Do atheists believe that deities may exist? Please vote according to your own personal beliefs For all those who vote that deities may exist, please clarify which deity you believe may exist and why.
Some other opinion. I don't find theist claims believable, there is no evidence. Until there is more than a fantasy speculation there is nothing on which to base the possibility or potential that gods, could, might, or do exist. No more can be said or believed.
Which deity do you believe may there be evidence for at some future time? Which one do you believe may be true or may exist?
sam, There is inadequate evidence for either scenario. I'll withold belief for or against until or if there is any evidence presented at some future time. There is no onus to believe anything.
So you reject all theist claims of all deities? But believe that lack of evidence means there could be some truth to them in the future?
sam, I'm not aware that I have done so as yet. Although there was a bishop in the UK a few years ago who stated that he felt the virgin birth was nonsence - that seemed quite believable.
sam, No, only that a minor piece of the Christian story becomes believable, i.e. a natural birth. It implies nothing about whether it occurred or whether Jesus was a deity, or even existed.
Where's the option "I do not believe that deities exist"? Most atheists, I would say, leave open the possibility that deities might exist, while at the same time denying that there is any good evidence that they do exist. Therefore, they do not believe that deities exist, but back off from a blanket assertion that deities cannot possibly exist. What's the difference between this option and the one above it? That would be a contradiction in terms, wouldn't it? Unless you're trying to set a trap by claiming that existence as figments of people's imaginations is the kind of existence you mean (like your unicorn argument in an earlier thread). What are you trying to find out here?
Sam asserts that the phrase "I do not believe gods exist" is identical to "I believe gods do not exist". So the option is necessarily omitted. She has been unable to comprehend or admit the difference. I suspect her definition is taken strictly from the inflexibility of the Islamic rule book and cannot be modified.
Or alternatively, taken from common sense. If you disagree, feel free to explain the practical differences between one person who does not believe water exists compared to a person who believes water does not exist. :shrug: (IOW the whole issue rings of the fudgery of a legal proceeding)
Well, without that little gem I could have made a poll choice. But clearly the actual meanings of the choices aren't what they would seem to a mere reader of words. It would be interesting to hear an explanation of the practical difference between "there is no God" and "there is a God, who speaks only through these priests, this book, etc"
lg, Sure. But it has to be placed into a comparable context. Let's say the proposition is "there is water on the moon". In this case - The person who states a disbelief is unconvinced that the proposition is true, i.e. is expressing doubt. Typical synonyms are; scepticism, doubt, distrust, mistrust, incredulity, unbelief, dubiety. The person who states a belief is expressing certainty that the claim is false, i.e. has no doubt. Typical synonyms are: trust, confidence, conviction, reliance. As has been said before, the disbelief in a proposition is not the same as believing the proposition is false.
