Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
That is all very well and good, but it simply isn't the case. Almost every theist that I know believes in God with near-to-absolute certainty in the absence of what you or I would consider valid evidence. Again, it is impossible to minimize the influence of religious experience in this discussion: People believe because of the tangible impact that they perceive God to have in their daily lives. In the classical expression of evangelical Christianity, members are encouraged to share their experiences in the place of evidence for the reality of God; to talk about the things that "God is doing in my life".
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Agree, and I expand a bit on that in my reply to Lobotroth.
I just meant I was curious as to what the # of gnostic theist votes would be, as I know both the kind of theist you describe (who would classify themselves as gnostic theist but I would classify as agnostic theist due to the nature of their knowledge), but I also know others from more liberal Christian backgrounds who embrace their agnostic theism and freely admit to it and still believe that tangible impact is there.
I was being a bit cheeky I guess, it's just a pet peeve of mine, but I realize that convincing someone who things their gnostic that they're actually agnostic would be about as likely as converting them to another religion or de-converting them entirely.