Atheist or Agnostic and your definition?

Question

It seems every agnostic has a different definition. Sometimes it sounds more like a deist sometimes it sound more like a weak atheist. Can someone give me an actual definition? Because now it seem agnostics just don’t choose a side because they are afraid of being made fun of.

Answer 1

The term 'agnostic' was coined by Thomas Huxley and it refers quite simply to a person who holds the view that it is wrong to assert the truth of a proposition without logically satisfactory evidence.

So, an agnostic would say that it's wrong to say "God exists" or "No gods exist" without the argument or evidence to back it up. Moreover, the agnostic would say that it's immoral for a person to tell someone else that they *ought* to believe in the existence of a god or gods without providing logically satisfactory evidence to support that claim.

A 'theist' is defined as someone who believes in the existence of a god or gods, so an atheist is anyone who is not a theist.

So you can be agnostic and also an atheist, or agnostic and a theist, or not agnostic and an atheist, or not agnostic and a theist.

The only correct definition of 'agnostic' is the one intended by the man who invented it, I would say.

Hope this helps...

Answer 2

I used to be an agnostic before I learned I was an atheist. Then I learned that I am both. An Agnostic believes there are no things we can know with absolute certainty. This applies to everything, not just whether or not there are gods.

An Atheist believes there is no god. However, as an Agnostic, I realize I could be wrong about this. I believe there is no god, but I cannot prove it and I am open to the possibility that a god could exist.

Even though I know I could be wrong, I am going to live my life as if there are no gods; thus I am an Atheist. I am not going to church, not praying, and not singing praises of any gods.

Answer 3

Atheist - Believes there is no god
Agnostic - Believes it is impossible to tell if there is a god or not.

There is some common ground. I am an atheist. Until I am presented with evidence to the contrary, I do not believe there is a god. I do leave a little room to change my mind, but not much. An Agnostic isn't far away. They usually say that there is no evidence, but think that it is impossible to reach a conclusion because of the lack of evidence. I base my belief on the lack of evidence in that I think that anything that exists leaves evidence.

Answer 4

Semantically you're appropriate, yet there's a conceptual distinction between the positions frequently represented with the help of the labels "agnostic" and "atheist". assume i've got been to ask you no count if or no longer there replaced into existence interior the andromeda galaxy. you are able to respond which you probably did no longer understand. this might propose in accordance on your standards which you're a non-believer interior the undeniable fact that there is existence interior the andromeda galaxy. Now evaluate the type you may respond if i asked no count if or no longer you suspect the earth is flat. you are able to say which you already know that it is not , and that would make you a non-believer interior the flatness of the earth. yet ought to you truthfully say that your attitude in those 2 areas are the comparable? it is the beginning of the want for different words like "agnostic" and "atheist" In my own estimation, the only rational positions for a man or woman to have in this count are those tradionally represented with the help of the words "theist" and "agnostic".

Answer 5

I quote below the definition of agnostic as defined by Merriam Webster.

You will see that it is very clear -- it is the idea that ultimate reality is unknown and probably unknowable. Therefore, anyone who says 'well, I believe in some form of god, but not like anything in the religions today, so I am agnostic' is not, in fact, agnostic. That's deism or general theism. If they believe in a personal god, but not one known to a named religion, they're theists, if they believe in a god who wound things up and walked away, they're deists.

Agnostics do not believe in gods, but neither do they not deny gods. Rather, they say, "we don't know and we probably can't know anyway."

To ask an agnostic: "Is there a god," is the same as to ask them, "What is the color of the smell of this here mobius loop?" The two questions make no sense (unless you suffer from synthesia, then a smell could have a color, but I digress...)

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From merriam-webster.com

Main Entry: 1ag·nos·tic
Pronunciation: ag-'näs-tik, &g-
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek agnOstos unknown, unknowable, from a- + gnOstos known, from gignOskein to know -- more at KNOW
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
- ag·nos·ti·cism /-t&-"si-z&m/ noun

Answer 6

I'm an atheist. That means I do not believe in any gods.

Some people will insist that to be an atheist, one has to feel 100% certain that there are no gods, and that if you allow for any uncertainty, you're an agnostic. I find that a silly distinction. I'm not 100% certain of anything, and I don't feel inclined to pretend that my beliefs about the existence of god need to be treated in some special way differently from by beliefs about the existence of (say) lime-green flying elephants.

Answer 7

Atheist and I take the definition as: The belief that spirits and supernatural beings do not exist, particular in reference to a single Judo-Christian God.

However, there is a off-shoot I think is called non-theism which accepts the possibility of spiritual beings but does not beleive in organized religion. Most atheists have a thing against religions but non theists accept the possibility of spirits but only oppose religions.

Answer 8

I'm agnostic. I would like to think there may be a higher power, but I could be wrong. I think the only rational position to take is that you can't prove there is a god, but you can't prove there isn't. I identify more with atheists than with any religion.

Answer 9

For me, an agnostic is cowardly atheistic, which is where I find myself much of the time.

Basically, I am open to discussions about God, and open to all possibilities that such a God exists. However, I have not seen any evidence, yet, that truly "demands a verdict" (wink).

Answer 10

Deist is pretty definite. No belief in organized religion, belief in science and reason, and belief in God the Creator. Not in a Biblical vengeful god. Not even close to atheist which is totally against all gods and agnostic just doesn't know what to believe.