• saimen@feddit.org
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    1 day ago

    That’s exactly my point. What’s the concrete data against reincarnation would someone from a buddhist culture ask (probably even when they aren’t religious). I am just saying what we accept as default and for what we demand evidence depends on the cultural background.

    I might have formulated it exxagerated. But believing in “YOLO” is as evidence based as believing in reincarnation.

    Similar as atheism is a belief as well: believing that there is no god. How do they know? It seems my point of view is more agnostic than most here.

    • Danquebec@sh.itjust.works
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      17 hours ago

      Words like “atheism” or “agnostic” make sense as shorthands for everyday conversations or labelling, but if you want to be rigorous about it, it makes more sense to use 4 categories:

      • Gnostic theist: I know there’s a God, I’ve met Him, I feel it, I have faith, etc.

      • Agnostic theist: I don’t know if there’s a god or not, but I prefer to believe there’s one

      • Agnostic atheist: if we don’t know if there’s a god or not, there’s no reason to believe there’s one. Do you assume there’s an invisible giant teapot orbiting Earth because there’s no proof to the contrary?

      • Gnostic atheist: a god can’t possibly exist, the concept of a god is illogical, etc.

      I’m agnostic atheist, but maybe there could a firm reasoning for the gnostic atheist position. I don’t know, I would have to read and think about it more.

      • saimen@feddit.org
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        7 hours ago

        Interesting categories, but I don’t find myself in any of them: We don’t know if there is a god therefore I neither believe in its existence nor in its non-existence because it doesn’t matter anyway. If god(s) exist they either don’t affect human lives or they do it without letting us know how and why. In both cases there is no reasons to change anything in my life.

        I think this view is called apathetic or pragmatic agnosticism.