To Those That Attack Me For My Beliefs

[LogGrad98]

You get that I'm not telling anyone not to believe, right?

I'm not making any claim. I'm not making any assertion.

I want to reiterate that I may be in a somewhat rare position in that I have never, not for a single second of my life, been religious. I am the child of people who probably would not have described themselves as Atheists, but who certainly had no faith and never introduced the notion of faith to their children.

So I never had a moment when I had to decide that all that I was taught was false. I never had to reject God. I never had to reconcile my belief with my doubts. I never believed in God, not for a second. I never had faith, not for a second.

So for me the claim that comes to me completely from the outside of myself, that a thing called God exists is a bizarre notion. One that begins with zero credibility. One that is not fundamental to my understanding of why we exist, what the meaning of life is, what happens before existence or after it. It is a completely separate notion for me. A completely separate "claim" that I consider on its own merits.

The claim of the existence of God lacks credibility, so I continue to not have a belief in God. I call that Atheism. Others want to tell me that because I can't be sure, that I'm really an agnostic. Which to me means that I have to take a middle position of not being sure either way. I think that definition is one that people are trying to force onto me for their own comfort. I have no belief in God because I have no reason to have belief in God. I call that Atheism.

I'm not telling you what evidence or special knowledge you have on the subject!

If you have some evidence or special knowledge of God's existence... that has nothing to do with me. I don't. If the only way you can share your special knowledge with me is through your testimony, I remain unconvinced and completely unmoved.

Um, ok. I don't remember quoting you on anything, I was just expressing what this thread made me think of. But thanks for clarifying?

 

[One Brow]

I have no idea what that has to do with asking about the spectrum been militant belief and militant non-belief. I was under the impression that agnosticism was the middle ground or the "I don't know" point along that spectrum. But as with any system of belief it is indeed a spectrum so each person will define their belief differently. I just thought that people who identify as "atheist" tended toward claiming "there is no God" more than "I don't know". So I was trying to clarify.

Atheism is the specific claim "I don't believe". You can add more to it in various ways, but at it's heart, that's all atheism is. It's compatible with "I know" and "I don't know".

 

[Gameface]

Um, ok. I don't remember quoting you on anything, I was just expressing what this thread made me think of. But thanks for clarifying?

I never accused you of quoting me.

But that's your response?

 

[Gameface]

No, I feel no burden to prove anything to anyone in regards to my religious beliefs. My point is just because you feel that burden is there doesn’t mean it is.

Good for you being an atheist.

I'm not asking you to prove anything to me.

My Atheism isn't about you. It's not about you at all. You have absolutely nothing to do with it in any way.

My Atheism is NOT an attack on your belief.

My Atheism is about me not having faith in God. It is about me not personally having any reason to believe that God exists.

My Atheism is NOT militant.

My Atheism is not an assertion that belief ion God by others is wrong.

 

[LogGrad98]

I never accused you of quoting me.

But that's your response?

Ok but you pretty aggressively addressed me directly so I wasn't sure where that came from as I didn't address anything to you.

 

[Stoked]

I'm not asking you to prove anything to me.

My Atheism isn't about you. It's not about you at all. You have absolutely nothing to do with it in any way.

My Atheism is NOT an attack on your belief.

My Atheism is about me not having faith in God. Not personally having any reason to believe that God exists.

My Atheism is NOT militant.

My Atheism is not an assertion that belief ion God by others is wrong.

Lol, I never said it was about me. I never said it was militant. I never said it was an attack on me.

Not sure where that came from since it doesn’t touch on anything I said.

 

[Gameface]

Ok but you pretty aggressively addressed me directly so I wasn't sure where that came from as I didn't address anything to you.

I was addressing your post. I was addressing your post directly. That's why I quoted it.

 

[Gameface]

Lol, I never said it was about me. I never said it was militant. I never said it was an attack on me.

Not sure where that came from since it doesn’t touch on anything I said.

You said you didn't feel a burden to prove anything to me.

That was my response to that statement.

 

[LogGrad98]

Atheism is the specific claim "I don't believe". You can add more to it in various ways, but at it's heart, that's all atheism is. It's compatible with "I know" and "I don't know".

This prompted me to Google it. It appears you fall in the "agnostic atheist" quadrant. I fall in the "agnostic theist" quadrant. Interesting read. The top 2 quadrants are what I would call the "militant" atheist or theists, although even in those quadrants it is obviously a spectrum. So I guess the extreme of those quadrants are the militants.

https://www.learnreligions.com/atheist-vs-agnostic-whats-the-difference-248040

 

[LogGrad98]

I was addressing your post. I was addressing your post directly. That's why I quoted it.

Ok, I misunderstood. When you use language like "you realize that..." It comes across more as addressing the individual than the post.

 

[Stoked]

You said you didn't feel a burden to prove anything to me.

That was my response to that statement.

Only because you’re the one saying “prove it”. Otherwise it would have been a general statement. I never asked you to prove anything. Because you don’t have to. That was my whole point lol.

There’s no burden of proof for anyone in this.

 

[Gameface]

Only because you’re the one saying “prove it”. Otherwise it would have been a general statement. I never asked you to prove anything. Because you don’t have to. That was my whole point lol.

There’s no burden of proof for anyone in this.

Ahh, okay.

For me to believe there is a burden of proof because I come from a place of not believing and having never believed. That burden is not placed on you or anyone else. That is my own personal criteria before I would consider changing my own belief.

I don't need anyone to prove anything to me in order for me to respect their right to believe as they do.

I think what I'm trying to argue against is this notion that I'm an agnostic because I don't claim to be able to prove that God doesn't exist. I think that's where you're seeing my frustration. I don't consider myself an agnostic and I don't really like other people defining me as an agnostic (not saying you've done that) because for me, coming from a position of never believing in God, I don't think of myself as an agnostic. Despite the fact that I also don't consider my position one where I certify under oath that I know that no such thing that falls under the very broad definition of a "God" exists in any form, or in any time, or in any multiverse.