i was just wondering ? i dont believe in anything im very against any religion and i was wondering does that mean im athiest or agnostic ? i dont mind other people believing in whatever they do i respect that as long as they respect my thoughts too :)
2006-10-05 04:59:58 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
looks like im athiest then thanks so much for all of your answers :)
2006-10-05 05:29:45 · update #1
An atheist believes there is no god. An agnostic isn't sure, and usually doesn't believe it can be proven whether or not any god exists.
And by the way, Atheism is a religion, because it is a set of beliefs based on faith in those beliefs being correct.
2006-10-05 05:07:27 · answer #1 · answered by The Link 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I have seen several answers here that say something like "An atheist BELIEVES that god DOES NOT exist." That is NOT correct, except in a very specific and limited case. A more accurate characterization is to say "An atheist DOES NOT BELIEVE that god exists."
DO you see the difference?
Theism/atheism has to do with BELIEF in god(s).
Gnostic/agnostic has to do with KNOWLEDGE pertaining to god(s).
An agnostic maintains that any knowledge pertaining to god(s) is inaccessible, and as such, it is impossible to KNOW whether or not god(s) exist.
If you analyze that paragraph, you will note that the previous statement, "An atheist DOES NOT BELIEVE that god exists" is also TRUE for an agnostic. So, an agnostic IS an atheist.
Here is the crucial difference... an atheist does not find sufficient evidence to support a BELIEF in god(s). An agnostic does not have access to KNOWLEDGE pertaining to gods.
As you can see, those CRUCIAL differences are no more than a trifle... a word game... a semantic quibble.
Now... the STRONG atheist position is a little different... the strong atheist DOES say "I BELIEVE God DOES NOT exist."... i.e., NO GOD is a TRUE proposition. That implies that the strong atheist has access to evidence that he deems sufficient to support a BELIEF that god does not exist. Philosophically and logically, then, such a position bears a burden of proof. The regular-old atheist position DOES NOT bear a burden of proof... neither does the agnostic position.
"An agnostic is basically an atheist without any balls." ~ Stephen Colbert
P.S. I have taken notice that some respondents have stated that 'atheism' is a religion. That ranks very near the top with regard to stupid assertions. Atheism is no more a religion than NOT collecting stamps is a hobby.
2006-10-05 12:30:09 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
An atheist is a "BELIEVER" that there is no God in the Universe. An agnostic does not know if such a being exists or does not exist, as he or she can not see the proof of a Supra-natural being.
Ironically many people were unware of gravity until very recently, even though the proofs of gravity are everywhere and have existed everywhere since time immermorial. If a blind person who can not see the Sun makes the claim that there is no such thing as light, then he is wrong. If he would take the stand that an entity such as the sun may or may not exist, as he has not seen the proof, then he would be an agnostic.
Lack of recognizing a force or power and admitting that one does not "see" clearly is any day better than claiming gravity does not exist, as one can not notice it, which is the stand the atheists take, which is the exact opposite of a believer in God.
If I say a certain book does not exist in a Library (an atheist's stand -- if I do not know all the books that exist in that library, to make such a claim) or if I say a certain book exist (the stand of a believer who has seen the book in the Library). In this case I do not have to know all the books in the library.
If I say such a book may or may not exist, then I am an agnostic in this matter.
I hope this makes sense.
2006-10-05 12:13:15 · answer #3 · answered by NQV 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Atheism, in its broadest sense, is the absence of belief in the existence of deities. A narrower definition includes only those who believe that deities do not exist, and excludes those who hold no position on the question (see agnostics and other non-theists). In other words, an "atheist" can be defined as either:
A person who does not believe that at least one god exists; or
A person who has a positive belief that no god or gods exist.
Although some atheists tend toward skepticism and secular philosophies such as humanism, naturalism and materialism, there is no system of philosophy which all atheists share, nor does atheism have institutionalized rituals or behaviors. For example, while many atheists reject the existence of the supernatural, others do not.
Agnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly theological claims regarding the existence of God, gods, or deities — is unknown or inherently unknowable. Some agnostics take a stronger view that the concept of a deity is incoherent, thus meaningless and irrelevant to life. The term and the related agnostic were coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1869, and are also used to describe those who are unconvinced or noncommittal about the existence of deities as well as other matters of religion. The word agnostic comes from the Greek a (without) and gnosis (knowledge). Agnosticism is not to be confused with a view specifically opposing the doctrine of gnosis and Gnosticism—these are religious concepts that are not generally related to agnosticism.
Agnostics may claim that it is not possible to have absolute or certain spiritual knowledge or, alternatively, that while certainty may be possible, they personally have no such knowledge. Agnosticism in both cases involves some form of skepticism towards religious statements. Some claim that there is nothing distinctive in being an agnostic because even theists do not claim to know God exists, only to believe it, and many even agree there is room for doubt; and atheists in the broader sense do not claim to know there is no God, only not to believe in one. Agnostics usually believe that God has no effect in life and that there may or may not be a God at all.
2006-10-05 12:01:37 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Agnostics are somewhere between an atheist and a theist. The atheist is convinced that God does not exist, while the theist has a firm belief that God does exist and that he is involved in human affairs.
The agnostic does not feel that there is enough evidence to say that God does or does not exist. Rather, he reserves judgment or says that if God does exist he is unknown and unknowable.
2006-10-05 13:19:33 · answer #5 · answered by Will M 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
An atheist denies the existence og God. An Agnostic believes that humans cannot know God beyond material phenomena.
2006-10-05 12:04:47 · answer #6 · answered by WC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An atheist does not believe in God. An agnostic doubts the existence of God.
2006-10-05 12:02:40 · answer #7 · answered by phoenixheat 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Atheists don't believe in any God. Agnostics are not really sure if there is a God or not.
2006-10-05 12:01:16 · answer #8 · answered by chrstnwrtr 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
An atheist denies existence of any god, an Agnostic is someone who is not totally sure one way or the other.
2006-10-05 12:02:01 · answer #9 · answered by mandita1022 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
An atheist doesn't believe in God. An agnostic is unsure.
2006-10-05 12:01:54 · answer #10 · answered by lucy02 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋