i've been thinking about this attitude - of which i am "guilty" when it comes to politics - of turning away from harm or potential harm, & came to the conclusion that this is probably the reason why organised religion got away & is still getting away with the evil they inflict on humanity.

@walklightly I think you're right. Religion has ALWAYS been given ''a pass,'' because the GODLY scream like smashed cats if you so much as THINK a disrespectful thought...let alone utter one! So, because nobody wants to start World War 3, we just shrug our shoulders and let it go.

@LucyLoohoo, succinctly put ?

well said!

Yes, yes, and yes!

Yes !!

first of all, not knowing is not the same as doubting, thus the term agnostic has nothing to do with doubt or non-doubt. a-gnostic = not-knowing. secondly, as a non-believer i would not disrespect a forum for believers, the way you are doing here, joining & then starting to spout debasing asides like "mundane existence". may i suggest that you are very close to getting yourself onto thin ice, demanding a debate about the pros & cons into the belief in an imaginary friend that simply doesn't exist here. this community doesn't take kindly to folks trying to barge in & quasi take over in exactly the way christianity has been doing worldwide since eons. this is a community for reasonable, self-thinking, intelligent people, & out of this only comes respect. kindly refrain from promoting your delusions here, & take them somewhere else.

@walklightly I am not demanding anything. I have never and will never will base my idea of God on others participating. And really I have no interest in a fight. Do I know that some being exists that has some impact or influence in the universe? With 100% certainty no. Maybe it and the universe is all just a delusion of firing neurons and quantum entanglement. I know what I have experienced and I hold those experiences close whatever they may be for comfort, knowledge, growth. If I did start such a forum what would be the harm? I want to be crystal clear here I have no interest or need for any kind of support or justification for my beliefs I just find it interesting to discuss very nearly anything anywhere. Agnostic too me means you do not know one way or the other the answer to the question of the existence of "god". But at some level you consider it possible. As opposed to say Atheism. I think if there is some kind of power as it were out there then it is finite from its own perspective. Like magic which some define as simply technology or phenomena that is not yet understood. Too me that is logical. It gives people something to reach for. Would you agree that irrelevant to the question of God/god/Goddess etc. faith in the unknown has power? Faith in a nation, a creed etc. And within that is it more vital the result of ones actions rather then the reason? Many people of faith do great things and ascribe their success to said faith. In many cases faith in things not related to a religion or a god. I find it interesting you call delusional something you have no actual context for or experience with. Another persons experiences. And you speak of respect right before you insult me. I would ask any one else who reads this is there room on a Agnostic forum and group for questions about the existence and nature of the unknown? And just to be clear I am a Deist. Too me the real value of belief is in its positive power to create an impetuous for change. I like the idea of being(s) out there who hold knowledge we lack. I resist the idea that it is all just cold stars and dead worlds.

@Quarm, i am not interested in discussing your belief or your sense of feeling insulted here. the vain length of your reply just goes to show how desperately you are trying to convince me of a faith that has no base in the real world. do not insist on corresponding with me. btw, in your life stars may be cold & worlds dead; they aren't in mine.

Then welcome. Knowing your viewpoint isn't as respected here as it is elsewhere... What, exactly, do you think you might learn? If I sound suspicious, it's because I am. I've seen a lot of underhanded ways of people trying to get into my head, so that they can learn how I think, why I think it. So they can then 'fix' me. If you are not one of those, you MAY actually learn something... That's up to you and you alone. There are a lot of teachers in our ranks, I promise you. However, the vast majority won't try to kill your faith. They won't respect it, but they won't come after you to kill it either. Some may be more militant... as I have noted elsewhere, we have been hunted and persecuted. When we find one place we don't have to pay lip service to the religious, we can be a bit jealous to protect it from those hunters. I get that. And I am what I would call a moderate. I don't care that you believe.I don't care WHAT you believe. You are free to be wrong. Just let me be 'wrong' too. Do not say it is because you love me. No you don't. You don't know me. (I do not men you in the personal, but in the general) That's your deal. Just leave me out of it, and we can agree to disagree. We can still agree to basics, like killing puppies is bad. Stealing is bad. Obeying stop signs good. That's how I live. Few people in my real life know I am an a-theist. I have to hide my real self. And I bet there are a LOT of butts in the pews on any given Sunday morning who are what I call Insurance believers... They don't, really, but say better safe than sorry. Like they could fool God? Really? But they do. They go through the motions... pretending. I won't. As a kid, I was taught that being an atheist was akin to devil worship. I was evil if I didn't toe the line, and the angry vengeful god would hurl me to hell. Even my father's Unitarian church didn't protect me completely from their barbs. So forgive... it's so christian, is it not? If we are a little suspicious of your motives. I'm willing to give the benefit of doubt. For now. If you really are here to learn, then you have doubts. You would HAVE to have... So, sarcastic as it must sound by now, welcome. You were warned! If we corrupt you... you were already broken.

Well, you seem respectful and open minded so I can say welcome, but I don’t believe there are many belivers who are like you. Thanks for breaking the stereotype.

Welcome. Years ago I (as a Christian) attended witchcraft cult meetings for months because I was curious. Met some really nice open people. Never became a witch but they earned my respect with openness and acceptance. Atheist now, still always curious.

Feel free to ask anything, I have no secrets.

Good riddance to bad boys sexually harassing Atheist Feminist women....and their disgusting rapist priests tell them any crime is "forgiven" by their alleged crucified baby gawd who allegedly died for 33 hours one Palestinian weekend 29 bce

@GreenAtheist Wow, chill! What negativity! How do you know they were both Christian? No one hurt anyone. Just letting folks know that the web admins are doing their job. Now I feel bad for you Larry! I cannot imagine carrying around that kind of anger.

Understated friend Ellida, religion is like a virus and we must strengthen our antibodies to resist infection....our Atheism is the bold compassionate rescue and protection of religious victims BEGINNING WITH OURSELVES shaking loose the hell threats and repudiating the heaven bribes post mortem

@GreenAtheist their venom is innocuous to me, friend Larry...they are just very annoying when they keep trying to find reason in fables and their ignorance is irritating to me, since it’s very hard to be this kind of ignorant on the 21st century, when evidence is everywhere. I love to come here and laugh, have some fun with jokes that are understood and accepted, without the fear of hurting any believer’s feelings. Let’s try to keep the house clean and the virulent people out...that’s my humble opinion.

@GreenAtheist we’re all religious victims in here, no need to remind you that they would hang you in a public place, or shoot you in the face if they could...there’s no compassion in that book, or tribe.

I love a believer....one of the ways that defines our love is to avoid politics that defines my American Atheist leadership.....accordingly she is not curious about agnostic.com and would be instantly annoyed to say the least by frank candid Atheism here.....any believer here who does not instantly react to our total disagreements with faiths is hiding their agenda for their beliefs.....unless a believer is upfront and troubled about the absurdity and irrationality about their religion, agnostic DOT COM is hostile territory they are invading and spying upon us MINIMUM and likely to post snide remarks defining their complete lack of critical thinking that is the essence of Atheism and our fight for freedom FROM THEOCRACY which is their criminal agenda they bring into our community here

And that lasted only 45 days....belief is a cancer in the brain that blinds normal thoughts extraneous to functioning intimate family relationships....loving loyalties are bounded if not betrayed by beliefs of pure stupidity....eventually we Atheists are resented and feared when we love believers

at this point months later I don't care if they join or not. THere are ways to deal with them if they are offensive

at this point months later I don't care if they join or not. THere are ways to deal with them if they are offensive

I find it interesting that you say "conclusions on the lack of a god". I am agnostic; and by agnostic I mean that I still believe and pray at times but I do not "know" that there is a God or many gods. I do not know there is a god like I know 2+2=4. I'm wondering if you or others would find that the word "atheist" would be more likely fitting to someone who has "concluded" that there is no god and that an "agnostic" would be more likely to not claim to know one way or the other.

They are not all bigots and some of our 'side' ARE bigots.

I think you don’t appreciate my sense of humor

Trolling is bad from either side.

@Mcflewster to be honest I have nothing against trolling. however, I like my trolls to be quiet and we all know that never happens.

Agree

and there are three levels of agnosticism: hard, soft and apathetic.

agnostic has nothing to do with belief; it means: not knowing of a god existing. an agnostic theist would thereby be someone who, despite not knowing of an existing god, believes in him - exactly the kind of babble people attempt to escape when joining this site.

Some of them are emotionally unstable, for sure. But some are sincere and want to help by giving their views. It depends on what those views are as to whether or not they help me get off the fence. -- The one thing that really has a dramatic effect on me is this: Why, on the otherhand, do atheists get so angry, disgusted, and resentful of those who do believe? The believers are not hurting them. Why do they make a case for conversion from Christianity? It appears to me that many atheists are really almost militant in trying to make believers fools or fooled., and obviously as an enemy. What's it to an athiest if another person believes? That is strange. Very strange.

Except not every one of them is like that.

That ain’t necessarily so, I used to be a believer.

Clarification: nonbeliever might have been a poor word choice. Perhaps I should have stated religious or those of a belief that would draw them here to bash or convert those of dissimilar mind.

Don't let the religious win. I agree with your comment about "not the same old religion bashing. Refuting religion will require ALL our critical AND compassionate faculties

@Stevil I respectfully disagree. I think theists, like the cancer they resemble, need to be addressed.

I block them every time xmas or xian lies arise

trolling, as far as my experience goes.

you are commenting like an agnostic.

I've run into a few that attempt to diminish science (fact based demonstrable claims and observations and promote faith. I've run into a few that assert faith (belief without evidence) is a personal avenue to truth. Faith is the foundation of religion and for me those that promote faith over reality have crossed the agnostic/atheist boarder towards the dark side of superstition/religion.

The TAMPON TERRORISTS run their echo chambers screaming outside abortion clinics USA BY THE HUNDREDS

Go to any abortion clinic and hear the screams of TAMPON TERRORISTs who on our agnostic posts quote their violent abortion bibles TO SEE WHY NOT

Did you report any of these people?

Don't leave. There are other rooms on here besides "Religion and Spirituality", such as news, music, politics. I, for one, never want to go to La la Land- and walk on "streets of purest gold"; the glare would be hard on the eyes, and the metal would be hard on the boots too. I prefer Nature and green grass.

there is diversity of opinions here! Being a skeptic I don't know how one can be an atheist and believe in the zodiac but it happens. There are people here who still believe in reiki or crystals or any number of things which have no scientific basis. I can't figure them out. Maybe you can.

@MsDemeanour Good point. I think that many people have a deep-seated need to believe in something, almost anything, to give their lives meaning and structure. Just because you have freed yourself from one superstition doesn't necessarily mean you have freed yourself from all superstitions. The history of Communist USSR shows that while they preached atheism, on one hand, they practically make a religion of the State on the other hand. It is not unknown for some societies to make a demigod out of their political leader such as in North Korea. Some people who swear they are not superstitious, nevertheless have a lucky shirt or pair of shoes they wear for sports. In fact, sports players are often notorious for their superstitious practices even though it may be in direct conflict with their professed religion. This deep-seated need was famously explored by Victor Frankl in his book, "Man's Search for Meaning" back in 1946.

You have lived a very sheltered life then. I know lots of 'believers' in something, even if it is energy who could care less what I think and never force it on anyone. There are about 10 degrees of theists, most of which are so relaxed they don't follow what the church demands, then you have the rabid, really scary types... whom you simply side-step as you can generally see them coming. Most Catholics could care less about anything religious and just want answers to everything else. Most people now days are simply 'metaphysical' and do not believe in a 'god' per se', but something they cannot understand fully - they are mostly agnostic, yet may still 'claim' to be a believer. The percentage of red-neck cultish zealots is as small as Trump's following of rag tag believers that he is their new messiah character who will make America great again. Most people in this country will 'claim' to be a Christian, yet nary a 10th of them gives a rats ass about practicing it. Word to the wise.

You have lived a very sheltered life then. I know lots of 'believers' in something, even if it is energy who could care less what I think and never force it on anyone. There are about 10 degrees of theists, most of which are so relaxed they don't follow what the church demands, then you have the rabid, really scary types... whom you simply side-step as you can generally see them coming and they are almost ALWAYS - THE BAPTISTS!!! Most Catholics could care less about anything religious and just want answers to everything else. Most people now days are simply 'metaphysical' and do not believe in a 'god' per se', but something they cannot understand fully - they are mostly agnostic, yet may still 'claim' to be a believer. The percentage of red-neck cultish zealots is as small as Trump's following of rag tag believers that he is their new messiah character who will make America great again. Most people in this country will 'claim' to be a Christian, yet nary a 10th of them gives a rats ass about practicing it. Word to the wise.