I feel like we're talking past each other.
My issue here is the complete disrespect shown by those who choose to have one belief that goes against the belief of another. It seems a common theme.
Atheist, Theist and Agnostic are all completely separate terms, on that we seem to agree.
"Agnosticism is not a creed but a method, the essence of which lies in the vigorous application of a single principle. Positively, the principle may be expressed as in matters of intellect, follow your reason as far as it can take you without other considerations. And negatively, in matters of the intellect, do not pretend that matters are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable."
This quote is useful for his purposes, but not really true. Even things you can demonstrate - that doesn't mean you understand or can consistently repeat. So you take everything on some degree of faith. The world is based on faith. If we had no faith we wouldn't get very far. Where we choose to place that faith is entirely personal preference. Most people can't honestly prove most of the things they choose to believe in. But they believe anyway. Whether it's in God or a complete disbelief in God, it's a belief. And beliefs I classify as religious.
I guess my larger point is that we are all quite deeply religious in our own ways. It's easy to listen to one's ego and think they are above someone else or even significantly different, lord knows we're all guilty.
I find it interesting that people who identify themselves as atheist often fear this piece of reality.
Again, the theme of nuance comes into play. Do you understand the difference between saying "That girl is hot" and "The sun is hot"? Do you see that it is one word being used to convey two very different meanings? If so, then you must understand the difference between saying "My belief in God is supported by faith" and "I have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow". One word, two different context. When 'faith' comes from evidence and experience, it's called confidence. I have confidence the sun will rise because it always has. When you say I believe in God because of faith, you are saying I believe because I wish to.
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"Equivocation is when someone uses a word with two or more meanings as if it has only one meaning. Usually this is done to compare two things and make them seem similar, ignoring the fact that the different meanings of the word in question point to important differences between the things being compared.
In my experience, the most common example of this fallacy is with the word "faith". Let's start by looking at some possible common meanings of the word "faith":
1. Belief in something from reason and experience
2. Belief in something without evidence or reason
3. Trust in someone or something
4. A religious belief or set of beliefs ("my faith...")
Given those definitions, see if you can find the equivocation fallacy in this argument:
Everyone needs faith. You have faith when you sit down that your chair will hold you. You have faith in your friends, that they will support you. And I have faith in Jesus Christ.
The argument being made is that since everyone has faith, then faith in Jesus should not be attacked, since it is no different than the faith that everyone has every day. Faith is good and necessary. Right?
Well, no. Let's try to annotate the quote above with the definition of "faith" being used each time:
Everyone needs faith. You have faith(1) when you sit down that your chair will hold you. You have faith(3) in your friends, that they will support you. And I have faith(2) in Jesus Christ.
As you can see, this quote is using three distinct definitions of "faith" as if they are all the same exact word. In doing so, the person making this argument is hoping to convince you that his faith (in Jesus) is the same as your faith whenever you sit down in a chair. He is hoping that you're not smart enough to notice that the faith when you sit down is not the same as the faith he has, or that the faith in your friends is completely different than either of the other two kinds of faith. The only way he can convince you that his faith is good is by comparing it to other things and pretending that they are the same. But he is doing so in a very misleading way.
lol
and seems to be that 'golden' synthesis of intelligence and love.
