Weak Atheism

[evolved yet?]

Is there any weak atheist on this forum or all strong Atheist?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I try to stay active and work-out with weights fairly regularly.

 

[HonestJoe]

By the definitions I've seen, I'd fall in to the weak atheist category but then I'd have expected all but the most arrogant atheist would too yet this doesn't seem to be the case. I often suspect people just don't like being associated with the word "weak".

The definitions of strong atheist I've seen suggest to me that you deny that there is any possibility at all of any kind of god having ever existed at all. I find that as ridiculous as the belief in the existence of any specifically defined god.

I'd love to know if you see the terms differently.

Of course, I usually define myself as "Joe". I find it causes fewer theological arguments and sounds better called from the other side of the street.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

I think you will find that a majority of atheists are weak atheists.

 

[evolved yet?]

By the definitions I've seen, I'd fall in to the weak atheist category but then I'd have expected all but the most arrogant atheist would too yet this doesn't seem to be the case. I often suspect people just don't like being associated with the word "weak".

The definitions of strong atheist I've seen suggest to me that you deny that there is any possibility at all of any kind of god having ever existed at all. I find that as ridiculous as the belief in the existence of any specifically defined god.

I'd love to know if you see the terms differently.

Of course, I usually define myself as "Joe". I find it causes fewer theological arguments and sounds better called from the other side of the street.

I would define weak atheism as not believing any specific religion( also called strong agnosticism) and strong atheism as not believing there is a god.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

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[Penumbra]

I would define weak atheism as not believing any specific religion( also called strong agnosticism) and strong atheism as not believing there is a god.

That's kind of an unusual definition. You can define it how you want I suppose, but that's not a commonly understood definition.

Generally, a weak atheist is someone that doesn't believe in any gods, while a strong atheist is someone that asserts that gods do not exist. The definition is not directly related to religion (as many Buddhists are atheists); the only factor being considered is whether the individual believes in one or more gods or not, and what type of belief/disbelief they have.

But going back to the original post, I feel that the whole dichotomy is rather false. There are not two camps, but instead a large spectrum of various types of disbelief that interact with various definitions of what a god is. According to some definitions of what a god is, I'd be labeled as a fairly strong atheist, while according to some other definitions, I'd be a weak atheist or an agnostic.

 

[evolved yet?]

Generally, a weak atheist is someone that doesn't believe in any gods,

That is what I was trying to say...

while a strong atheist is someone that asserts that gods do not exist.

That is how I define it.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I'd say I'm probably a weak atheist when it comes to the idea of the possibility of the existence of some type of entity that I would define as "god," and I'm a strong atheist when it comes to the myriad of human-created god concepts.

 

[bobhikes]

Generally, a weak atheist is someone that doesn't believe in any gods, while a strong atheist is someone that asserts that gods do not exist. The definition is not directly related to religion (as many Buddhists are atheists); the only factor being considered is whether the individual believes in one or more gods or not, and what type of belief/disbelief they have.

By this definition I would be a weak atheist. I believe religion has its place in the world but there is no God.

However, I have bored myself to death with the same old fights on religious forums and only check in occasionally.

 

[Penumbra]

I'd say I'm probably a weak atheist when it comes to the idea of the possibility of the existence of some type of entity that I would define as "god," and I'm a strong atheist when it comes to the myriad of human-created god concepts.

Yeah, that's mostly how I roll too.

 

[evolved yet?]

I'm a Strong Atheist that does not require deconverting as your definition might make you assume.

 

[Scarlett Wampus]

I'm a weak atheist.

I have to say that while I don't believe in the existence of Gods but acknowledge there could be some sort of God-thing I don't know about, being forced into the narrowness of this position annoys me. The problem is the word "God". It typically implies a very limited set of ideas that I find increasingly dull as time goes by. There are all manner of amazing & spectacular things I don't believe in but acknowledge could exist without my knowledge. I'd be happier if people in general obsessed about a much wider range of exotic things from that boundless realm of possibilities than the God-things.

 

[yourhopeboundheart]

i think that the distinction is unnecessary. it's not scientifically responsible to rule out possibilities entirely. skepticism must be accompanied by wonder, doubt with imagination. to rule out the possibility that i could be wrong about something is narcissistic and irresponsible. yet being confident in my doubting is the only way to be as certain as possible, and therefore not lend myself to undue coercion. so you could call my atheism as weak as the evidence, but my standard of evidence is very strong.

 

[ButTheCatCameBack]

Strong atheist here. World religions can't even come up with a coherent definition of what they mean by "God" so they're not even at the hypothesis stage yet. Maybe when they do I might move to a weak atheism. But for now I worry about their nebulous term as much as I'd say there is no evidence for or against blaggerflagamuchals.

 

[jarofthoughts]

I'm a 6.9 on the Dawkins scale.


The Dawkins Scale

1. Strong Theist: I do not question the existence of God, I KNOW he exists.
2. De-facto Theist: I cannot know for certain but I strongly believe in God and I live my life on the assumption that he is there.
3, Weak Theist: I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God.
4. Pure Agnostic: God’s existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable.
5. Weak Atheist: I do not know whether God exists but I’m inclined to be skeptical.
6. De-facto Atheist: I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable and I live my life under the assumption that he is not there.
7. Strong Atheist: I am 100% sure that there is no God.

 

[Penumbra]

I don't usually understand what is meant by "live with the assumption that God is not there."

I don't think knowledge of any existent deities would have a big impact on the way I live my life. There would be little or no reason to change much.

 

[Revoltingest]

Is there any weak atheist on this forum or all strong Atheist?

What kind of atheist would you say that I am.
- I believe there are no gods.
- This is a speculative position, since it is not provable/disprovable, ie, I don't know that there are none.

 

[evolved yet?]

I'm a 6.9 on the Dawkins scale.


The Dawkins Scale

1. Strong Theist: I do not question the existence of God, I KNOW he exists.
2. De-facto Theist: I cannot know for certain but I strongly believe in God and I live my life on the assumption that he is there.
3, Weak Theist: I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God.
4. Pure Agnostic: God’s existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable.
5. Weak Atheist: I do not know whether God exists but I’m inclined to be skeptical.
6. De-facto Atheist: I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable and I live my life under the assumption that he is not there.
7. Strong Atheist: I am 100% sure that there is no God.

I'm about 6.9999999999999999 in other words I'm 0.0000000000000001 away from 100% sure.

 

[jarofthoughts]

I'm about 6.9999999999999999 in other words I'm 0.0000000000000001 away from 100% sure.

Show-off... :sarcastic