User:Silence/Theism
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[edit] Do you believe that at least one deity exists?
- Yes. = Theism
- No. = Explicit atheism ("Atheism" using narrower def. of "atheism")
- Undecided. = Agnosticism
- I don't care. = Apatheism
- What's a deity? / Goo goo gaa gaa? / Meow? = Implicit atheism (General "Nontheism" using narrower definition of "atheism")
[edit] Is your view on deities a belief, or just the lack of one?
| Theism | Explicit atheism | Agnosticism | Apatheism | Implicit atheism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| It's a belief. (Or: It's both equally.) |
Positive theism | Strong atheism | Positive agnosticism | Positive apatheism | |
| It's just the lack of a belief. | Negative theism | Explicit weak atheism | Negative agnosticism | Negative apatheism | Implicit weak atheism |
| It's neither; I'm neutral on the matter. | (Neutral) agnosticism | (Neutral) apatheism | (Neutral) implicit weak atheism |
[edit] Is it possible that deities exist/don't exist?
| Theism | Explicit atheism | Agnosticism | Apatheism | Implicit atheism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deities may exist, and may not exist. | Open theism* | Open explicit atheism | Open agnosticism | Open apatheism | Open implicit atheism |
| Deities definitely exist/don't exist. | Closed theism | Closed explicit atheism | Closed apatheism |
*Do not confuse the philosophical "open theism" stance with the Open Theism movement.
[edit] How sure can we be that deities do or don't exist?
| Theism | Explicit atheism | Agnosticism | Apatheism | Implicit atheism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| We can be completely, 100% sure. | Strong gnostic* theism | Strong gnostic explicit atheism | Strong gnostic apatheism | ||
| We can't be 100% sure one way or the other, but we're close enough to it to weigh in decidedly. | Weak gnostic theism | Weak gnostic explicit atheism | Weak gnostic apatheism | ||
| We can't be 100% sure one way or the other, but we're close enough to it to weigh in decidedly, and we may someday be able to be 100% sure. | Weak gnostic theism (potential strong gnostic) | Weak gnostic explicit atheism (potential strong gnostic) | Weak gnostic apatheism (potential strong gnostic) | ||
| We can't be sure enough at this point to decide one way or the other, but it may be possible to be completely sure in the future. | Weak agnostic theism (potential strong gnostic) | Weak agnostic atheism (potential strong gnostic) | Weak agnosticism (potential strong gnosticism) | Weak agnostic apatheism (potential strong gnostic) | |
| We can't be sure enough at this point to decide one way or the other, but it may be possible to be reasonably sure in the future. | Weak agnostic theism (potential weak gnostic) | Weak agnostic atheism (potential weak gnostic) | Weak agnosticism (potential weak gnosticism) | Weak gnostic apatheism (potential weak gnostic) | |
| We can't ever be sure enough to decide one way or the other. | Strong agnostic theism | Strong agnostic atheism | Strong agnosticism | Apathetic agnosticism |
*Gnosticism is being used here as the opposite of agnosticism, and should not be confused with the religion Gnosticism.
[edit] How important is the question of whether deities exist?
- Vitally important. = Full Non-Apatheism (Patheism)
- Fairly important. = Partial Non-Apatheism (Patheism)
- Not especially important. = Partial Apatheism
- Completely irrelevant. = Full Apatheism
[edit] How meaningful is the question of whether deities exist?
- Highly meaningful and cohesive. = Full Non-Ignosticism
- Somewhat meaningful. = Partial Non-Ignosticism
- Barely meaningful. = Partial Ignosticism
- Totally meaningless and nonsensical. = Full Ignosticism
- Should be meaningless, but has been defined and is therefore somewhat meaningful. = Idealist Ignosticism
