How many people actually know someone who is agnostic...?

Question

I am wondering because I often see things that reflect a poor generalization of agnostics such as they cant make up thier minds about anything.
Are the agnostics you know really like this...cant decide if something is green or teal? I am agnostic and I dont think this way at all when concerning other life decisions. Is this a poor generalization or what?
If the generalization were true would it also be true to say that all atheist have no faith in anything...which by this question you can see isnt entirely true:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AutHVbUFM3Pl25gLZ3D1WLDsy6IX?qid=20070623140227AAr8Gpy
Or that all believers believe in all things not seen which isnt the case all the time as seen by this question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ajg2MNHScrCJueJVeAc1ltjsy6IX?qid=20070623140510AAFmb3B.
What are your thoughts...is there any truth to the statement that agnostics cant make up thier minds or is this a poor generalization and what logic backs it up?

Answer 1

I AM an agnostic!

I don't have any evidence for God or against God, if we define God as a supernatural entity or world. Therefore, I cannot decide anything. It would be beyond my perceptions. However, I live like it doesn't matter. I can't worry about God's existence because that is impractical. The neutral stance is to not act like God is going to judge you.

Once God is defined, it can be analyzed and potentially rejected, but still not proven. Some Gods/gods contradict themselves, so they can't exist.

I can make my mind up about many things, just as I have with this: we CANNOT know.

Edit: To address the idea that an agnostic has to accept the possibility of Santa Claus, fairies, etc...

I actually do agree with this... unless they CAN be proven wrong! Fairies are one thing, but everything we say about Santa Claus cannot be. We know he does not bring our presents around, we know he doesn't live at the North Pole, etc. There are some things that we just cannot know, but some things can be rejected by other observed evidence.

God and the supernatural are very different because they do not necessarily have to be PERCEIVED, if they can be perceived at all. If we cannot perceive something, that does not mean it doesn't exist. An absence of evidence is not evidence of absence...

Answer 2

i know an agnostic.

to be honest though, while i do understand it--i floated around it myself for a while--i do tend to think it's a bit confusing. i know it probably annoys the crap out of you to hear the whole "if you're agnostic on god, you have to be agnostic about fairies, etc also" but honestly, that is a point.

i'm not disrespecting your point of view--i'm merely questioning what makes the concept of god so special that that you suspend belief on it, yet you decide definitively on other concept such as pink unicorns and whatnot.

is it merely because the concept of a god is so widespread?

anyway, yeah i think that the point about agnostics not being able to make up their mind on anything is crap. like i said, agnostics do decide definitively about many things. whether or not i understand the logic behind it doesn't mean i don't understand the concept itself.

Answer 3

I'm agnostic. It's not really an issue of not being able to make up ones mind. I personally don't have a fear of admitting that I don't know the answers to everything. I know enough about biology and anthropology to know that evolution is a sound theory. I know enough about history and theology to know that the Bible (particularly the King James version) didn't come from a god and is a product of people who never met Christ personally. We don't have the original manuscripts, copies of the originals or even copies of copies of copies of the originals! I'm going to base my beliefs on evidence.

Do I know for sure that there is no god? Well, I don't know for sure, but there is no evidence to support it so the answers point to "no". I'm comfortable with that. I don't need to pretend to know everything and I don't have my identity wrapped up in a false belief that I'm ever going to know everything either. :)

Answer 4

My husband is agnostic.

I think the idea that an agnostic can't make up their mind about ANYTHING is a poor generalization. There is no logic to back it up.

Answer 5

to me, agnostic is about as general a term as Chrsitian can be. It is a label that does not really describe what you believe.
Most agnostics I know, know of or have spoken to sum it up in that they believe in a "higher power" but don't know who or what it is. This allows a lot of room for interpretation, either a person cannot decide what they believe about God or they decide for themselves what or who God is to them (unfortunately, this describes a lot of Christians). I don't think they are all indecisive, I just think that there is either an acknowledgement of not knowing for sure or they want to make their own rules and be their own God and convince themselves htat this is acceptable to their "higher power"

Answer 6

I have agnostic friends. We do not talk very much about the faith stuff. But I would be willing to if they wanted.

Answer 7

I've never met anyone to my knowledge who ever related the concept of being agnostic to any facet of life beyond a religious sense.

Answer 8

I'm agnostic and it is a poor generalization.

Answer 9

Hey queenie, every agnostic isn't as cool as you. some go back and forth like a good game of tennis. it makes my head spin sometimes. you're all good though!! :)

Answer 10

email me sometime and I can recommend a book for you to help you out with your question