How can one distinguish between an entity that is said to be:

"Invisible, undetectable, supernatural"

and one that is:

"Imaginary, fictitious, mythical"

The Romans did it as did Vikings, Spartans and various other groups. hahaha

by their spelling...

well, lets start with the definitions



1. invisible: not visible to the eye,,,

an entity could be detected with a sense other than sight,, like air is or wind or scent,,,


2.undetectable: unable to be discovered

an entity can exist without being detected, like a spy or the early stages of an illness,, BEFORE it is detected,,,

3. supernatural: of a manifestation or event) attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature.

like ANYTHING that science cannot yet explain,,,


4. imaginary: existing only in the imagination

This one is deep, truly, how can one differentiate between reality and imagination PERIOD,, the Matrix approached that question in a very entertaining manner,,

5. fictitious: having been fabricated.

see 'imaginary',,,

although much fiction will be attributed to an author who discloses as much,,,
lol

6. mythical: occurring in or characteristic of myths or folk tales.

also hard to know


So Id say, out of the six adjectives

an entity could easily be invisible because we have more senses than sight,,,

by definition, the other five adjectives require us to trust in the integrity of what we learn and read about from others,,,or not

Apparently it is difficult (impossible?) to distinguish between the invisible / undetectable and the imaginary / fictitious.

However, many seem convinced that they KNOW which of the proposed invisible / undetectable entities are NOT imaginary and which ones ARE imaginary or fictitious. The currently popular entities in a culture are deemed "true" and all others are deemed "false" even though there is no more validation for one than the others.

As Carl Sagan stated "Extra-ordinary claims require extra-ordinary proof"

Tell me about your imaginary friends? Have u seen them lately? Did you see them when u were a child and they are still following you around? Was Santa good to you?

Is this asking for MY "imaginary friends?"

If so, that is 180 degrees out of kilter since I am Non-Theistic.

Many others, perhaps a majority of US citizens, indicate that they believe in (and often worship) various proposed supernatural entities.

Most acknowledge that they have not seen such things, though it is not uncommon to claim to have "felt" such a presence psychologically / emotionally. A few even claim direct personal interaction with supernaturals (and can become known as being "prophets" or become religious leaders, including Joseph Smith originator of LDS).

With you talking about having contact with the supernatural. Makes me think of this story of a woman who's problem was getting raped by a ghost even after she got married or maybe she was dating this guy. It was made into a made for TV movie anyway. Interesting story regardless as to if you think it's real or not.

I agree with TBRich and Carl Sagan.

However, when those who make claims such as donkeys conversing with humans, water magically turning into wine, the Earth flooding to "the tops of mountains", dead bodies returning to life days after death, and various other "miracles", the "proof" offered is "The bible says so" (and any who do not believe the stories are threatened with being punished after they die, in an "afterlife")

According to many Xians statements of position: if they can't believe this part, then how can they believe that part. In other words, its unbelievable. Why let people's goofy thoughts and clear lack of actual faith bother you? To brush off an old chestnut- they are religious and dogmatic lacking true faith and spirituality

I agree, why be bothered by that you don't personally believe,,,?

we each experience our own perceptions and come to our own conclusions

Those of us who reside in the infamous Bible Belt commonly encounter god talk from acquaintances (or strangers) who attempt to convince or coerce others to adopt the currently popular belief system.

Friends, at least in my case, are respectful of my Non-Theist position, but non-friends often don't understand when such comments are unwelcome (and are typically aghast when so informed).

Does being non-thiest mean you are open to religion or that you are spiritual without the belief in god?

I was once at a convention in Tulsa, my hotel was four blocks from the nearest food store, in between was Oral Roberts University. On the walk, I found myself next to two students who asked if I knew that Jesus loved me. I told them that I understood that Jesus does not actually love me, but he does think I have a good personality. It was a little awkward walking three blocks next to two people who would not talk anymore.

I use the term to indicate that I am not a worshiper of "gods"; however, I acknowledge that one or more of the thousands of proposed "gods" MAY actually be more than human imagination.

Since there is no verifiable information about any of them, a reasoned decision to select a "god" to worship cannot be made. "Gods" are chosen by indoctrination, happenstance, social pressure, etc rather than reasoning based on verifiable information.

If one or more of the proposed "gods" can be SHOWN to influence human lives (or "afterlives"), I am open to some association. However, "shown" means to me information that is far more credible than testimonials, ancient tales, folklore, legends, fables and/or claims of special knowledge by promoters of religion.

If you acknowledge the possible existence of a g-d, does that not, by definition, make you an agnostic versus a non-theist?

yeah,, we all have to deal with people speaking things we believe to be nonsense,,,,

and not understanding our belief that they are speaking nonsense


,,,,shrugs,,,, short of those who become verbally or physically abusive over it,,,,,


why spend time or energy questioning it or being bothered by it ? its life,, people are not always gonna share values or beliefs,,,

but will usually defend that their values or beliefs are the right ones,,,

So it's relative to being agnostic then. I don't think I'd ever heard non-theist before or if I had I didn't remember it. hahaha

Thanks for the answer.