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PURE AGNOSTICS ARE NOT ATHEISTS.
In the Dawkins's Scale, I went from 6-5, and then 5 to 4. And I think it's fair enough for people to consider themselves as a pure agnostic, if they really consider it to be an equiprobable scenario. When the coin is tossed, it can still land sideways although it is highly improbable, there is indeed a 3rd option.

Dawkins' Scale
1.Strong theism, which asserts that the believer knows without a doubt there is a God.
2.De facto theism, where believers are not 100 percent sure that God exists but consider it very probable and live their lives as though he does.
3.Weak theism, where a believer isn't wholly certain but leans toward belief in a deity.
4.Pure agnostic or complete impartiality, where the likelihood of a god's existence is just as likely to be true or false.
5.Weak atheism, where an individual isn't certain whether God exists but is inclined toward skepticism.
6.De facto atheism, where a person is not wholly positive that God does not exist but considers it very improbable and lives his/her life as though there is no deity.
7.Strong atheists, who believe with 100 percent certainty that there is no deity.

I do understand that the difference between a belief question and a knowledge question. However, some people find it a hard time to lean towards either ways to properly answer to the belief question, the same way a child struggles to answer when he is asked if he loves her father or mother more? I guess it comes down to how a person sees the world. As long as one can't be certain about either extremes, one must allow the possibility of all levels of agnostism as well.

It's fair enough to call someone with a >50%,<100% certainty in the existence of God, an agnostic theist and someone with a >50%,<100% certainty in the lack of a God, an agnostic atheist. However, what would you call someone who is at exactly 50%? The question of what they believe in is simply not a question they can answer with a binary option. Although, if forced you might get an answer out of them leaning towards either sides, but this is simply an unreliable answer as their actual anwer has to do with the 50% dilemma. So, do you believe you like your father or mother more?

naughtyxavi 4 Nov 29
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2 comments

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1

I'm not sure how I fit on this scale. I do not believe in man-made gods, they were created to manipulate, control, and dominate the masses.

What do I believe? I don't know!

There is so much of our planet and the universe that has not been explored and what lays beyond if anything is a great unknown.

Do I think anyone is watching us individually or as a whole? NO!

Here is how I see it... Draw a 1 meter (or yard) square on a patch of sand on a beach (represents the universe). Chose 1 grain of sand to watch (represents the earth). On that 1 grain of sand, there are 7 billion plus souls.

Stand outside the square and tell me if you can keep track of that 1 grain of sand and each of the 7 billion plus souls? If you can convince me that you can do that then I will entertain the possibility of a god.

Am I saying that we are not a part of something bigger? I don't know.

Where does that put me on the scale? 🙂

Betty Level 8 Nov 29, 2017

the failure of all people, myself included, is that we cannot think beyond ourselves...even the idea of god through they eye of man is always just a reflection of our (the royal 'our'😉 needs, wants, and insecurities. If you were to tell a person 200 years ago that there was a machine that could collate all the people on the earth by name and statistics with the only limit is their availability, and that could be estimated by camera's in the sky, that would be a facsimile of god....we so often confuse man's concept of a god as being what god must be...for obvious reasons...you would think that a 'higher power' might be beyond our ability to comprehend...or, not...which is why I love being agnostic...it's fun to think about.

@JohnnyThorazine I agree and if you make that 200 years 10,000 then it is easy to imagine how people would react to such events as Halley's Comet, asteroids, or even the aurora borealis as messages from a deity and that is besides all the other earthly stuff like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and swarms of bugs etc. they attributed to gods.

So I guess what I'm saying is I don't know what I don't know and I may never find out in my lifetime. 😉

1

I am what I consider to be a Devout Agnostic. I am completely sure I do not know the nature of a post-life or the influence of 'higher powers' in/on/around my life. I find the idea and the belief in said ideas fascinating and interesting, however. I have even come to realize what I truly have is an absolute lack of Faith. And have never had it. But it allows me to be flexible as to the influx of information and the opinions of others. Open, if you will, without undue influence. Now to go get coffee.

I was raised by devote agnostics. They only allowed me to drink doctor pepper. Is it cola, is a root beer? I don't know!

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