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je08 1 point ago +1 / -0

SARS-CoV-1 actually, regular SARS, since there was no SARS-CoV-2 until it was created in the lab.

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je08 1 point ago +1 / -0

That is much different than not believing in a deity (which is atheism)

Which is much different than believing there are no deities, as well, correct?

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je08 1 point ago +1 / -0

If you are unable to understand that atheism is the logical negation of theism, since the word atheism means literally "not theism" and not "anti-theism" then I don't see how we can ever reach any agreement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negation

The opposite of "I believe there is a god or gods" is "I do not believe there is a god or gods", not "I believe there is no god or gods"

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je08 1 point ago +1 / -0

I have no desire for them to be "on my side" because "my side" isn't an organized thing. There's no benefit to me for having people on "my side" and I don't care what people believe.

It's just a fact that if you are not theist, that by definition makes you atheist. That's not up for debate, because it's a logical negation of theism. A and Not A

EVERYTHING is either green or not green. EVERYONE is either theist or not theist. That's how logical negations work.

. anyone who has wondered if their ancestors are watching from beyond the grave are not atheist, they are agnostic.

Wondering whether there are ancestors watching over you has nothing to do with theism or atheism. If they don't hold a belief in a god, they are atheist. If they do, they are theist. Your hypothetical doesn't have enough info to tell which they are, because there are theists who don't believe in ghosts, and atheists who do.

only those who feel certain there is no higher power can claim gnostic atheism

Right, and there's so few of those among atheists, because it's foolish to believe that you could possibly know if a god exists or not. 99% of atheists are agnostic atheists. When you talk about atheists as a whole, you should be talking about the majority who are agnostic, and not the tiny fraction that are gnostic.

I put my chips in the "I don't hold a belief in a god, and I don't know for sure" box

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je08 1 point ago +1 / -0

If a theist is someone who has a belief in a god or gods

a not-theist is someone who does not have a belief in god or gods, because the a- prefix means "not" so everyone who is not theist is a-theist

It's really not that hard. You have to believe in a god to be theist, and everyone else is atheist. You're born an atheist. People in uncontacted tribes who have no god concept are atheists. People who don't believe there is AND don't believe there is not a god are atheists. People who don't care about whether there is a god or not are atheists.

You're confusing a gnostic atheist for atheists in general. Gnostic atheists don't believe in a god, and they think they know that to be true. Most atheists are not gnostic, they're agnostic, because being gnostic about the god question is foolish, theist or atheist.

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je08 0 points ago +1 / -1

I am an atheist and I might be wrong, those aren't mutually exclusive.

Every person who actively holds the belief that there is a god is theist. EVERY other person is an atheist. Whether that's people who lack that belief, or people who believe the opposite, or even people who have no concept of the concept of a god, all "atheist"

If I don't know whether or not there is a god, that makes me an atheist, because I'm a-theist, not-theist.

Agnostic on its own does not make sense, it's not a third category. That's because "theist" means "belief in a god or gods", not "belief in a god or gods, AND knowing it is correct."

Someone can not believe the claim, but also not believe the opposite claim.

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je08 1 point ago +1 / -0

Theist: A person who accepts the claim in the existence of a god or gods

Atheist: NOT ^

Gnostic: To know, a person who believes they know their position is correct

Agnostic NOT ^

There's 4 stances you can hold

Gnostic Theist: I accept the claim that there is a god or gods, and I know it

Agnostic Theist: I accept the claim that there is a god, but I don't know it

Gnostic Atheist: I don't accept the claim that there is a god, and I know there is not

Agnostic Atheist: I don't accept the claim there is a god, but I don't know it

If someone says to me "I claim that there is a god, do you accept this claim?" and I say "No, I don't accept this claim" that isn't the same thing as me saying "No, I accept the opposite claim, that there is not a god"

What you call "atheist" is "gnostic atheist" which is sometimes referred to as "hard atheism"

What you call "agnostic" is "agnostic atheist."

Agnostic isn't a thing on its own, it's only a qualifier of your perceived level of knowledge of the aforementioned claim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjY619aJ82Y Matt Dillahunty has a good video about what these terms mean.

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je08 5 points ago +5 / -0

My sister got myocarditis after the first shot, so I can confirm there is at least a single person with a reaction.

Of course, the doctor told her it wasn't the vaccine she got a couple days before, the nurse told her she probably shouldn't take the second shot, though.