To be religious requires faith. To assert the null hypothesis of a true atheist requires much more faith. The rational position of those without faith is agnosticism.
Most atheists if faced with the illogic of asserting that absence of evidence is evidence of absence will accept agnosticism, an open but doubting mind, instead of their faith.
To be religious requires faith. To assert the null hypothesis of a true atheist requires much more faith. The rational position of those without faith is agnosticism.
Most atheists if faced with the illogic of asserting that absence of evidence is evidence of absence will accept agnosticism, an open but doubting mind, instead of their faith.
Rational being the operative word.
Once rational, then the journey can begin.
We hear all the time about people that were raised in very Christian families that left Christ. Sadly, I think many of these families were not either prepared or willing to teach their kids anything more than, “Because the Bible says so”.
A great disservice for their children and has also led others to view all Christians as only having an authoritative claim. I do believe this is getting better.
The “just doesn’t care” mindset would lead me to think that they are actually Agnostic. Indifferent and can’t be bothered to explore or are afraid of what they might find.
I find this indifference to be both a good and bad thing. Good, because at some point in their life they should be open to the possibilities of God’s existence and if they are sincere and honest in their search they will find God. Bad, because in the meantime their indifference is allowing for the continued moral decay of our society.
There are clearly social conservatives that claim Atheism or being Agnostic, they are here on FR. And while their Conservatism doesn’t contribute to the moral decay their sense of morality has a foundation that doesn’t exist among the honest atheist. The honest atheist must admit that there is NO foundation for morality, that morality is an evolved condition and is therefore subjective. In addition, the question or existence of free-will is something the honest atheist rejects. These are positions that have been advanced for a number of years by the leaders of the so-called new Atheist crowd.