I'm an Agnostic Deist. (Page 2)

Lautlos: Exactly! I think we have our idea of God all wrong. ...if They exist.

deuce916: I don't think you're an Agnostic Deist. I think you believe in a god.

RadIntentions: We all want to think that people we like have the same beliefs as us, but it's probably better not to insist that they do.

deuce916: I think you're scared to take the final step that says "There is no god."

RadIntentions: It's not about being scared. It's about not pretending to know things I do not in order to feel more validated. I think admitting you don't know is alright.

deuce916: It's all about fear, she is scared.

deuce916: It's the usual "What if I'm wrong" bullshit.

Lautlos: I'm not scared. If there is a God, they either don't care about the Earth, or they're malevolent and not worthy of worship. If there is no God, well. Whatever. When we die, then we die.

Mareille: This whole musing about whether god exists or not is about the equivalent of attempting a mathematical proof to determine whether having paranoia means they are NOT out to get you.

Does that mean it's a waste of time? Far from it, it's a leisure pursuit. Assuming the position of agnosticism essentially signals IDGAF without causing overt offence..... it's a position that enables the user of the term to get a rile out of both ends of the spectrum.... to tease the believer when rationality sinks faster than the Titanic in the effort to justify belief in the unprovable.... and to remind the militant non believer of the mental drivers and constraints of evangelical atheism.

In either case, the answer to the old chestnut about god is either yes or no. All else is playing in the sandpit of chat.

Lautlos: Well put, Mare. Thank you.

deuce916: I'd like to know why you have a belief in a god yet are doubting it.

deuce916: & I wouldn't consider what Mareilie wrote as "Well put."

deuce916: Let me put it like this, what proof do you have that supports your belief in a god?

Lautlos: Hold up; you're misunderstanding my position. Let me clarify.

I don't doubt my own belief in *the possibility of* a God. The skepticism comes in when people ask me "but how can you be certain," because I can't, and I know I can't. Agnostic Deism doesn't claim to believe in God, but rather in the possibility of it - and additionally that God probably doesn't care.

Agnosticism is simply admitting that you have no way to objectively prove one way over another. There's no proof for the existence of God, just as there's no proof for the nonexistence of God (although the latter is more because you can't prove a negative).

As Agnostic Atheists doubt the possibility of a God, but don't claim to know for certain, Agnostic Deists doubt the possibility of a lack thereof, but don't claim to know that for sure.

With that said, to answer your question about my personal proof: The universe as it is, in my view, couldn't have come to be without *something* initially behind it. I'm not talking about the Big Bang; I'm talking about what could have been behind the Big Bang. It's all speculation, and I fully recognize that.

deuce916: You're 1 mixed-up being.

deuce916: Why don't you just admit you believe in a god, it's the truth.

Lautlos: Insulting people for their beliefs, rather than making civil arguments? If I hadn't looked at your profile, I would've presumed you a fundamentalist Christian.

You don't tell me what I am, son. I tell you what I am. Now that that's out of the way...I don't believe in a God; I believe in the possibility of one existing. There's a key difference that I'd be glad to delve into if you would remain reasonable.

deuce916: There you go again - you believe in a god.

Lautlos: No. I believe in *the possibility* of a God. I put two separate definitions for a reason.

RadIntentions: I believe deuce is a troll, and not worth taking seriously.

deuce916: To simplify things - you believe in a god. Why don't you realise that about yourself?

Lautlos: No. To simplify things, I believe in the possibility of one. That's as simple as it gets. Anything else is twisting what I said.

Saying "I believe in God" implies that I think there is one, no matter what.

"I believe in *the possibility* of a God" implies that I also believe there's a possibility that there isn't one - I choose the positive claim because, to be blunt, it's more fun to mess with people on both sides of the fence that way. People who claim that a God exists for certain get fussy at my skepticism; militant Atheists get upset at my willingness to toy with such ideas.

Lautlos: Deuce seems genuine enough to me. Assumptive and rude, perhaps, but genuinely so.

micheal_geist1958: Now that is what I call a shitpost, Lautlos.

deuce916: Look, there is a god, or, there is not a god. Which one do you believe?