I’m curious if there’s a name to the belief I have. I wouldn’t exactly call it atheist, though i generally lean that way, but I wouldn’t call it non-theist. The thing is, I just plain don’t care if God exists or not. They could, or they couldn’t, it really has no bearing on how I live my life. For that reason along I think I go in the atheist camp, but I always thought that was used to describe people who don’t think he exists.

  • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
    134·
    2 months ago

    Atheism is the belief that there are no gods and out right rejection in the belief of any gods.

    No, not quite. Atheism is not believing in a god, it doesn’t mean you claim there is not a god. A subtle difference, but it is the difference between not believing, and believing not. Also, agnosticism isn’t a middle ground between theism and atheism, there is no middle ground, as it is dichotomous. Agnosticism speaks to knowledge, or what you claim to know. So, a person could be an agnostic atheist, or an agnostic theist.

        • DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca
          0·
          2 months ago

          Sorry but it really is. Basic language (a)theism is the antithesis to theism, meaning non-belief. Otherwise, that’s what we have “agnostic” for. Like I said, correct yourself before someone who’s got more of a clue.

          • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
            1·
            2 months ago

            Theism is belief in a god, atheism is a lack of belief. Atheism is not necessarily a belief that god does not exist. Gnostic is about knowledge and not belief, which is why you can have an agnostic theist. Agnostic is not a middle ground between theism and atheism, there is no middle ground. I can correct you, but I can’t make you understand it.

            • DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca
              11·
              2 months ago

              And I can’t beat knowledge into the unreceptive, ignorant and assumptive, so I guess we’re at an impasse.

              • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
                11·
                2 months ago

                Yes, I’m on one side, with dictionaries, etymology, and the majority of atheists, and you’re on the other side. I would agree with you but then we’d both be wrong.

                Google:

                noun: atheism. disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

                Gnostic - adjective. relating to knowledge, especially esoteric mystical knowledge.

                Me:

                Theism is belief in a god, atheism is a lack of belief. Atheism is not necessarily a belief that god does not exist.

                Gnostic is about knowledge and not belief

      • Sidhean@lemmy.world
        21·
        2 months ago

        Maybe look up atheism then try correcting your own comment instead of theirs :)

        In all seriousness, I think your definitions are a few centuries out of date. It’s been drifting toward meaning a-gnostic instead of undecided. Contemporarily, it’s used to explain one’s believed level of knowledge on a claim. I can, for instance, be agnostic toward plate tectonics, and be made gnostic of them by evidence.