@Moravian : Only in that we cannot legitimately claim to KNOW there is no god or gods anywhere inside of outside of our universe/reality. It simply cannot be known. I absolutely do not believe any exist; but, I cannot claim to have access to all knowledge.

Please, explain to me how you can KNOW that no type of eternal, god being, absolutely does not exist. I know of no scientist, even of the most adamant atheists, who will claim to have that knowledge.

And, again, agnostic does not mean that one thinks there is some possibility of a god, or gods, only that it cannot be known.

@Joanne So you think there is a 0.1% chance that Bertrand Russel's teapot actually orbits the sun.?

@Moravian : I am not saying that I think that there is any chance of there being a god.

Science has shown that no god is necessary, and there is no evidence for one. But, this does not mean that one cannot, or does not, exist --somewhere, in some reality that we do not have access to.

I do not believe that one, or more does; but I simply do not claim to have that knowledge...and no one can legitimately claim to have it. Just as I do not believe the universe has any type of consciousness--but I cannot "know" this.

Now, when it comes to specific gods, I think we can provide evidence that they cannot exist. The god of the Bible, for instance, is simply too contradictory. I have no problem saying that that god does not exist.

@Joanne What is a god ? A supernatural being that controls certain aspects of the natural world. We know nothing before the big bang so if it was instigated by a superior force as some people believe, and this force does not interfere in the workings of the universe as we now know that the universe operates by certain physical laws, it is not a god.

We do not know exactly how life started on earth but we know how it evolved from single celled organism without any interference from any supernatural force so we know that there is no god involved.

So we know gods do not exist;
Anyway I dislike being called an Atheist as it is a label applied by believers who are in my mind illogical and irrational

@Moravian :

By a "god" I mean some being, or consciousness, that is responsible for creating the universe or universes. Even if it not involved in our universe, this supposed being could be off creating more of them. Now, I don't for a moment think this is the case; I simply cannot say that I "know" that no such being exists.

Science does not make any claims that no gods exist--it shows us that there is no evidence for any and that no god is necessary for the universe to behave as it does. It cannot tell us what was before the big bang, or what is possibly outside of our universe or reality as we know it.

Also, people tend to be more comfortable if you say you are an agnostic or a non-believer than if you use the word "atheist." I try to use that word because I want people to see that we are not the evil beings we are made out to be.

What I don't like is to see those who identify as agnostics dissing atheists and making claims that we all think we have all the answers. And, I don't like those who identify as atheists to go after agnostics making claims that they are too timid, or wishy-washy, to make up their minds.

@Moravian She continues with a word game ..that apparently squares her lack of stepping up to the plate. Good spot, and excellent rebuttal/s (you win).

@Joanne OK but watch out that the orbit of Bertrand Russel's teapot doesn't decay and it may fall on your head .
Apart from possibly the Hindu gods the only one that really matters is YAWEH the Jewish god.
I have read the first books of the old testament in some detail and it is obvious to me that the polytheist Jews adopted monotheism gradually after exile in Babylonia and used this god to justify their warlike and aquisitive behaviour.
Christianity is just a Jewish cult that got lucky and Islam is just a mishmash of Judaim and Christianity with lots of draconian rules added.
If you can find in there somewhere your god well that's up to you.

@Varn Thanks