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Are you 100% certain that there is no god?

So I just signed up on here and as I was filling out my profile, It asks "to what percent are you certain that there are no gods" to which I (as an atheist) initially thought 100%. However, I answered 99.9 because I feel that to be so unconditionally sure about something can only really come from faith based reasoning. So I feel the need to leave a tiny bit of wiggle room because I am a logical thinker and will also feel some level of skepticism. What do the rest of you heathens think about this?

RoboGraham 8 Dec 29
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36 comments (26 - 36)

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2

I am a 100 percenter -- and proudly so!

0

Well, first I want to know how advanced something has to be to be a "god", but I'm 100% sure there is no such thing as magic, besides it would probably stop being magic if it was discovered. I say magical gods with no explanation for existing doesn't exist, but I'm open to the idea of life forms much more advanced where they could outclass even some lesser gods, maybe, but with all things it needs evidence.

Mr_Dj Level 5 Dec 30, 2017
3

If any being can violate laws of existence on a whim, there are no laws of existence, therefore the existence of a god would remove all meaning and reason from reality.

If someone could hurl lightning bolts at a whim and summon storms, that wouldn’t mean we were wrong about our understanding of weather. That would mean weather could never be understood because it wasn’t governed by laws. To this day, we cannot predict earthquakes and they seem to happen at whim. If there is room for god, it is in earthquakes, but if I told you “earthquakes therefore god” you’d probably write me off.

That is the thinking I extend to every facet. It is not a belief, but a conclusion from a logical postulate- “a thing suggested or assumed as true as the basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief.” Many people say that it takes faith or belief to say with 100% that there is no god, but that’s not true at all. I postulate that “if a consciousness can violate laws at will, they are not laws”. From that I conclude there is no god. Can you attack my postulate? If an entity can violate the laws of gravity at will, can there be laws of gravity?

0

I don't think it's possible to know anything to 100% certainty. You can know beyond a reasonable doubt, though.

What if we're in the Matrix and gravity is an artificial construct? Asymptotic to 100% but never there.

1

Without a clear idea of what is meant by "God," I cannot adequately address the question. If we're talking about some specific gods, like Yahweh, I reject the concept 100%. The more I know about the history of a religion and the development of its gods or God, the more unlikely I consider the proposition. In the case of Yahweh, the polytheistic origin from earlier cultures from which the Hebrews borrowed their concept of God, to see the change from polytheism to monotheism, to track the changes biblically, leave no doubt in my mind that Yahweh doesn't exist. Other concepts of God would need to be reviewed individually.

2

There is or there isn't so there isnt

0

I am not certain about anything. I feel it unfair and inappropriate to make any claims regarding the existence or non-existence of the supernatural--other than that I personally have seen no evidence of such. I am, after all, limited and ignorant in the scope of the universe. I don't think any gods exist, but I don't spend a lot of time ruminating on that theme, either. My primary orientation concerns what I feel is practical: "we're" (world at large, not us heathens on this site) never going to agree on what our imaginary friends say we have to do, who our imaginary friends are, etc. ... so can "we" please stop wasting time arguing about stuff we can't prove anyway and focus on the important stuff like feeding the hungry and healing the sick and caring for the poor (which, incidentally, most of "our" imaginary friends purportedly want us to do anyway!)? I think theology is a fine pastime--but it should never get in the way of mitigating suffering, let alone cause it! I suppose I'm inverting Pascal's wager, after a fashion: whether gods exist or not doesn't concern me, because I know I'm "godly" in my heart. Whatever. I don't claim to know much, but I'm pretty sure people can be induced to agree on what is empirically measurable--and not much else. It doesn't matter to me what we can't prove, as long as we're not letting that derail us from problem-solving in the realm of what we can prove. "Atheist" and "agnostic" are useful terms, but I don't live and die by them.

1

I am certain the Abrahamic god does not exist. I am not certain there are no gods. I see no evidence of them, so I conclude that they are unlikely. I see evidence against the Abrahamic faiths, so I conclude such a god must not exist.

@atheist It is up to any individual. Personally, beyond the harm caused by many religions, I see no point in certainty that no gods exist. If some "god" created our universe, it either has no interest in us or no power to interact with us, it would seem. So worship would be pointless and unnecessary. The existence of such a being would be of no consequence.

If there are gods, they do not matter. If there are not, this does not matter. All that matters is disproving the harmful gods.

1

I had it at 99.99 in a good scientific manner... On the other hand, every little thing, the defence for it is being knocked down as fast as an undetermined persons new years resolution. But rather than waste my energy on doubt I just go with exploring the other options which are more interesting. Right? I'm not a scientist but that is the biggest if you sleep my daughter you better marry her or she'll die of shaming... and stones. That's not a pleasant individual with countless crimes to be tried for.

5

Over and over and over and over......Ok, I'm gonna give it a go. God DOES exist, and so does Superman, and Santa Claus! They ALL exist as human constructs endowed with human traits.Yes, ALL GODS ARE REAL AND EXIST AS HUMAN CONSTRUCTS JUST LIKE SUPERMAN AND SANTA CLAUS, and fairies, elves, witches, leprechauns and that most illusive, never obtainable good cup of coffee at Starbucks.

2

Look I thought about that question too. It is problematic. Actually, it's a redundant question. Atheists don't have to indicate how certain we are that there is no God. It's up to theists to prove that there is one. What I am 100% certain of is that there is no evidence to prove a God. In the same way I don't have to say that I am 100% certain that there are no fairies; I can say that I am 100% certain that no evidence exists to prove their existence. Got some proof of fairies? Show me. Same thing for God.

@DangerDave I read your reply a couple of times but still couldn't get your point. The point I made was one often made by atheists that belief in any unproven assertion requires evidence. Your beef seems to be with what you call "fundamentalist atheists" - a subjective term I don't recognise. Nor am I aware of "apathetic agnostics". Anyway, I'll leave it at that.

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