Originally posted by: skace
Originally posted by: yllus
Or to rephrase the above, regarding the more logical position of
weak agnosticism:
The principle of weak agnosticism is not about a belief in God or a disbelief in God but about the belief in the statement "God exists" or the belief in the statement "God does not exist". Given that, to a weak agnostic, nothing has been shown to support either statement conclusively, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the data is inconclusive and believing in either is a leap of faith.
Sulllllllyy, read the wiki on atheism also.
Read The Dragon In My Garage by Carl Sagan too
Text. I think its important to make the distinction that we're not just talking about anything, were dealing with a supernatural claim that someone has reportedly witnessed or sensed.
If I were to make a claim that some previously unknown insect exists in the amazon rain forest but no-one has ever seen it; then a weak agnostic position with regards to its existence would be reasonable. Now if I were to claim the insect is invisible and can teleport from tree to tree you might change your conclusion right?
Another thing I think we should address is how I know that the insect exists if it is invisible. Imagine if I told you I'd never even been to the amazon and seen it, but that it revealed itself to me through some telepathic means. Are you still ok with the idea that its just as much a leap of faith to reject my claim as it is to believe me? In such a case it is reasonable to reject the claim until any evidence is presented.
I know Vic and others will say this is a straw man and misses the point..., because this assumes the personal god definition of an old man with a beard sitting on a throne in heaven revealing himself to prophets. But what is God? Where does the concept of God come from? It comes from the prophets who somehow sensed a god and created their respective religions.
Its convenient for the agnostic position to ignore the common perception of a personal god that nearly all theists use [and atheists reject] and replace it with some abstract notion of god. However isn't it somewhat irrelevant in a practical sense in the atheist vs theist debate?