2007-09-10 05:14:18 · 14 answers · asked by Me 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Theres a lot of theories of beliefs in God and a higher being, but doesnt re-incarnation have any thing to do with it?
2007-09-10 05:26:51 · update #1
The old joke is "I don't know & I don't care" -- with the agnostic not knowing and the atheist not caring.
An atheist is someone who believes that there is no God. An agnostic is someone who does not know if there is a God.
I like to think that there are two types of agnostics -- those who struggle with the question and those who don't think the answer to the question matters.
2007-09-10 05:18:18 · answer #1 · answered by Ranto 7 · 4⤊ 2⤋
from the "experts" ...
Atheists are thought to be closed-minded because they deny the existence of gods, whereas agnostics appear to be open-minded because they do not know for sure.
This is a mistake because atheists do not necessarily deny any gods and may indeed be an atheist because they do not know for sure — in other words, they may be an agnostic as well.
Once it is understood that atheism is merely the absence of belief in any gods, it becomes evident that agnosticism is not, as many assume, a “third way” between atheism and theism. The presence of a belief in a god and the absence of a belief in a god exhaust all of the possibilities. Agnosticism is not about belief in god but about knowledge — it was coined originally to describe the position of a person who could not claim to know for sure if any gods exist or not.
Thus, it is clear that agnosticism is compatible with both theism and atheism. A person can believe in a god (theism) without claiming to know for sure if that god exists; the result is agnostic theism. On the other hand, a person can disbelieve in gods (atheism) without claiming to know for sure that no gods can or do exist; the result is agnostic atheism.
It is also worth noting that there is a vicious double standard involved when theists claim that agnosticism is “better” than atheism because it is less dogmatic. If atheists are closed-minded because they are not agnostic, then so are theists. On the other hand, if theism can be open-minded then so can atheism.
In the end, the fact of the matter is a person isn’t faced with the necessity of only being either an atheist or an agnostic. Quite the contrary, not only can a person be both, but it is in fact common for people to be both agnostics and atheists. An agnostic atheist won’t claim to know for sure that nothing warranting the label “god” exists or that such cannot exist, but they also don’t actively believe that such an entity does indeed exist.
2007-09-10 12:24:01 · answer #2 · answered by Indiana Frenchman 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
For a start, there are two types of Atheists.
1. Those who do not believe in god, and would rather explain existence in terms of concrete evidence rather than faith, but who respect the deeply held beliefs of others.
2. Those who do not believe in god, and would rather explain existence in terms of concrete evidence rather than faith, but think that anybody who does believe in god is a moron who's beliefs and views don't deserve any respect whatsoever.
I'm glad to say I'm in the former camp.
As for Agnostics, I think they were summed up by Monty Python - "there's nothing an Agnostic can't do if he really doesn't know whether he believes in anything or not" :-))
2007-09-10 12:35:34 · answer #3 · answered by Spacephantom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An atheist doesn't believe in a deity. An agnostic is a person who is more or less on the fence as to the existence of God. It's from the word "gnostic," which means to know; if you're "a-gnostic" then you DON'T know.
2007-09-10 12:23:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
An Atheist flatly denies the existence of a god.
An agnostic is uncertain as to whether is a god or not.
2007-09-10 12:26:19 · answer #5 · answered by Quizard 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Athiest: does not believe in God. Full stop.
Agnostic: Has no idea whether or not God exists.
Gnostic: Believes that, if God exists, he is unknowable to humanity so it's hardly worth thinking about.
I'm agnostic/gnostic.
2007-09-10 12:19:17 · answer #6 · answered by Hello Dave 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Atheists believe there is no god. Agnostics lack belief in god, or believe it is unknowable.
2007-09-10 12:25:45 · answer #7 · answered by Requiesce 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
atheist - someone who denies the existence of god
agnostic - a person who doubts truth of religion
*note the words deny and doubt :if you doubt something, you haven't ruled out its existence entirely.
2007-09-10 12:33:45 · answer #8 · answered by charlene m 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Atheist - There is no god
Agnostic - Nobody can prove or disprove there is a god, so I am not going to worry about it.
2007-09-10 12:18:45 · answer #9 · answered by Henry Rurean 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you will find that : -
Atheist - does not beleive in a God
Agnostic - does not know if there is a God
2007-09-10 12:18:51 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋