Quote:
Originally Posted by Krystian Galaj
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That's a position that has been thrashed to death on many usenet newsgroups more times than can be counted.
A strict definition of an atheist as someone who is certain that there is provably no god, and which puts all other "non-believers" down as agnostic isn't very useful IMHO, as it puts the nominal dividing line in the wrong place in what is a continuous spectrum.
I can't prove there is no god, so by your definition that would make me an agnostic. However, by that measure I am agnostic about god in the same way that I am agnostic about the easter bunny, or the tooth fairy. I live my life assuming that none of these exist, despite my inability to prove that they don't, so despite
technical agnosticism, I would suggest that I am
functionally atheist. This, to me, seems like a more useful defintion of atheism.
/JB