Since it's impossible to state with absolute certainty that there is or isn't a god
Agnosticism is the default position for everyone. Most "atheists" are just a bit higher on the agnostic scale than you are. Point this out to them next time they give you grief.

Then grow a pair of balls and join them :)
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Tue 6 Apr 2010, 13:55, 1 reply)

In person it's really not an issue. If someone has the wrong idea about my faith structure, I'm eloquent enough to put my point across and big enough to pin them to the deck while I explain if needs be... it's the knee-jerk types on here who take a Daily Mail mindset to the most important of questions.
(ElectricSexPants would like to be the Sultan of something, Tue 6 Apr 2010, 15:17, closed)

I shouldn't worry about that
there's no point in arguing with someone with a closed mind. I self-identify as "atheist" but I''ll admit that's just shorthand for "extremely unconvinced agnostic" - after all, I'm just as agnostic about Thor and Zeus as I am about Jesus and the rest of his troublesome family...and even people who believe in those are usually agnostic about Amun-Ra or Woden. Everyone's an agnostic when it comes down to it, we just go one god further than believers.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Tue 6 Apr 2010, 15:24, closed)

Thing is, I see atheism as basically having faith that there is no deity, be it a classical god or any sentient creative force on any scale. An atheist by definition believes in the absence of theism. An agnostic is a fully different animal, basically saying "I don't know, yet" and within that framework you have people who lean one way or another. Many people seem to confuse the two or use them interchangeably. They are not synonyms.

A [christian] [insert most other religions here instead] is a committed atheist with the sole exception of his specific God with a capital G. Anyone who really follows what their book tells them will point out that God said he's the only one so that's their proof. Aothertheism, if you will!
(ElectricSexPants would like to be the Sultan of something, Tue 6 Apr 2010, 15:36, closed)

I don't see atheism like that - I'm essentially agnostic in that I don't know whether there is a God or not
but in my opinion it's far more likely that there isn't. Extraordinary claims (like a god) require extraordinary proof, and I've not seen or heard anything that would convince me that they might be true. I can't say for sure that there isn't a god but at the same time I'm not going to believe in one "just in case". If you read Dawkins, he posits a scale with devout believer at 1 and atheist at 7, then self-identifies as a 6.9 - there may be a god, but it's extremely unlikely. I'd agree with that.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Tue 6 Apr 2010, 15:41, closed)

I don't like the scale... I see it more like a starfish in an infinite number of dimensions. All the legs represent a different belief structure and the pointy end bits are the fundamentalists. The central organs are in a seperate, non infinitely diverse state, and that's agnosticism. Once you leave the squishy middle you're not an agnostic, you're a believer who questions their faith, whatever that faith is. The nearer to a leg end, the less questions you accept as valid and the less you really ask. An agnostic will happily slice off legs right left and centre (or interdimensional variations thereof) but never run out of new ones to consider. Someone with faith will quickly reach a balanced state with new legs popping into view only occasionally.

Quantum starfish should be a poster...

I typed this, realised it total bollocks, read it again and laughed and am now posting it.
(ElectricSexPants would like to be the Sultan of something, Tue 6 Apr 2010, 15:54, closed)

I'd buy a poster
:)
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Tue 6 Apr 2010, 16:35, closed)

Great! Now all I need is someone with image editing skills and too much free time...
Fuck knows where I could find anyone like that.
(ElectricSexPants would like to be the Sultan of something, Tue 6 Apr 2010, 16:44, closed)