What is an agnostic?

[chakka35]

The Greek I learned at school tells me that an agnostic is "one who doesn't know" (a = "without"; gnosos = "knowledge") but believing in God is not a question of knowing � that is impossible � but of deciding.

A believer, a theist, is one who has made the positive decision to believe in a supernatural being for whose existence there is no evidence. That is perfectly clear.

An atheist is one who has made no such decision and dismisses the whole idea out of hand. That is also clear.

So what is an agnostic? One who cannot decide? But decide what? Not whether God exists, that is unknowable. Cannot decide whether to make that theist decision?

I will now shut up for a while and invite enlightenment from agnostics who are kind enough to respond.

[jake-the-peg]

Thomas Huxley invented the term

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Henry_Huxl ey_and_agnosticism

It's not that an agnostic doesn't know but rather considers the question of the existance of God to be unknowable.

It's fun to tease agnostics by asking them if they are agnostic about unicorns.

But less so if they are true agnostics.

[naomi24]

Good afternoon Chakka, I must say I've never thought of an agnostic as one who considers the question of the existence of God to be unknowable. I would have said an agnostic is someone who can't decide whether God exists or not. Maybe it's someone who's hedging his bets - just in case! :o)

[Clanad]

Fair question chakka35 (what does the 35 stand for?)... Let me ask this: Can the existence of God (in this case, the God of the Bible) be proven or disproven? If, and I'm not trying to put words into your pixellated mouth, your answer is neither, then, on what basis do you choose to dismiss the whole idea out of hand?... Thanks!

[Le Chat]

I have always thought of an agnostic as being someone who doesn't actively believe in God yet cannot deny that there is a possibility of 'him' existing.

[bensmum]

I agree with Le Chat here. I always consider someone who is agnostic about something as being one who doesn't believe but who is prepared to accept that such a thing might exist. I understand that the term can be applied to anything not just religion. I would say that I am agnostic about god.

[josie48]

Thats my daughters take on being an agnostic yet she believes in guardian angels,work that one out:-)

[Jugglering]

My understanding of *agnostic* is the same as Bensmum and Le Chat.... someone who does not believe in the concept of a superbeing aka *god* but does not dismiss the possibility of there being such a *noideawhatevertocallthis* but it hasn't been proven either way yet...

[Postdog]

I consider myself agnostic. I do not follow a set religion or believe in a God as such, but I am not dismissive of the idea or of those who believe in that. It's just not for me, and agnostic is the best label I can use to describe my thoughts on the matter.

[mibn2cweus]

I would no sooner ask a new born baby why they�re an atheist. I do not consider myself an agnostic, therefore, you shall not have my views on the assertions you outlined in this thread with which I take issue unless and until you offer a special invitation to those of us who do know.

So there!

[Ethmer]

�
Question: How is an agnostic different than an atheist?



Doubt versus certainty: An agnostic is either skeptical or believes that one cannot know whether there is a god or not. An atheist denies the existence of a god, or simply lacks belief.

Answer: There is not neccesarily a difference, agnosticism is the belief that the existence or non-existence of gods cannot be positively known either way, it is erroneously equated with being "undecided".

If you are undecided then you are an atheist or non-theist by default, because you don't believe in a god or gods. If you do believe in a god in general, but not a personal god, but do not claim to know this being exists, you are an agnostic deist. If you believe in a personal god or a god which has had contact with humans but do not claim positive knowledge, you are an agnostic theist. And if you believe gods don't exist but do not claim positive knowledge of this, you are an agnostic atheist.

(above is from Answers.Com)
�

�
From my chosen path i stray,
Yet my God ne'er turns away;
For i have learned -- and understand,
That where God is -- is where i am!

[Octavius]

I thought agnostic just meant 'unknowable'.

Hence it would seem quite clear that one who adopts the concept of agnosticism simply states that with our present knowledge, the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven and that neither theist or atheist has succeded in convincing them either way.

Of course you can also have
Agnostic theists - those who believe that a deity probably exists; and

Agnostic atheists - those who believe that it is very improbable that a deity exists.

I guess it comes down to individual beliefs. Incidentally, I thought an theist was one who had made a "decision" in that God cannot possibly exist, for which there is no evidence. Or are they just indecisive..?

[brionon]

And ALL this because we use Greek words which no-one can decide what they mean to us. Why not use English.
eg. Word for one who is afraid of heights = Height fear !

[Octavius]

thats two words, why use two when you can use one: acrophobia!

[chakka35]

Thanks, folks. I'll leave it until tomorrow before I shove my oar in again. Then I'll have a go at naomi's question above!

[Ethmer]

�
the�ism (thē'ĭz'əm)
n.

Belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in a personal God as creator and ruler of the world.
�

[chakka35]

Thanks again, folks, for your response.
The reason for the preamble (postamble?) to my question is that I wanted to avoid a flood of replies that would, one way and another, merely tell me that an agnostic is someone who doesn�t know whether God exists. Since no-one on this planet can possibly have that knowledge, such a definition isn�t sufficient to distinguish an agnostic from the other 7000 million people on earth � despite jake-the-peg�s attempt to do so!
My ploy wasn�t particularly successful. That �don�t know� definition, in one form or another, is given with commendable briefness by naomi, Le Chat, bensmum, josie�s daughter, Jugglering and Postdog, and more long-windedly by Octavius and Esthmer (who also, puzzlingly, gives us a definition of �theist� that I think we all knew).
mib tells us that he is one of those who do know but, tantalisingly, doesn�t tell us what it is that he knows. brionon ignores the fact that we know what �agnostic� means in English. Clanad ignores the question and tries to restart that old chestnut about not being able to prove the nonexistence of God. Russell�s china teapot to you, Clanad. (And how can a mouth be pixillated, assuming that that�s the word you intended?)

I am now even more convinced that, in a world of universal non-knowledge on the subject, we define ourselves by our decisions. [AB never gives us the 2000 characters it promises, so I will pause here�

[chakka35]

and resume here] An atheist makes the easiest decision. Since the existence of God has the same probability as that of Harry Potter and Cinderella�s Fairy Godmother, and is backed by zero evidence, he makes the rational, logical, commonsense decision that a belief in God is untenable, not to say absurd.
A theist is much braver: he scorns reason, lifts two fingers at logic, and laughs at the lack of evidence, saying that he is damn-well going to believe in God despite it all.

So what is an agnostic? Presumably one who cannot decide which decision to take � which is not the same as not knowing whether God exists.

[Octavius]

They have decided that they do not know based o the current evidence.

Isn't that what we said? Although, I commend your penchant for never endingly and constantly referring to fairy tales and literary characters. Knew you'd manage it somehow.

[rojash]

Octavius, acrophobia is two Greek words joined together, heightfear is two English words joined together - what's the difference?

[naomi24]

Well, one thing seems evident. They know they don't know.