I’m curious if there’s a name to the belief I have. I wouldn’t exactly call it atheist, though i generally lean that way, but I wouldn’t call it non-theist. The thing is, I just plain don’t care if God exists or not. They could, or they couldn’t, it really has no bearing on how I live my life. For that reason along I think I go in the atheist camp, but I always thought that was used to describe people who don’t think he exists.

      • DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca
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        1 month ago

        Sorry but it really is. Basic language (a)theism is the antithesis to theism, meaning non-belief. Otherwise, that’s what we have “agnostic” for. Like I said, correct yourself before someone who’s got more of a clue.

        • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Theism is belief in a god, atheism is a lack of belief. Atheism is not necessarily a belief that god does not exist. Gnostic is about knowledge and not belief, which is why you can have an agnostic theist. Agnostic is not a middle ground between theism and atheism, there is no middle ground. I can correct you, but I can’t make you understand it.

          • DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca
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            1 month ago

            And I can’t beat knowledge into the unreceptive, ignorant and assumptive, so I guess we’re at an impasse.

            • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              Yes, I’m on one side, with dictionaries, etymology, and the majority of atheists, and you’re on the other side. I would agree with you but then we’d both be wrong.

              Google:

              noun: atheism. disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

              Gnostic - adjective. relating to knowledge, especially esoteric mystical knowledge.

              Me:

              Theism is belief in a god, atheism is a lack of belief. Atheism is not necessarily a belief that god does not exist.

              Gnostic is about knowledge and not belief

    • Sidhean@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Maybe look up atheism then try correcting your own comment instead of theirs :)

      In all seriousness, I think your definitions are a few centuries out of date. It’s been drifting toward meaning a-gnostic instead of undecided. Contemporarily, it’s used to explain one’s believed level of knowledge on a claim. I can, for instance, be agnostic toward plate tectonics, and be made gnostic of them by evidence.