god or gods. One can be an atheist and still be open to changing one's mind if the right evidence presents itself. Like Frowny said, that's the position most atheists take.

Agnosticism is actually a belief about the nature of knowledge, i.e. that the answer to question of the existence of god is unknowable.
Indeed. "Agnostic" is merely a stance on, as Janz said, the nature of knowledge, not a stance on one's stated belief. In the context of theist/atheist, "agnostic" is merely a modifier that delineates between those who claim that it is possible to know one way or the other (gnostic) and those who don't (agnostic).

Hence the terms "gnostic theist" (holds a belief in god, and claims that his existence is knowable), "agnostic theist" (holds a belief in god, but claims that his existence is unknowable), "agnostic atheist" (does not hold a belief in god, but claims that it is unknowable), and "gnostic theist" (does not hold a belief in god, and claims that his existence is knowable).

Unless someone can remind me of any more positions, those are the only four positions it is possible to take, whether or not you are comfortable admitting to any of them.
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Originally Posted by J.R.R. Tolkien
There is only one bright spot and that is the growing habit of disgruntled men of dynamiting factories and power-stations; I hope that, encouraged now as ‘patriotism’, may remain a habit! But it won’t do any good, if it is not universal.
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