I am not sure what the context is here. Were you on a date?

The difference between atheist and agnostic for most people is just a bit of semantics. Hardly anything to get fired up over. Most agnostics don't care enough about the existence of a god to alter lifestyle or mindset, and most atheists will not claim a 0% chance of the existence of god. Even this website has a 99.9% choice as to your opinion on the chance of god existing.

You can't prove a negative. There is a greater than 0 chance that santa, bigfoot, unicorns, fairies and gods exist. The universe is a big place and we can't search it. I am confident the odds are crazy low for all these entities.

I use the term atheist for myself for 3 reasons:

1. Agnostic makes most people think you are 50/50. I am not. I am very close to zero % on god's existence.
2. Definition of atheist implies a lack of belief. Not having an invisible friend is my natural state. Belief takes effort, it is an activity I do not participate in.
3. Part of the social issue that freethinkers have is that we think freely. We are not a united group, it is like herding cats. It is our strength and our weakness. We go by many names, have a diverse philosophy and choose to express our opinions openly and freely. I say I am an atheist because it is better defined and opens up discussion, though often it is just people telling me I am stupid. The irony of that both funny and sad at the same time.

Hope this was helpful.

My worldview is informed by the epistemology of evidentialism wherein the definition of evidence is in alignment with the scientific method. What all that incredibly confusing verbiage means is that a belief must be restricted to those things for which there is adequate real (objective) evidence to justify the belief.

This view automatically determines that I cannot make any assertion without having evidence to support the assertion. Because of this, in any discussion of deity I will appear to be agnostic and with good reason. With the same reasoning, I am also an atheist because I have insufficient evidence to hold any belief in the supernatural. I do not believe in a god or gods, but I cannot deny the possibility that I might be wrong.

So, I am free of all superstitions, including the belief in deity.

Dogma in any ilk is off-putting. Strident atheists can be as, if not more annoying than the JC crew.

A data set of one is not enough to start generalising from.

small samples lead to lousy judgments. so you met a stranger who happened to be an atheist and also happened to be obnoxious (in ways you have not specified, so it is hard to understand what bothered you about the conversation). i mean, i have NO idea what behaviors you're talking about. i'm not doubting you -- but i can't have an opinion about behaviors that have not been specified. did the person spit? call you a name? tell you you were stupid? what? anyway, let's imagine (since, without information, all i can DO is imagine) that this person was just plain vile. is this what WHAT is like? it's what THAT PERSON was like. would you judge all women by one rude woman? would you judge all short people by one short person? how about people from iowa? would one rude person from iowa make you ask "is this what it's like"?

i also have to wonder what you think "atheist" means. an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in any gods. s/he might even actively believe there are no gods.. that's ALL it means. it doesn't mean a member of a certain club, or a crusader for a certain cause (although since atheists get attacked a lot, sometimes we have the pretty reasonable agenda of getting people to stop attacking us), or people who like pizza, or people who don't like pizza. it JUST means someone for whom there are no gods. so since you don't believe there is a god, in what way are you not an atheist? what is wrong with the word, for you?

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There's a lot left out here. To be clear, just because a person doesn't believe in God doesn't mean they can't be an asshole.

I think everyone you come across will be different, whatever flag they fly.

Communication isn't dependant on everyone thinking the same. If you and this person weren't communicating effectively despite the differences, maybe the next experience will be better. Or worse.

There's always going to be people who take things way too far or seriously: religion, politics, social issues, etc. When these people encounter another person on social media who doesn't believe or take a certain stance as seriously as them, then they can become offensive/attack you. Many of these extremists define themselves by their beliefs, and they take it personally when someone doesn't believe what they do.

I had two people on here recently be complete douchebags to me. One went completely apeshit because I didn't agree with him that we should "kill Trump." I don't agree or like Trump, but I'm not going to say we should kill him. The other person got butthurt that I didn't take an political poll on here seriously even though it had no consequences on real life what we chose in the poll.

Most people here are good people.

there are obnoxious idiots in every walk of life sadly

No. Most of us, agnostic and atheist alike, really aren’t that intimidating. I welcome you to think whatever you like, as long as you respect my opinions.

It sounds like you were talking to an evangelical atheist. Evangelical in this case meaning “marked by militant or crusading zeal”.

Those types seem to have similar mental problems as evangelical, dogmatic religious types. They need to know that they are right so they can close off their mind. They want everybody around them to think the same way so they try to micromanage your thoughts. I think they do these things because it brings them comfort as opposed to pursuing deeper understanding of the hard questions of ultimate existence.

Depending on the level of indoctrination there can be several stages on the way to atheism. Some people get stuck in one stage and are unable to move on. First one questions one's own beliefs (as imposed by others). Then one questions the beliefs of others. Then resentment and anger at being indoctrinated since childhood before one could make a cognitive decision. There can be a desire to disprove 'god' and this is when aggresive evangelical atheism can occur, atheism becomes the 'religion' and converts are sought. (This is the stage many get stuck in and i believe that is the type of person you encountered.) Eventually the question of 'god' becomes an irrelevance to one's life. That's when you are a true atheist. Obviously this is a very simplistic explanation. Everyone's personal journey is different and many factors come into play. ?

There have been some fakes out there. Hang with it there are a lot of intelligent people on here.

Some Atheists today are very "religious" in their Atheism.

"I just don't believe there is a god". Then you're an atheist. If some atheist gave you a hard time for not committing to "there is definitely no god", that's their issue. Sorry you experienced that.

You are going to find such people no matter the subject. Explore your own intrigue.

Beliefs are to be challenged. I do not know the specifics of your situation, so can't really comment. If the other person criticizes your ideas, no matter how harshly, and not you, it is a fair game. It is the responsibility of everyone involved in the debate to separate the person and the beliefs. Beliefs are dispensable, but not the person. It is easy to feel attacked when our ideas are attacked, but we must resist that.

Blow it off. Consider it a look at one way you don't want to be.

Do you think that the person was a jerk because they were an atheist or do you think they were a jerk who was also an atheist, sometimes we may make the wrong connection.

Forget labels. Just share and compare ideas honestly. The rest will take care of itself.

Hello mychelle,
I am new this group and I hope it wasn't me. I am a very pragmatic atheist and need evidences support what I say. I do believe that natural causes are mistaken for the supernatural and trying modify them can sometimes lead a wrong interpretation. When I speak of one energy being the progenitor, I am just saying what some of the most accomplished scientists have said. Richard Feynman with his one electron theory or the mysteries of quantum entanglement and its ability to react between particles instantaneously; which fools us into thinking it is quicker than the speed of light, when in reality we are just looking at one particle. Reality can sometimes seem stranger than fiction.
Best Wishes

Mychelle if you believe in zero gods, your an Atheist.

It's kind of like the Republican/Democrat paradigm. It can be frustrating.

I've been told I'm not an atheist because I believe in a few things that (as far as they're concerned) I should not believe in.

I've also met an atheist that did not believe in science.

Like religions, not all atheist are the same. Ignore the ones that aren't aligned with you and go about your everyday life. They're not worth stressing over.