by Reginald V. Finley Sr - The Infidel Guy

 

I was recently contacted by someone that says he is an atheist deist. He erroneously believes that this position is some middle ground between atheism and theism. Well... I think.  I'm still learning his position. Regardless, this post is my response to the growing idea that there is some middle ground between atheism and theism. Many have tried.. but all have seriously failed in my view. Thus far.

Psychologically I see the need for such distinction. Much like many Christians that are now calling themselves spiritual instead of religious, they see the growing stigmas associated with the term "religion". Well, so do a few that used to be called atheists and are now calling themselves agnostics or some other thing. Yes.. atheists can be a-holes just like any other person.  Get over it. We are human, not perfect beings. Just as you have dogmatists among our major religions, you curiously find them amongst atheists, agnostics and oh yes, deists as well.

If you've heard me over the years. I have always said.. "I can be called many different things, it depends on the question." I do NOT have a God belief. I am an atheist because I lack that belief. The claim that there is NO God (Gnostic Atheism I call it)leaves the burden of proof on the atheist. However, as "God" hasn't been defined in a consistent manner,  atheists do indeed have trouble debunking them all conclusively with a single stroke. The goalpost is frequently moved and new gods are created. Truly these beings lie in the realm of possibilities, conjured by man's mind. Indeed, it is extremely difficult trying to debunk nondescript entities with great "power". It is argued, and rightly so, that if a description isn't forthcoming, there is no need to even entertain their empty hypothesis.

Can We Disprove God?

Individual gods can be thoroughly debunked provided a non-contradictory description is offered. Once that's done and we have a smorgasbord of attributes to look through, one can then begin the process of critically analyzing these gods. Examples: Volcano gods, Apollo, Zeus, etc. In many cases, and the theist apologist doesn't even see this, when they try to defend their God, they end up creating a new God, devoid of the conundrums (they think) posited by the infidel. Unfortunately, even when many of these gods are debunked repeatedly, people still choose to believe. Much like Peter Popoff and his faith-healing scam.

So, what am I? Depends on the question.

I am agnostic - Don't know. (God who?) q. - "Do you think a super-intelligent, very powerful being could create matter or even Universes?"
I am atheist - Don't believe in god(s). q.- "Do you believe a God created animals on Earth completely without evolution?"
I am a non-cognitivist - I have no referent in the real world to even begin to
understand this being you posit. q. "Do you believe in the Mixelplixian Conscious Force of Rhamzdah in Dimension 4 responsible for breathing?"
I am a humanist - Humans before dogma. q. "Do you have a belief?"
I am a naturalist - Exhaust the natural explanation first. q. "Do you have a belief?"
I am a kind of deist - I know higher and greater forces than I exist, whether they care
about me or think, is a statement that needs to be proven. q. "Do you believe in a Higher power (force)?"
I am a materialist. - "The material and it's curious manifestations (dreams, imagination, memory) are all that exist. There is no supernatural. (I am open to being disproved however.) q. "Do you believe in the supernatural?"

I can go on an on.

Back to the primary topic. There really isn't a middle ground between theism and atheism. Either you believe, or you don't. The details are what confuse people. You can actually append various identifiers that used to be thought contradictory.

A Theist for instance can be:
- Theist: One that believes in any form of conscious creator of the Universe.
- Theistic agnostic: - Doesn't know but chooses to believe. ( I think most theists fall into this category. That's why it's called Faith for Christs Sake!)
- Gnostic Theist: - Believes they know God is real. However the concept of faith alone causes
problems for this view. (That is, no need for faith if one really knows.)

An atheist can be:
- Atheist - doesn't believe in God
- Gnostic atheist: Knows there is no God. - (I'm gnostic atheist about the Christian god Yahweh.)
- Theistic atheist: - Says there's no God but really believes deep down there is a God. (I have heard many Christians claim this of me)
- Agnostic atheist: - Doesn't know, doesn't believe.

An agnostic:
- Agnostic - Doesn't know if God exists but doesn't say it doesn't. They don't believe however so they are a type of atheist. Huxley's agnosticism was that even if there is a God, man can never know. We will never know. (Look at how agnostic can be attached to other positions)

Deism can vary widely, but essentially (and readers, correct me if I'm wrong):
- Deist: - creative force, usually conscious, made the Universe but skipped
town afterward.
- Deistic agnostic: - believes the universe was created by powerful forces
but doesn't assume upon that nature.
- Deistic Atheist: - ???? Still trying to figure this one out. Looks like.. One that doesn't believe in traditional theism, but has decided to make up a naturalistic God on their own?

- Pantheism - All is God. Yep.. even your feces. Some pantheists believe in something called a Universal consciousness. Pantheists vary as widely as Wiccans so I will not spend much time here on that.

Anyway, as you can see.. there are many permutations. I think I covered the basics but surely there are many more. If you look closely, we quickly see that there are only two choices. For me, the distinction is clear and obvious. God, by most people's idea of it.. is a supernatural, conscious entity with needs and wants for mankind and himself. I think this is historically precedent. Anything outside of that then, is not a God in my view. You can have non-conscious creative forces... but that isn't God IMO. Therefore, for me, if a Deist doesn't believe in a conscious creative force, then he's an atheist. If he does, then he's a theist. Once again, a clear divide between conscious creators and non-conscious ones.

"Universal forces and those forces yet unknown involved with creation" is fine with me!  That's as close to God as I can probably get. Mystery within the mystery. But no conscious creator needed (I don't suppose anyway). In fact, invoking a conscious force behind all that exists, brings up a plethora of paradoxes and deepens the mystery even further. So, due to the lack of evidence, I have no choice but to be atheist. This isn't something I chose for me. "It's the refusal to deny the obvious." (1)

Off Point Rant:

Next time a believer looks at you in disgust at the idea that you don't believe in God. You tell them that you have wonder and awe for something greater than fallible god concepts created by ignorant layman . I shouldn't have to tell you what that is. But, for me, it's the forces that allow things to be... to act, to react, to move. Even a God would be contigent upon it. Luckily, my force never told me to stone disobedient children or kill homosexuals.

 

-- Reginald V. Finley Sr

 

(1) Quote by Sam Harris