[John21]

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... people who say they are "certain" are wrong. Unless you know how the universe came to be, you must allow some chance for any possibility. ... You just can't know with 100% certainty.

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This is incorrect. The concept of "certainty" is used to describe the state of one's knowledge. It cannot be used without regard to this state. When one considers the full state of one's knowledge, one's conclusions are certain. If at a later time one's knowledge is expanded in such a way as to change previous conclusions, one can be certain of the new, different conclusions. There is no contradiction here because the two certainties are inextricably tied to two separate states of knowledge.

Note how certainty is different from making a statement about the nature of existence. Two people with different contexts can be certain of an aspect of nature in two directly contradictory senses. Both are truthful (and right) to say that they are certain if both have reviewed the full context of their knowledge. But since contradictions do not exist in nature (I am certain of it), one of their contexts must be too limited to lead to truth about nature. When they're brought together and their two contexts are enlarged, such that each has the knowledge of the other, then both should become certain of the same thing. They were certain before, and now they are again. To summarize: certainty is a concept of consciousness used to describe the state of your logical conclusions in regard to all of your knowledge.

I am not omniscient. But within the context of my knowledge, I am certain that neither god nor gods exist. I allow for the possibility that my knowledge on the subject may later be expanded. Until that time, I am an Atheist.

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I respect your argument, but I think the term "certainty" extends beyond the confines of your definition. To say you are certain of something, the burden of proof is then placed on you, and hence, you have to provide convincing evidence to prove your point.

Regarding certainty and atheism, Carl Sagan had this to say:

"An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God. I know of no such compelling evidence. Because God can be relegated to remote times and places and to ultimate causes, we would have to know a great deal more about the universe than we do now to be certain that no such God exists…."

I realize this quote applies to the dogmatic atheists, but the point being, that when we are aware that we don't know enough to make an informed decision, we can never be certain.