56 replies to this topic

[Traveler]

Have you ever told someone you are Agnostic and that person looked at you like Satan just appeared on your shoulder and shot them the bird?! As an Agnostic, I am no different than anyone else. My beliefs or lack thereof in any religion do not make me a bad person and certainly do not make me an Atheist. I believe in respecting others, taking care of my family and friends, working hard and simply being a good person. How does this make me different from anyone of a specific faith?

[Shogun89]

I often get a similar response. There is nothing wrong with being agnostic. I think that the existance of god is truly uncertain. We have no evidence of him Existing, WE also have no evidence of him/her being false or not real.

[Traveler]

Exactly. At the end of the day how easy would it be to simply have the answers. No one does, but we all have our beliefs and we all have the right to believe and worship how we so choose.

[Just Me]

What's ironic is the ones who judge you for a misunderstood idea of what being agnostic, are often the ones who themselves claim to be religious. People sometimes fall into the mistake of saying to themselves, "if I say I am, I AM!" They fail to follow through with their religious beliefs. Judge yet no ye be judged comes to mind. People often times forget that.

[Traveler]

What's ironic is the ones who judge you for a misunderstood idea of what being agnostic, are often the ones who themselves claim to be religious. People sometimes fall into the mistake of saying to themselves, "if I say I am, I AM!" They fail to follow through with their religious beliefs. Judge yet no ye be judged comes to mind. People often times forget that.

Excellent point!

[TripleFive]

When someone tells me they are an Agnostic I generally consider them an Atheist. As most people that use the term have a misconception of what an Atheist is.
Agnostic is the belief that the truth of a god is unknowable. Whereas Atheist is just the lack of a belief in a god, not the belief "there is no god".

[Traveler]

I dont understand why you would consider the two the same? As an Agnostic, its not that I do not believe. I believe in science and answers that can be proven. Saying that, I realize that science can not prove everything leading me to believe there may be some greater power, "God" if you will, but that can not be proven by us here and now. I am open to the opinions and the beliefs of all. I may not agree, but hey, that's okay!

[jelacqua]

Agnostic is the belief that the truth of a god is unknowable. Whereas Atheist is just the lack of a belief in a god, not the belief "there is no god".

TripleFive --

Just to clarify, atheists are usually characterized by making a willful statement that God (i.e. the divine) does not exist. Just not believing in the divine doesn't necessarily constitute atheism. Agnostics are characterized by their refusal to make that same statement as well as its opposite.

-- JE

[damM3]

Have you ever told someone you are Agnostic and that person looked at you like Satan just appeared on your shoulder and shot them the bird?! As an Agnostic, I am no different than anyone else. My beliefs or lack thereof in any religion do not make me a bad person and certainly do not make me an Atheist. I believe in respecting others, taking care of my family and friends, working hard and simply being a good person. How does this make me different from anyone of a specific faith?

ahahahahahahahaha

When someone tells me they are an Agnostic I generally consider them an Atheist. As most people that use the term have a misconception of what an Atheist is.
Agnostic is the belief that the truth of a god is unknowable. Whereas Atheist is just the lack of a belief in a god, not the belief "there is no god".

I agree in part that some atheists do not believe that there is no god but have a dis belief in god, that is often referred to as weak atheism, and the atheists who believe there is no god are called strong atheists.

[Traveler]

ahahahahahahahaha



I agree in part that some atheists do not believe that there is no god but have a dis belief in god, that is often referred to as weak atheism, and the atheists who believe there is no god are called strong atheists.

I was not aware of any variations or degrees of atheism. It's fun to learn more about all beliefs!

[JoshD1990]

TripleFive --

Just to clarify, atheists are usually characterized by making a willful statement that God (i.e. the divine) does not exist. Just not believing in the divine doesn't necessarily constitute atheism. Agnostics are characterized by their refusal to make that same statement as well as its opposite.

-- JE

Interesting point of view. For myself, I grew up faithless. I never was taught or felt the "spirit" I sometimes hear described. Due to this, I have always considered myself an atheist. The difference is, I don't try to spit in the face of others. I just haven't felt the effects of religion, but at the same time, I don't bash its powers.

With that being said, would you consider me agnostic then? Or still atheist, but just a kind one?

Forgive me if I misunderstood you.

[streakanime]

Haha, I cannot tell you how many times I have had to sit through a lecture about how wrong being Agnostic was. I definitely think that people that feel that way are just ignorant. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to believe anything at all. I find it hard to believe in something I do not know or believe in something that someone wrote in a book. I cannot believe in something I cannot see. I also kind of thing if there was a higher power up there some living conditions would be better. I do not think some of the sick and twisted things that happen in every day life would happen if there was something up there watching over us. Given, I could be wrong. But, should I really be judge for not wanting to pick a side when there is no way for me to really know anything about the different sides?

[Bloomatic]

It is true what you write. People have a habit of confusing these two concepts, and from that error draws conclusions that are not right. There is great confusion about it and if the subject is not informed, the confusion is even more serious. There is a difference, and it is from these differences that should reach a concrete answer. Moreover, I think most people who consider themselves atheist or agnostic does not know if it really is. It is a profound debate that in my capacity as a believer yet I can not answer.

[SifuPhil]

This reminds me of those first-year logic puzzles: if all "A" is "B" and all "B" is "C", then all "A" is "C".

It might work in the land of math where things are a bit more structured, but when you get into human belief systems you enter 50 Shades of Gray made flesh. You have agnostic atheists and atheistic agnostics, but you also have the "fringe elements" found in all belief systems - the ones who swear that THEIR interpretation is the only right one and have been given a mandate to defend it to the death. If their interpersonal skills are somewhat lacking you end up with the online flame wars and real-life confrontations that I for one view with nothing so much as pity.

Labels, labels, labels ... it's all about labels. It's about social structure and the comfort the human animal derives from being with those of a like mind. We get cozy when we're among "friends" and we look out for each other, much like a tribe of baboons on the savana. It's those labels that cause so much war and grief in the world...

[JoshD1990]

Labels, labels, labels ... it's all about labels. It's about social structure and the comfort the human animal derives from being with those of a like mind. We get cozy when we're among "friends" and we look out for each other, much like a tribe of baboons on the savana. It's those labels that cause so much war and grief in the world...

I completely agree about the labels. We grow up in a society that for some reason seems to be obsessed with labels and classifying things. Everyone has to be put into a box and fit into one mold or another. It just doesn't make sense. Each and everyone of us are completely difference, even identical twins. To say we that can be judged by how we look, where we work, what we believe, is just ignorant. Time and time again, people continue to try to do this and it just baffles me.

[trewqaz]

Have you ever told someone you are Agnostic and that person looked at you like Satan just appeared on your shoulder and shot them the bird?! As an Agnostic, I am no different than anyone else. My beliefs or lack thereof in any religion do not make me a bad person and certainly do not make me an Atheist. I believe in respecting others, taking care of my family and friends, working hard and simply being a good person. How does this make me different from anyone of a specific faith?

I can empathize. I'm a Christian, but there's also an extent to which I consider myself an agnostic. Agnosticism is the belief that the existence of God is essentially unknowable and I would agree to that in terms of logical, empirical analysis. I can't, and don't feel the need to, prove the existence of God. I do feel that there probably is a God and I believe I have a completely unempirical relationship with Him. I consider myself a theistic agnostic who is also a Christian.

I do not think anyone's religion or lack of religion makes them a bad person. I think people are complex. We are all guilty of sin - or, to use a more secular way of putting it, we all screw up. I've never met anyone who hasn't done some good though either. Even Hitler and John Wayne Gacy did some good things in their lives. Coloring people all good or all bad is oversimplifying and just not very useful.

I do not generally go around describing myself as a theistic agnostic to other Christians because they would react to my statement the same way they would react to yours, except with a bit more vehemence because I should "know better." I don't think that's a Christian attitude, but it's usually easier to take the path of least resistance in terms of myself. If someone else is involved, I will usually put my two cents in that labels don't make people bad. Christians are saved by grace, they're not "better" or "good" in comparison with other people who are "bad."

[gansyam]

I get this all the time. Most people don't understand what being agnostic means. They think it's Atheism. Even some of those who know what it means feel like it I am crazy. I just don't understand how all the religions can contradict each other, and only one can be right. How would you know whose right and whose wrong?

[gansyam]

When someone tells me they are an Agnostic I generally consider them an Atheist. As most people that use the term have a misconception of what an Atheist is.
Agnostic is the belief that the truth of a god is unknowable. Whereas Atheist is just the lack of a belief in a god, not the belief "there is no god".

Where did you get that definition? I looked it up in many dictionaries. They all say something about there not being a deity. This is the clear difference between an Agnostic and Atheist.

[Protager]

Have you ever told someone you are Agnostic and that person looked at you like Satan just appeared on your shoulder and shot them the bird?! As an Agnostic, I am no different than anyone else. My beliefs or lack thereof in any religion do not make me a bad person and certainly do not make me an Atheist. I believe in respecting others, taking care of my family and friends, working hard and simply being a good person. How does this make me different from anyone of a specific faith?

It doesn't. The only difference is that as an agnostic you believe that there is no way to definitely declare that god(s) doesn't exist. This is what separates you from an atheist. Like a deist, you probably don't claim any specific knowledge of god(s) and claim to have know way of contacting god(s) if they exist. Where traditional believers go wrong is believing that people like you live your life based on an "anything goes" motivation.

[Jimmymadness]

Have you ever told someone you are Agnostic and that person looked at you like Satan just appeared on your shoulder and shot them the bird?! As an Agnostic, I am no different than anyone else. My beliefs or lack thereof in any religion do not make me a bad person and certainly do not make me an Atheist. I believe in respecting others, taking care of my family and friends, working hard and simply being a good person. How does this make me different from anyone of a specific faith?

Many people just don't understand. I would honestly take the time to explain to them what it means if they give you this look. I used to believe they were the same thing (agnostic and atheist) until, someone told me the differences. Now I see what agnostics are about and see the difference.