I'm really tired of getting in arguments with "Agnostics"

[AverageJoe]

Just had a longggggg argument on a forum with an agnostic about whether or not atheism is a positive claim. He continued to insist that that I need evidence to back being an Atheist, and that as an Agnostic he's being honest about not being absolutely certain about either claim. I tried to explain to him Atheists are not absolutely certain that God doesn't exist, and that certainty is irrelevant to whether or not you BELIEVE God exists. Getting tired of this agnostic crap..Sorry if I offended any agnostics here

I am 100% certain that God does not exist. I really don't see why any atheist need claim "I can't be certain" because you can be. I am. So there you go.

I can be certain, because there is no need for god, no reason for god and no evidence for god.

Clearly, he does not exist. I'm not about to try and prove the non existence of something that does not exist - I don't need to if you really think about it, I'll leave the proving to the believers of this funky story, safe in the knowledge that I'm right.

[dgmort19]

safe in the knowledge that I'm right.

You have ironically pegged the source of religious fanaticism.

[McQ]

safe in the knowledge that I'm right.

You have ironically pegged the source of religious fanaticism.

Yep, in fact, the source of all fanaticism. Should've named the topic, "I'm tired of arguing with people who think they have ultimate truth."

[ForTheLoveOfAll]

safe in the knowledge that I'm right.

You have ironically pegged the source of religious fanaticism.

Yep, in fact, the source of all fanaticism. Should've named the topic, "I'm tired of arguing with people who think they have ultimate truth."

I wont believe in ultimate truth untill we have a Theory of Everything.

[Tokage]

Just had a longggggg argument on a forum with an agnostic about whether or not atheism is a positive claim. He continued to insist that that I need evidence to back being an Atheist, and that as an Agnostic he's being honest about not being absolutely certain about either claim. I tried to explain to him Atheists are not absolutely certain that God doesn't exist, and that certainty is irrelevant to whether or not you BELIEVE God exists. Getting tired of this agnostic crap..Sorry if I offended any agnostics here

I am 100% certain that God does not exist. I really don't see why any atheist need claim "I can't be certain" because you can be. I am. So there you go.

I can be certain, because there is no need for god, no reason for god and no evidence for god.

Clearly, he does not exist. I'm not about to try and prove the non existence of something that does not exist - I don't need to if you really think about it, I'll leave the proving to the believers of this funky story, safe in the knowledge that I'm right.

Actually you're not. By definition you cannot be 100% certain. You yourself, can be extremely certain (as am I and many others) that he doesn't exist. Neither I nor you will ever actually be able to claim we are 100% certain he doesn't. It just isn't possible.
We can apply our useful knowledge of the evidence put forward for the God claim and say:
1) It's justified not to believe
2) Were pretty damn sure he doesn't exist, and were not going to live our lives considering him any more factual than we do leprechauns.

[LegendarySandwich]

I like the bluntness and simplicity of saying "God doesn't exist". It's concise -- it doesn't mess around, it gets straight to the point. It's the same thing as saying that unicorns don't exist. Of course, you should be able to clarify that you realize there's a chance you may be wrong and some type of god exists.

[Tokage]

I like the bluntness and simplicity of saying "God doesn't exist". It's concise -- it doesn't mess around, it gets straight to the point. It's the same thing as saying that unicorns don't exist. Of course, you should be able to clarify that you realize there's a chance you may be wrong and some type of god exists.

You sir, have won!

This is exactly what I tell people when they ask. My position is that God doesn't exist, and that's what I will tell people. Is there a chance A God doesn't exist? Sure, an extremely low chance depending on which God you're talking about. For example, I consider the exist of Dragons to be much more likely than the existence of a Theistic God.

[ForTheLoveOfAll]

I like the bluntness and simplicity of saying "God doesn't exist". It's concise -- it doesn't mess around, it gets straight to the point. It's the same thing as saying that unicorns don't exist. Of course, you should be able to clarify that you realize there's a chance you may be wrong and some type of god exists.

^ This.

[terranus]

I wont believe in ultimate truth untill we have a Theory of Everything.

So you're saying you don't believe in absolute truths?

[ForTheLoveOfAll]

I wont believe in ultimate truth untill we have a Theory of Everything.

So you're saying you don't believe in absolute truths?

I believe in progression, that every time we find something that we think is true, we tend to find something else that shows the previous truth was either flawed or totally wrong. I believe in absolute truth to the degree that it is only truth for the time being.

[AverageJoe]

Actually you're not. By definition you cannot be 100% certain. You yourself, can be extremely certain (as am I and many others) that he doesn't exist. Neither I nor you will ever actually be able to claim we are 100% certain he doesn't.

I'm 100% certain he doesn't exist.

It just isn't possible.

It is possible.

I'm 100% certain that Santa does not exist, I'm 100% certain that God doesn't exist. They are one and the same, and 100% non existent. I'm not interested in pedantically arguing that "by definition" nobody can be 100% certain, because you can say that nobody can be 100% certain that Santa does not exist either - but of course to say that would be utter rubbish. Can anybody see what I'm getting at here, or maybe I'm the only one? Us grown ups readily accept non existence of Fairies and Santa yet say we think God doesn't exist BUT we "can't be certain". What are people frightened of?

We can apply our useful knowledge of the evidence put forward for the God claim and say:
1) It's justified not to believe
2) Were pretty damn sure he doesn't exist, and were not going to live our lives considering him any more factual than we do leprechauns.

So that'll be 100% certainty he doesn't exist then.

[BadPoison]

I think because the subject is so personal for many believers and nonbelievers we tend to spend extra time defining what we mean when talking about certainty. Sure I may never be able to completely demonstrate the non-existence of leprechauns but frankly I don't care. It seems silly to tell me that I can't be 100% sure that leprechauns don't exist when there has never been a shred of evidence pointing to their existence. They've only appeared in fiction. You could just as easily state "how do you know we don't live in the matrix?" Sure, there's epistemology that speaks of what we can really know - but it's not pertinent to the above discussion. Hell, ever heard of solipsism?

Pointing out that we can never be 100% certain should be accompanied by a "na na na boo boo"

[wildfire_emissary]

I have an "agnostic" friend, probably, like in the OP. He dwells on the idea that we cannot know anything with absolute certainty. He was certain about it.

[terranus]

I wont believe in ultimate truth untill we have a Theory of Everything.

So you're saying you don't believe in absolute truths?

I believe in progression, that every time we find something that we think is true, we tend to find something else that shows the previous truth was either flawed or totally wrong. I believe in absolute truth to the degree that it is only truth for the time being.

Hmm. Maybe I'm not understanding the definition of an absolute truth correctly then.

For example, I witness 2 men walking towards each other in the middle of the street. Man A pulls out a gun, and shoots Man B dead. Since I saw this happen with my own 2 eyes, I know for a fact that Man A shot Man B. Is this not an absolute truth?

[LegendarySandwich]

Hmm. Maybe I'm not understanding the definition of an absolute truth correctly then.

For example, I witness 2 men walking towards each other in the middle of the street. Man A pulls out a gun, and shoots Man B dead. Since I saw this happen with my own 2 eyes, I know for a fact that Man A shot Man B. Is this not an absolute truth?

You could be dreaming.
You could be suffering from a delusion.
It could be staged.
Et al.