What exactly is Agnostic? I've never really known..?

Question

thanks a lot everyone! i understand now :)

Answer 1

Two definitions.

1) The popular definition people use today is just "undecided about whether a god exists". This is really a misnomer, because nobody really holds the existence of a god as a 50/50 chance. They always lean one way or another. A better label for these people is "weak atheist". A weak atheist is someone who lacks belief in a god because of lack of evidence that there are any. A "strong atheist" would be someone who believes there are no gods because of evidence.

2) The classical definition of agnostic is "not gnostic". A gnostic is someone who claims to have direct knowledge of a god. An agnostic is someone who claims that no direct knowledge of a god is possible. It really says nothing about whether they actually belief there is one or not. I would label a person who thinks that god exists but is not provable a "theistic agnostic". A Deist would fall in this category. A person who isn't convinced in the existence of any gods and who thinks we wouldn't know of any if there was one would be an "atheistic agnostic."

Answer 2

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.

Therefore 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.

Answer 3

The word comes from the Greek (cue the father from My Big Fat Greek Wedding)...

"A-" is the prefix that means "without."

"gnostic" comes from the word "gnosis," which means "knowledge."

In the religious context, it someone who does not deny the existence of God, but denies the ability to know about God, and thus the agnostic does not ascribe to a particular religion.

Answer 4

i'm an atheist, even regardless of the undeniable fact that I disagree on your implied definition in the final line. it extremely is extremely achieveable that there is a God, yet i do no longer think of theory implies one hundred% fact (and of direction atheism is the absence of theory). i'm a metaphysical naturalist (in philosophy words), i do no longer think there is something different than the actual international around us, and that hence each thing could be defined in terms of the actual international. There are no souls, self sustaining minds or deities. I take this view because of fact that's the single that makes maximum experience to me consistent with what i understand (or have self belief) at this evaluate my existence (regardless of the undeniable fact that there are some questions approximately it i'm able to't answer), it could substitute sooner or later while new arguments and likelihood is provided to me, yet precise now it is what i think. even regardless of the undeniable fact that i do no longer think, I admire the perspectives of human beings who do, as even regardless of the undeniable fact that it sort of feels inconceivable to me there is often the prospect that they are precise and there's a threat that sometime i could convert. the way i think of of it extremely is "if I grow to be non secular in destiny, how might i prefer the present me to tackle me?" usual faith strikes me as a good factor. even regardless of the undeniable fact that some atheists are speedy to show out that there are fundamentalists and extremists they're pretty outnumbered by utilizing good non secular human beings, and that i think of that if we did no longer believe human beings might in basic terms think of of different motives to blow one yet another up or make different human beings depressing besides. actually some undesirable acts have been committed in the call of religion, yet that reflects on the folk in touch, no longer the religion itself, and a few the two undesirable acts have been carried out in the call of destroying faith.

Answer 5

Agnostics believe that there may be a God, we just don't know.

They aren't willing to say there isn't a God, because there isn't enough information for them.

They don't believe that God is a personal being though.

Answer 6

An agnostic is someone who does not believe it is possible to know whether or not there is a God or gods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic

Answer 7

One who claims they do not know whether God exists or not. This can also include those who claim we cannot know whether God exists or not.

It is a lazy, middle of the road stance. They tend not to want to put in the effort to determine God's existence.

Answer 8

Agnostic means belief in a deity but usually accompanied by humility that one can't truly know it.

Answer 9

well agnostics are people who are between god or atheism, its like, you can't make your mind up if god exists or not. i was agnostic, now atheist.

Answer 10

One doesn't worship any God, but doesn't rule out the possibility of His existence