Penn Jillette on Agnosticism and Atheism

Penn Jillette on Bill Maher's Real Time. 10/14/2011

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Atheism
• Agnosticism
• Debate
• Darwin
• Richard
• Dawkins
• Creationism
• Design
• Intelligent
• Truth
• Logic
• Proof
• Response
• Theory
• Reason
• Belief
• Truth (Jeff Beck Album)
• Evidence
• New

[leftwingersunited]

FUCK GOD.

[TimoMcD]

As an atheist, after the video finished, I dropped my head into my hands and said, "Jesus Christ."

[someonecalleddean]

@leftwingersunited You can't fuck something that doesn't exist.

[crashoppe]

@Yournanisbad i disagree. most atheists are militant atheists or religious atheists. most have a 1 sided belief and the need to voice it loud and proud.

[eleutheromaniac]

@Textra1 lol, ironic that you accuse me of using logical fallicies in my arguments, and then pull out the classic atheist argumentum ad ignorantiam.

also lack of belief, disbelief or however else you want to phrase is simply a belief that something isn't. you disbelieve in atoms, ergo you believe atoms do not exist. you're simply using what is known as sophistry and semantics to wriggle out of actually having to defend your position.

[eleutheromaniac]

@Textra1 hey moron (zomg ad hom!), i made two comments. the first was the argument, the second was purely my enjoyment at the fitting notion of a Las Vegas showclown becoming an atheist "philosopher"....it seems like a very smooth and natural transition.

[Textra1]

@eleutheromaniac

"all three ideologies constitute a belief: you believe something does exist; you believe something doesn't exist; you believe that something, by its very nature, is unknowable."

You left out a category; something which you do not believe exists. Unlike the belief that something doesn't exist, it is not a positive belief. It's the lack of one. If I say I don't believe in gods I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm saying I have no reason to believe they do. That's atheism.

[Textra1]

@suckdumnuts

Sort of, but not quite. The word gnostic comes from the Greek word Knowledge. Gnosticism or Agnosticism is not about belief, it's about knowledge. So if you're asked the question "Does god exist" and you say I don't know, you're an agnostic. It's not a linear scale from Theist -> Agnostic -> Atheist. It's more like a planar scale with Theist/Atheist on the horizontal, and Gnostic/Agnostic on the vertical. So It's possible to be an agnostic atheist.

[Textra1]

@eleutheromaniac

What a beautiful ad hominem. Who wants all that messy responding to actual arguments stuff.

[Textra1]

@Stirgid

"I'm an atheist, but..."

So saying 'Fuck God' is as bad as saying 'God Hates Fags' or 'Thank God for dead soldiers'? It's smug dickheads like you who really gall me. Vile men like Pat Robertson can blame the worlds ills on homosexuals yet Mr 'Fuck God' is as bad as religious zealots because he doesn't appeal to your PC code and pretend to have respect for something he doesn't in fact respect. Well sir, not only do I say 'Fuck God' but I say 'Fuck You' too.