Sorry, but this has been irritating me since I started using Yahoo! Answers.
It seems like everyone on Y!A uses 'agnostic' and 'atheistic' as synonyms, but they are not. I would just like it if everyone was on the right page.
Being agnostic means that you think the existance of a god is unprovable, being an Atheist means that you think that the existance of a god is naught. Therefore, agnostics can very well still believe in a god. Therefore, people should stop making questions addressed to both Atheists and agnostics.
2006-07-20 12:06:43 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Look it up yourself:
http://www.google.ca/search?q=define%3Aagnosticism&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
Agnostic does NOT mean non-believer, it mean someone who believes that proof of God is unknowable. You can still choose to believe in something that can't be proven, and many people do.
2006-07-21 08:00:06 · update #1
Atheism is a belief that there is no God.
Agnosticism is a belief that you cannot know if there is a God.
Your statement is quite accurate, though many people claim erroneously to be one or the other.
Technically, by Hebrews 11:1, Christians should have a belief or a certainty that there is a God and that he has a certain nature. These are things that cannot be known in this life, only believed or disbelieved.
2006-07-20 12:19:27 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know.
That's what agnostic means, a person who doesn't know. A--without, gnosis--knowledge. A--without, theos--god. Atheist means without god. And you're also wrong--being agnostic means that you don't have proof of a god, but you would believe in a god if you had proper proof. Agnostics don't have proof one way or the other, which is not the same logical statement as saying that something cannot be proven. Atheists don't believe in a god, period, despite anything anybody considers proof.
Many religious people have no proof in a god, but believe in one (or many) anyway. They are not agnostic--they are believers. Belief means that you think something is true even though you have no proof that it actually is true. But atheists and agnostics do have things in common, like not having spiritual beliefs or being involved in the usual religions out there. Sometimes they both believe in science over religion, or the power of the human spirit as opposed to a supernatural spirit in humans.
2006-07-20 12:16:50 · answer #2 · answered by SlowClap 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An atheist is someone who does not believe that there is a God or Higher Power.
An agnostic is someone who questions the existence of same.
Those of the latter position are not decided one way or the other, while those in the former position have already made a decision about it.
Being an agnostic does not necessarily mean that one thinks the existence of God is unprovable, only that the issue of God existing is debatable. Agnostics are open to the possibility of there being a God while atheists are not.
Here is another definition that you might want to ponder...
A deist is someone who believes in a God - evidenced through the observation of nature - but who does not believe that God can be contacted through organized religion, rituals, etc.
<< Most Deists believe that God created the universe, "wound it up" and then disassociated himself from his creation. Some refer to Deists as believing in a God who acts as an absentee landlord or a blind watchmaker. A few Deists believe that God still intervenes in human affairs from time to time. >>
2006-07-20 12:13:29 · answer #3 · answered by solistavadar 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I see this issue as even more complicated than your description. The further complication is the definition of "god". If you use a very broad definition that is something like: "an intelligent force permeating and acting in the cosmos", then I would say that almost all "atheists" are agnostic or maybe even theistic when it comes to this definition. If someone says that they believe absolutely that there is no such intelligent force, then they must base that belief on faith and thus they are guilty of the very thing (faith) that they often criticize religious people for.
2006-07-20 12:32:51 · answer #4 · answered by pollux 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
actually, agnostic means doubter, disbeliever, atheist, and non believer. Believer is the antonym, so non believer is the synonym, which, atheist is. An Atheist does not believe in God (god). I lived with an atheist for 17 years. God save his soul. Maybe each individual has a different definition of their belief. My father is the atheist, at least that is what he calls himself. Maybe in talking to him you would consider him agnostic, but he favors the word atheist. So, maybe, people are only going by what they are being told by the atheist or agnostic themself. Maybe the atheist/agnostic doesn't know the difference and is sreading this false information.
2006-07-20 12:16:27 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Exactly. Tell people to utilize the dictionary!
Agnostic:
1 a) One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.
1 b) One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.
2) One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something.
Atheist:
One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.
2006-07-20 12:11:40 · answer #6 · answered by mx3baby 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I know the difference, but have yet to see a question addressed to agnostics. I'll keep an eye out for you though.
By the way, what happens to a dyslexic person who becomes agnostic?
They lie awake at night and wonder if theres a dog!
Sorry.
2006-07-20 12:11:19 · answer #7 · answered by Beardog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An agnostic doubts the existence of God. An atheists has no doubt in his mind that God doesn't exist.
2006-07-20 12:16:23 · answer #8 · answered by virgiinia r 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Alot of believers put them in the same category, the way some Muslims put everyone in the category of infidel.
You're right though, agnosticism just denies the existence of proof of god.
atheism just denies the existence of god
2006-07-20 12:11:42 · answer #9 · answered by rlw 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'll drink to that!
I did know the difference, and most people do - except some on Y! Answers.
2006-07-20 12:11:00 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋