Malcolm McMahon wrote:
>> On Sun, 18 Jul 1999 17:24:14 -0300, "M. McLeod" <mycloud at chebucto.ns.ca>
> wrote:
>> >This amounts to just playing with words.
>> No, it's an important distinction. Atheism and agnosticism are two very
> different things. Atheism is a faith (since it's no more possible to
> prove the non-existance of god than the existence). There's a _lot_ more
> agnostics out there than atheists which is why some atheists try to
> "recruit" the agnostics by blurring the distinction.
I don't agree. First, is it a "faith" to lack belief in unicorns? We can't
prove unicorns don't exist, but is it an act of faith to believe they don't?
Second, the notion that atheists are out to recruit agnostics is silly, IMO.
What purpose would be served in increasing their numbers by "converting"
agnostics to their side?
The point that's been lost here is atheism and agnosticism are two different
types of terms. The former is concerned with belief, while the latter is
concerned with knowledge, or more accurately, a lack of knowledge.
Apples to oranges, my friend.
