The reason these people can’t comprehend lack of belief is because they are stuck thinking god is a default state - that it requires belief to assert it isn’t real. When in fact the concept of god is no different than every other deity, Greek god, unicorn, space teapot… you name it. It is nothing more than a regionally popular unfalsifiable claim. They can’t wrap their minds around who the burden of proof falls on.
Atheism and agnosticism are two different things. Atheism is the rejection of a higher power, you believe there cannot be a higher power. Agnosticism is the acceptance of the unknown, you believe you don’t know if there is or isn’t be a higher power.
In a hypothetical scenario where higher power does exist and that higher power does something that becomes evidence of the existence of a higher power. An atheist would reject such evidence because a higher power cannot exist and the evidence would be contradictory. An agnostic would not reject such evidence because an agnostic is not rejecting a higher power and as such the evidence would also not be contradictory.
And in a reverse hypothetical, let’s say we discovered all the secrets of the universe and found evidence of higher powers not being able to exist. A theist would reject such evidence because a higher power must exist and the evidence would be contradictory. An agnostic would not reject the evidence because the evidence would not be contradictory.
And I personally lean on the apathetic side of agnosticism. If there is a god (or gods) then there is a god (or gods), and if there isn’t then there isn’t. There’s no reason to mull over something that has had no bearing on my life and if tomorrow we get irrefutable evidence for either side that’s when I’ll deal with that new reality. In the mean time there are better things to do.
Atheism is exactly that though. Theism is a belief in a higher power, atheism is the opposite. That’s what the “a” prefix indicates - an opposite.
The reason these people can’t comprehend lack of belief is because they are stuck thinking god is a default state - that it requires belief to assert it isn’t real. When in fact the concept of god is no different than every other deity, Greek god, unicorn, space teapot… you name it. It is nothing more than a regionally popular unfalsifiable claim. They can’t wrap their minds around who the burden of proof falls on.
Atheism and agnosticism are two different things. Atheism is the rejection of a higher power, you believe there cannot be a higher power. Agnosticism is the acceptance of the unknown, you believe you don’t know if there is or isn’t be a higher power.
In a hypothetical scenario where higher power does exist and that higher power does something that becomes evidence of the existence of a higher power. An atheist would reject such evidence because a higher power cannot exist and the evidence would be contradictory. An agnostic would not reject such evidence because an agnostic is not rejecting a higher power and as such the evidence would also not be contradictory.
And in a reverse hypothetical, let’s say we discovered all the secrets of the universe and found evidence of higher powers not being able to exist. A theist would reject such evidence because a higher power must exist and the evidence would be contradictory. An agnostic would not reject the evidence because the evidence would not be contradictory.
And I personally lean on the apathetic side of agnosticism. If there is a god (or gods) then there is a god (or gods), and if there isn’t then there isn’t. There’s no reason to mull over something that has had no bearing on my life and if tomorrow we get irrefutable evidence for either side that’s when I’ll deal with that new reality. In the mean time there are better things to do.