But that's not agnosticism.
But that's not agnosticism.
You like your fuzzy definitions to suit your beliefs.
Actually, that's simply not true. Billions of people all over te world take the god-concept very seriously and consider it to be their truth. And the reason they do it is because it functions as true for them in their lives.
Who cares how people learn to behave in their social experiences? It's observed that children in most global cultures are taught the religion of their society, and the children adopt that behavior. No one coms to a reasoned conclusion that a God exists. There were once hundreds of thousands of KKK members, so they must have been onto something true as well? White supremacists like their attitudes that target minorities, so we should accept them?
Do you think at all about what you're posting?
Yes, and your posts indicate you suffer from an unwillingness to see anyone's views that aren't religious.
But that's very clearly not what most people are doing with the theist claim, and they all have evidence to support their choice.
If theists all over the world and all through time had an amazingly similar set of experiences and beliefs That would suggest they are all tapped into something genuine and real. But we don;t see this ata ll. We see a hugely diverse set of beliefs, rituals, and attitudes. And the social sciences explain why humans evolved the way they did, and why religion served a huge advantage for early humans. Why do modern people believe in old religious ideas? Not because it is knowledge that is fact-based, but due to social and personal reasons.
While all you have is, "I'm not convinced".
Well I'm not. Do you prefer I lie? It's the problem theist have to deal with when they engage with critical thinkers. You have two options: either avoid debate, or bring actual evidence for your claims and beliefs to debate. The religious status quo is not only unconvincing to atheists, but to theists of other religions.
And yet as an agnostic you have already accepted that you can't know the existence or nature of God.
The lack of facts is the problem, no one can know anything without facts. Thus we are all agnostic.
So why are you even demnding to be convinced? It makes no sense.
That is the natural response to anyone who claims truth about something. Christians aren't convinced Hindus have the truth. So this isn;t just an atheist versus theist dispute, it is all over the many believers of the many religions. Look at how protesants aren't convinced Catholics are "real Christians".
Why assume God exists? If one assumes any idea doesn't exist, isn't one narrowing their view of all the possibilities. In doing so, one does not seek all knowledge or the entire picture.
You didn't explain why anyone would assume a God exists.
But sure, maybe the Tooth Fairy does exist and we are missing out.
There is no reason to assume any gods exist, and believers offer no reason why they do. It's certainly not rational.
You are right. One should always lead with the reason or rational approach. I have found no religion that understands God at all.
Not a shock since there are no facts about any of the many gods. Don't confuse the descriptions of gods as evidence of them existing. So no theist can really claim to understand a God. If they do, they can't offer any factual basis, so we throw it out.
Further, there is so much about religion that simply does not add up. I think you have Discovered the reason why. Further, religion does not seek. They claim to know it all. Nothing prevents Discovery more than that.
It's quite evident that religions don't add up to critical thinkers. It takes little brain power to observe inconsistencies and suspicious claims. My own doubt emerged at around 7 or 8 as I watched my Catholic and Baptist cousins conflict on religious holidays. If they were going to set differences aside I figure it would be over holidays, but they split the family. It was bad enough that a young kid could see something wrong going on. These memories were the basis of me doubting religion later in life. I never could reconcile the lofty claims of salvation and love to seeing my family divide over dogma that promoted those ideals.