What kind of Atheist are you?

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I’m just back from a month long holiday in Europe, and although it was interesting and showed many aspects of Scotland and France I had forgotten, it’s main benefit to me was long uninterrupted spells of book reading. I took some books I have always wanted to read on my trip, and the one which had the most impact on me was Richard Dawkins “The God Delusion”.

I was a fan of Dawkins work “The Selfish Gene”, as I initially trained as a Biologist, and he explained the non-random aspects of natural selection to even the most non-scientific reader in a clear and concise manner, so I was really looking forward to reading his other important work.

I agreed with most of the arguments in this book, although I thought his voice a little strident and shrill compared to his earlier works, and his discussion on the provable non-existence of God was a little weak.

One of the excellent aspects of the early chapters was the spectrum of belief probabilities. I was always a little unsure of my commitment to the idea of atheism because of a slight uncertainty in an absolute belief, but when I found that Dawkins himself rated a 6 on the scale, I felt a little encouraged.

Have a look at the list and decide which number on the scale suits you.
You might be surprised.

  1. Strong theist. 100 per cent probability of God. In the words of C.G. Jung, ‘I do not believe, I know.’
  2. Very high probability but short of 100 per cent. De facto theist. ‘I cannot know for certain, but I strongly believe in God and live my life on the assumption that he is there.’
  3. Higher than 50 per cent but not very high. Technically agnostic but leaning towards theism. ‘I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God.’
  4. Exactly 50 per cent. Completely impartial agnostic. ‘God’s existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable.’
  5. Lower than 50 per cent but not very low. Technically agnostic but leaning towards atheism. ‘I do not know whether God exists but I’m inclined to be skeptical.’
  6. Very low probability, but short of zero. De facto atheist. ‘I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there.’
  7. Strong atheist. ‘I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung “knows” there is one.’
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About Post Author

Robert Douglas

Teacher, married with two grown up children. Our son lives in NZ, our married daughter is in Scotland. We live in a lovely house in a small town about 30 km from the capital. We keep a small dog (Bichon Frise) and spend our spare time reading, gardening and going for walks.
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Jim.Hunter12
12 years ago

I appreciated reading this and am glad I found your place.

13 years ago

I read the book about 3 years ago, and I am reading it a second time. I am definitely a 6.999999999~ Anybody who says they are absolutely sure, does not live in the world of reality!

13 years ago

Anyone who reads my posts has already pegged me at 6.

And I am not talking about the Christian “God” here (for me that is a 7) but for the idea of a “higher spiritual/transcendent” reality that exists apart from ours, and for the possible existence of a “soul” as it were.

Dawkins is a bit militant in his tone. Well- a lot militant. This is a turn off for me, but I agree with his ideas.

mycue23
13 years ago

Welcome back. I hope your travels were everything you expected and more. As far as the Dawkins book is concerned, i found his arguments for pure atheism unconvincing. As we all knowZ trying to prove a negative is difficult. I found the book much more of a confirmation of an agnostic viewpoint. I`m probably somewhere between a 5 and a 6, but reading his book didn`t really move the needle for me.

oso
13 years ago

Hi Robert, welcome back and I look forward to posts on your travels. I’m a

” 1″.

13 years ago

Where do you sit on the scale?

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