Answering an Agnostic's Questions

Answering an Agnostic's Questions

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[erinhaz]

I want to make a clarification about the difference between agnostics and athiests, because they are very different. An agnostic says that they do not believe that there is a god and they do not believe there isn't one. they don't believe either way. An atheist believes there is no god. I, being agnostic, actually consider an atheistic point of view to be more similar to a theists point of view - both have a belief about god - a very different mindset from someone who says they don't know.

[tonyman1989]

"An atheist believes there is no god."

We are talking about two different kinds of atheism, Strong and weak. Some atheists believe there is no god, but most don't believe there's a god. This is the form I claim doesn't conflict with agnosticism.

"An agnostic says that they do not believe that there is a god and they do not believe there isn't one."

No this is the atheist stance, agnosticism is as lack of knowledge of god.

[DarkAngel0125]

BTW: an existentialist is someone who believes that the thoughts and experiences of people are not predetermined by a god or planned design. This is something that many atheists believe in seeing as they believe that there was no god to design the world.

However, since not all atheists are agnostic, some do believe that nature itself has a design that determines the fate of people by means of natural disaster, etc. This does not contradict the idea that people choose who they are as a person.

[DarkAngel0125]

In other words; all agnostics are atheists, but not all atheists are agnostic.

Some atheists are spiritual or are willing to consider the concept of ghosts, spirits, non-physical parts of our entities, etc.

An agnostic is strictly nonspiritual and nonreligious and does not believe in any gods.

An atheist simply does not believe in the existance of beings told of in myths, where as agnostics are completey, 100% secular.

[DarkAngel0125]

I don't know where all of the people here are finding their definitions, and frankly, I don't care. This is something that people need to know when they go around explaining who they are with lables:

atheists- a(not)theists. They don't believe in any tangible deities beyond death or anywhere else.

Agnostics are people that don't believe in any form of spirituality. They believe there are no souls or spirits. This belief is subjective to atheists who identify themselves by the true definition.

[erinhaz]

i guess this is beating a dead horse, but i just don't like it when atheists/theists identify themselves with agnosticism because that is the only way i know how to define my view. it's like i'm trying to say i don't believe either way, which IS different from someone who says there isn't a god. could an atheist say it is just as likely there is one as there isn't? if so, then maybe i would accept their definition of agnosticism. peace out.

[erinhaz]

m-w definitions

agnostic:one who believes that there is no deity

agnostic:1: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable ; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god

2: a person unwilling to commit to an opinion about something i don't see a point to the word agnostic if the second portion of the definition is ignored. no one actually knows for sure if there is a god.