The shifting membership of RF

[Morse]

I dont have a god, and appearances can be deceptive.

Yes, its often worse than it seems.

 

[kai]

Yes, its often worse than it seems.

Hey do you know me? Horatio is that you?

 

[Morse]

Alas poor Yorrick.

 

[.lava]

what's just happened between Kai and Morse?





.

 

[Morse]

what's just happened between Kai and Morse?





.

Bonding.

Or something like that.

 

[Breathe]

Theist.

 

[kai]

what's just happened between Kai and Morse?





.

Tis bonding indeed my dear Lava, Morse is a fellow of infinite
jest, of most excellent fancy.

worry not ,the game is a foot.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Actually I like this poll. Either you believe in SOMETHING or you believe in NOTHING.

Everyone who says they are Atheists in my opinion are truly Agnostic. Who on earth when faced with positive proof of a Deity would remain Atheist?

It boils down to:

I believe in a higher power
I don't believe in a higher power
I can't say for sure, but I need some proof to believe in anything.

 

[MissAlice]

I guess I consider myself agnostic but only becuz nothing is certain but death and taxes_Ben Franklin.

But if you were to ask me if I believe in god upfront I would say no or at least not in the way humans have defined god.

 

[Katzpur]

Actually I like this poll. Either you believe in SOMETHING or you believe in NOTHING.

I agree -- sort of. I think that people either believe there is a God or they believe there is not a God. But it actually gets down to "belief" in the end. So people are either theists or atheists. Even agnostics lean one way or the other, most of them towards atheism. On the other hand, the way the dictionary defines "agnostic," it could include those individuals who lean towards theism as well. The word "agnostic" simply means (according to Webster's, folks, so don't jump down my throat if you disagree) a person who believes it is impossible to know whether there is a God or not. None of us really know for sure. Some of us just have a more compelling belief in the likelihood or unliklihood of God's existance than others of us. I kind of think that virtually everyone who claims to be a theist is really an agnostic with strongly theistic leanings.

My real reason for starting this poll was because I am starting to get sick of having more than half of the posts on most every thread be from people who are here for no reason other than to tell the rest of us that none of what we believe has any value or validity. I enjoy hearing about other people's concept of God, who He is, how He interacts or does not interact with mankind, and what might be in store for us after death. More often than not, I have to sift through the posts about the Flying Spaghetti Monster to find the occasional post from someone who actually believes in God. It didn't used to be that way, and it seems like on a Religious Forum, it shouldn't be that way. I'm not suggesting that all the atheists leave or stop posting, but I am saying that, based on the direction RF seems to be heading, pretty soon there will be so few theists left that the staff might want to reconsider renaming the forum to "Anti-Religious Forums," so that the name actually reflects the climate of the populace here. As the poll stands right now, if we were to combine the atheists and the agnostics, they would be the majority and the theists would be the minority.

 

[Morse]

I agree -- sort of. I think that people either believe there is a God or they believe there is not a God. But it actually gets down to "belief" in the end. So people are either theists or atheists. Even agnostics lean one way or the other, most of them towards atheism. On the other hand, the way the dictionary defines "agnostic," it could include those individuals who lean towards theism as well. The word "agnostic" simply means (according to Webster's, folks, so don't jump down my throat if you disagree) a person who believes it is impossible to know whether there is a God or not. None of us really know for some. Some of us just have a more compelling belief in the likelihood or unliklihood of God's existance than others of us. I kind of think that virtually everyone who claims to be a theist is really an agnostic with strongly theistic leanings.

My real reason for starting this poll was because I am starting to get sick of having more than half of the posts on most every thread be from people who are here for no reason other than to tell the rest of us that none of what we believe has any value or validity. I enjoy hearing about other people's concept of God, who He is, how He interacts or does not interact with mankind, and what might be in store for us after death. More often than not, I have to sift through the posts about the Flying Spaghetti Monster to find the occasional post from someone who actually believes in God. It didn't used to be that way, and it seems like on a Religious Forum, it shouldn't be that way. I'm not suggesting that all the atheists leave or stop posting, but I am saying that, based on the direction RF seems to be heading, pretty soon there will be so few theists left that the staff might want to reconsider renaming the forum to "Anti-Religious Forums," so that the name actually reflects the climate of the populace here. As the poll stands right now, if we were to combine the atheists and the agnostics, they would be the majority and the theists would be the minority.

It actually seems like the large majority of people here are Atheist or Theist. We have extremists on both sides, and the poor agnostics are losing ground.

 

[Katzpur]

It actually seems like the large majority of people here are Atheist or Theist. We have extremists on both sides, and the poor agnostics are losing ground.

So you voted as an agnostic. Had your choices been only "theist" and "atheist," how would you have voted, or would you have voted at all?

I actually wasn't going to include "agnostic" on the poll. It was a last-minute addition, since I figured a lot of people would define themselves that way and wouldn't know which to choose if I omitted it. Then I get called on the fact that I didn't also include "gnostic." You can't win. I didn't include "other," because when you do that, 90% of the people choose it and it doesn't give you a very accurate poll.

 

[Apex]

It actually seems like the large majority of people here are Atheist or Theist. We have extremists on both sides, and the poor agnostics are losing ground.

It is very rare that I have seen a religious extremist on this site. It may be that I just do not read the right threads. But the majority of the time I have seen one come here, the anti-theists laugh them off the board.

 

[Morse]

So you voted as an agnostic. Had your choices been only "theist" and "atheist," how would you have voted, or would you have voted at all?

I actually wasn't going to include "agnostic" on the poll. It was a last-minute addition, since I figured a lot of people would define themselves that way and wouldn't know which to choose if I omitted it. Then I get called on the fact that I didn't also include "gnostic." You can't win. I didn't include "other," because when you do that, 90% of the people choose it and it doesn't give you a very accurate poll.

I wouldn't have voted. I find myself opposite both atheists and theists enough that I don't feel comfortable tossing myself in with their lot. The reason for this is because of the growing extremist demographic. I continually see extreme atheists and extreme theists come onto this forum and claim to have proof of something, and they show complete derision or disregard for other users beliefs. They claim to have knowledge of absolutes and infinites when they don't have anything but quotes, opinions, statistics, and a whole lot of unresolved issues. It bugs me.

Don't get me wrong though, there are lots of theists and atheists I like on this forum.

 

[MissAlice]

I agree -- sort of. I think that people either believe there is a God or they believe there is not a God. But it actually gets down to "belief" in the end. So people are either theists or atheists. Even agnostics lean one way or the other, most of them towards atheism. On the other hand, the way the dictionary defines "agnostic," it could include those individuals who lean towards theism as well. The word "agnostic" simply means (according to Webster's, folks, so don't jump down my throat if you disagree) a person who believes it is impossible to know whether there is a God or not. None of us really know for some. Some of us just have a more compelling belief in the likelihood or unliklihood of God's existance than others of us. I kind of think that virtually everyone who claims to be a theist is really an agnostic with strongly theistic leanings.

My real reason for starting this poll was because I am starting to get sick of having more than half of the posts on most every thread be from people who are here for no reason other than to tell the rest of us that none of what we believe has any value or validity. I enjoy hearing about other people's concept of God, who He is, how He interacts or does not interact with mankind, and what might be in store for us after death. More often than not, I have to sift through the posts about the Flying Spaghetti Monster to find the occasional post from someone who actually believes in God. It didn't used to be that way, and it seems like on a Religious Forum, it shouldn't be that way. I'm not suggesting that all the atheists leave or stop posting, but I am saying that, based on the direction RF seems to be heading, pretty soon there will be so few theists left that the staff might want to reconsider renaming the forum to "Anti-Religious Forums," so that the name actually reflects the climate of the populace here. As the poll stands right now, if we were to combine the atheists and the agnostics, they would be the majority and the theists would be the minority.

I think you'll find that just like any forum religious or not there are always going to be cliques of people. While you may feel strongly connected to one clique because you identify or agree with them on some issues, you may find yourself disagreeing with other cliques you don't feel so closely connected to or akin.

Me personally, I come here to learn and interact with people of all cliques or religions and non religions. Much more different than just reading them from a book and makes arguments and discussions more interesting imo.

 

[Morse]

It is very rare that I have seen a religious extremist on this site. It may be that I just do not read the right threads. But the majority of the time I have seen one come here, the anti-theists laugh them off the board.

I use the term extremist loosely. I guess I shouldn't use the term extremist, but rather, irrationals. And yes, this applies to many non-theists as well as theists.

 

[enchanted_one1975]

I got to thinking about someone I know on this board...

Does believing in geometry count as Theist or is that one of the others?

 

[Commoner]

So you voted as an agnostic. Had your choices been only "theist" and "atheist," how would you have voted, or would you have voted at all?

I actually wasn't going to include "agnostic" on the poll. It was a last-minute addition, since I figured a lot of people would define themselves that way and wouldn't know which to choose if I omitted it. Then I get called on the fact that I didn't also include "gnostic." You can't win. I didn't include "other," because when you do that, 90% of the people choose it and it doesn't give you a very accurate poll.

I see you have been victimized by my harsh critique.

No, but seriously, my critique was just as much pointed at those that would describe themselves as "agnostic" - the relatively large group that most likely prompted you to add that option. Of course, that's a valid description, but it says nothing about you being a theist or an atheist, agonsticism is not some great "middle-ground" that allows you to keep one leg on each side. Either you have a belief in a god, or you do not, knowledge is the domain of mathemathics and logic. In that respect, I am both an agnostic and an atheist. So which should I choose? Am I a materialist or a liberal, which defines me to a greater extent?

Anyway, enough ranting, and I'm sorry if I came across too strongly, Katzpur.

 

[Jackytar]

As the poll stands right now, if we were to combine the atheists and the agnostics, they would be the majority and the theists would be the minority.

Could it be that in the free marketplace of ideas, there are winners and losers?

Jackytar

 

[Morse]

Could it be that in the free marketplace of ideas, there are winners and losers?

Jackytar

You obviously don't understand the Free Enterprise system.