I'm just curious to see who thinks that someone canbe an agnostic atheist. I, myself am an agnostic atheist. I'm wondering if anyone else is, and if anyone just believes it is possible.
Also, for those that are an agnostic atheist, or one or the other, how have you dealt with it? Was it hard?
2006-12-12 13:39:37 · 20 answers · asked by Tifferkins 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I never said I was upset over it. It is just a lot of people go through being a Christian and then realise what they truly believe in. That is what I went through, and it took me a long time to accept it. I finally do.
Also, so you understand what I mean about an Agnostic Atheist go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_atheist
2006-12-12 13:45:35 · update #1
I'm not asking if someone can be both. I know you can. I AM ONE. I'm just asking if anyone else believes it is possible...which by saying they can be both, you're answering me.
2006-12-12 13:47:27 · update #2
What a great question! The tears my mother has shed, the prayers for my "return" to God's flock, the fear for my immortal soul. My dad is a fire-and-brimstone kind of preacher; according to my family, I'm doomed to an eternal fiery afterlife, so my motto is: don't worry, be happy! I've read the bible a few times (there was a heck of a lot of beggeting going on in the old testament) but it just didn't do it for me. After years of brainwashing, excuse me, religious training, I can't say there is not a god or higher power, but I don't have much use for a god either. Just today I stood watching this group of educated people bowing their heads in prayer before we had our work holiday potluck and was wondering, how in the hell did I end up around these people? Amen?
2006-12-13 16:05:31 · answer #1 · answered by edith clarke 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure you can be both. One has to do with knowledge (gnosis) and the other belief in god. So you can say "I don't think it's possible to prove whether or not a god exists (agnostic) but in lieu of evidence, I don't think there is one (atheist).: Some would say this just means a person is a "weak atheist." Whatever. It becomes a "name game" after a while.
Since I personally am Jesus ;), I can't answer you on the second part. But I have a very good friend who says that it's not really hard. One thing you might want to remember though is that for some reason people react very strongly to the "atheist" word, so you might call yourself an "agnostic" to family n stuff so they don't do the "gasp of atheism".
2006-12-12 13:44:20 · answer #2 · answered by Laptop Jesus 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I am not sure about this. Either you "know" God exists, you "know" he doesn't exist, or you are not sure. I guess you could be Agnostic Atheist if you are sure God doesn't exist and also believe it is not provable. Is this a correct definition? Anyway, I'm agnostic, and for me, it is hard. I do not believe this way by choice. I cannot help it. I want to either believe or not believe, but I just can't. I lean more towards atheism than belief in God, wait does that make me Agnostic Atheist? Anyway, I can't help it, I have the curse of the indecisive.
2006-12-12 13:46:48 · answer #3 · answered by Amanda D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm an agnostic atheist because i believe in all religions equally.
It's like having to chose who do you like more Hitler or Saddam, you really can pick because you hate them both the same. So instead of saying i don't believe in any religion, i say i believe in all religions equally.
I also believe gods are just a concept like numbers and words, because they have a set meaning that everyone can understand and can use if needed. I also believe people made god(s) up to deal with the unknown or unexplained, But they doesn't exist in the pyhsical world they only exist in the minds of the believers.
I really don't have problems because i just say their wright or wrong depending how open minded they are.
2006-12-12 14:15:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm an agnostic atheist, and yeah it can be a challenge explaining the position. I hate the term 'weak atheist' because I don't consider my conviction to it weak at all. I explain it simply:
gnostic means 'to know' or 'knowing of' to be agnostic towards something is to have no knowledge of or that knowledge of the subject is beyond you. When a person states they are agnostic about God that means that they have no knowledge as to his existence, because realistically it's impossible to have knowledge as to something that is described as intangible, undetectable and yet omnipresent. From a logical position it is impossible to 'know' one way or the other if such a contradictory figure exists somewhere in the universe.
However, the complete lack of evidence of such a thing, and the breadth of knowledge that I do have about such subjects as astronomy, physics, biology, zoology, genetics, history and anthropology, leads me to conclude that such a being is almost certainly not real. Therefore I do not believe.
People still don't get it though. They think that 'there is hope for me yet'. They say to me, 'I'll pray for you.' to which I respond, 'I'll think for you'
2006-12-12 13:55:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm a weak (or agnostic) atheist: There is no proof for a god, so I believe it is logical to assume none exists.
It isn't hard in anyway to disbelieve in a deity. I have to actually think about things like ethics and morality (they weren't just handed to me), but I see that as a positive. The only troublesome part about it is living in a primarily religious country; it's never fun being in a minority of people, particularly when the people who disagree with you are in control.
2006-12-12 13:43:38 · answer #6 · answered by N 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Of course it's possible. You can be anything you want to be. I've often wondered, however, what makes a person turn away from God and religion. Most likely, something has happened in your life to cause you to feel this way. What do you believe in, would be my question? Do you honestly feel that you are here on earth by mere accident? It's my hope that you can find fulfillment in ways other than spiritual, but I find that a life without God in it is very empty indeed.
2006-12-12 13:48:45 · answer #7 · answered by gldjns 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a 100% atheist with respect to the Hebrew Bible. I'm convinced that Yahweh is a myth.
I'm agnostic with respect to a supreme being who created the universe. I think its unlikely, but I think there is no way to know.
If there is such a being, it seems to have decided to not interfere in a detectable way, preferring to let the laws of physics stay invariant.
2006-12-12 13:52:57 · answer #8 · answered by Jim L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe agnosticism supercedes atheism.
Agnostics claim either that it is not possible to have absolute or certain knowledge or, alternatively, that while certainty may be possible, they personally have no knowledge.
Atheism is the state of disbelief or non-belief in the existence of a deity or deities. It is commonly defined as the positive denial of theism (ie. the assertion that deities do not exist), or the deliberate rejection of theism (i.e., the refusal to believe in the existence of deities).
Ergo, you cannot deny theism and then admit that you cannot know whether there is a God.
2006-12-12 14:08:04 · answer #9 · answered by Lao Pu 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't really be by a traditional, strict definition of agnostic and atheist, but contemporary definitions allow for it. There are plenty of people who are both. If you want to learn about some then look at:
http://www.the-brights.net/
It's an organization of atheists, agnostics, non-religious.
2006-12-14 06:16:55 · answer #10 · answered by Brendan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋