Although I wonder what "universal power" means to them. It might not be anything like God.

0.20X << 20%

Perhaps it is that while they reject all gods as portrayed in religions they know of to be false, they still feel that there is something other than being and nothingness. Or maybe they just call themselves atheists to annoy their parents. I don't know.

page5

Plus, we've got the pirates on our side ...

I claim atheist status but seeing as how there is no definitive proof either way I can't say I'm 100%. That's what faith is all about.

I consider a god/gods to be highly unlikely and if there is a god/gods I know nothing about him/her/it anyway, so I'd be foolish (rather, arrogant. hello, Christians) to assume I know what he/she/it wants from me so I just act as though there is no such thing and hope that if there is/are a god/gods that he/she/it understands, sort of like I understand that a bug is just a bug and isn't doing anything I like or dislike out of spite or irreverence, and doesn't hold it against me.

And for anyone (Mom) who says to me, "There is too a god, it says so right in the bible." I respond, "God didn't write the bible, men claiming to speak to/for god (people we would call crazy today, Pat Robertson) wrote it to maintain order amongst the people uneducated commoners (you know, like the midwest, say, Iowa for instance)."

So there I am right back to not assuming to know what god/gods want and just acting as if there is none.

HOWEVER, since I was raised by god fearin' christian folk, I was taught to "do unto others as you'd have them do to you" (that one comes in real handy during sex) and I try not to lie/cheat/steal, but if you're doing that "do unto others" thing you probably won't be lying, cheating, or stealing anyway. You know, just generally trying to be a good person.

I believe in nature.

My grandfather was a Jewish agnostic.

They sure as heck weren't the same ...

Almost everyone's beliefs cover a spectrum, and at the edges of that spectrum, you get weird answers. It reminds me of he exit polls of people who voted for one candidate and then said they wanted the other one to win.

Next!

I personally am an agnostic atheist. I don't believe in any gods, nor do I claim to have any knowledge one way or another (this, I gather, would describe your position as well). Someone who absolutely denies the possibility of any gods would be considered a gnostic atheist.

At least I didn't create them in my image ...

STOP PLAYING WITH YOURSELF!

..they just don't want to be viewed s being like right wing christians....

As for me I prefer the gods with flaws and limitations -- of course -- so I like Athena Zeus etc.

what's with this monotheism that makes no sense at all a huge step backwards causing many wars.....poly is mroe flexible and absorptive.....

peace out and inshallah

@27 has it. According to Pew, 21% of atheists surveyed have a belief in god. Of these 21%, 6% believe in a personal god and the remainder believe in whatever they believe.

Like lots of surveys and numbers this might initially seem surprising but it's not difficult to devise rational explanations. First, this is a survey of beliefs. I'll hazard that a significant percentage of people don't worry much about what they believe and if their beliefs follow any kind of internal consistency. In my little mind no atheist would believe in a personal god but, hey, that's just what I get from the dictionary and Aristotelian logic. From my experience I find it's impossible (and undesirable) to be logically consistent. I also hazard that most people's beliefs are too complicated to be dichotomized into yea/nea god and this too accounts for some of the inconsistency.

Personally, I don't care too too much about what people believe but more how people act. Of course, the two can be highly correlated...

One must first define the term "God." Then, one must demonstrate that a being has claimed the title of "God." Then, one must decide whether one has sufficient knowledge to claim the actual existence of that being. Then, one must decide whether the being has a right to claim the title "God" per the above required definition of "God." Then, one must decide whether or not one wants to recognize that being as "God." Then, one must decide whether to support or to oppose that being as "God."

It's all very complicated, and the traditional ways of stating and answering the questions make no sense in our modern understanding of political philosophy. BTW, most that is called religion is pseudo political philosophy.

God, being defined as a political term per above, is most likely definitionally an authoritarian political figure, and the recognition of a God as such would fall outside of a faith in democratic pluralism.

In other words, if you love America and the Constitution, you can't really recognize or worship God with consistency in your political beliefs.

Making ground? Ha. I'd say we're still running scared. I sure keep my mouth shut.

What is making ground? The decline of churchin'! That keeps declining and declining, no matter what the right wing screechies' volume would make you think.

I won't go on with my particular feelings about this, living deep in the red state South. Just assume the worst, mm'kay?

JOSH
So, if we're lucky, foreign aid's going to be funded for another 90 days at
75 cents on the dollar. No one who's ever said they wanted bipartisanship has ever
meant it. But the people are speaking. Because 68% think we give too much in foreign aid, and 59% think it should be cut.

WILL
You like that stat?

JOSH
I do.

WILL
Why?

JOSH
Because 9% think it's too high, and shouldn't be cut! 9% of respondents could not fully get their arms around the question. There should be another box you can check for, "I have utterly no idea what you're talking about. Please, God, don't ask for my input."

Doesn't make 'em atheists though, of course.