My lack of faith in a God is not a positive denial of a God. I believe in a power greater than myself yet I do not know what that is. It may be a tree it may be Jesus it may just be the universe itself. All I know is that I am not the most powerful being in existence. I get angry when people say I have to choose a side. Why am I not allowed to say I believe it's unknown? I know I have no clue what's going on and I think that qualifies me as an agnostic. What are your thoughts on this?
2007-10-28 19:13:54 · 11 answers · asked by Pico 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
all answers are appreciated no matter what your belief is...
2007-10-28 19:22:26 · update #1
I'm definitely not 'spiritually lazy'. I am a spiritual person but that comes from within and is directed at an unknown. I pray to something that may or may not be there and it works for me as a form of meditation.
2007-10-28 19:33:09 · update #2
Whoa!
I have found that most people totally misunderstand what agnosticism is.
This is one where even wikipedia gets confused about it.
Agnosticism is not simply about not being able to decide. Agnosticism is a structured statement about the conditions of the question itself.
The question of Gods existence is one of the unanswerable questions. It is not about lack of evidence because that will never arrive. It is not about faith because that solves nothing, it only proves you believe.
Here is a catholic paper on the subject.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01215c.htm
There is a very strong agnostic position.
It just happens to be about the conditions of knowledge more than whether God exists or not.
2007-10-28 19:27:31 · answer #1 · answered by Y!A-FOOL 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I tried being agnostic once, though that view didn't last long for me. I consider the position to be like a "temp" job. It's a temporary spiritual stance while you search without and within for a more solid answer. I support someone being agnostic so long as he is actively searching for a more definitive position (or "side," as you phrase it). Simply saying you are agnostic and leaving it at that is just an excuse to be intellectually and spiritually lazy.
2007-10-29 02:30:47 · answer #2 · answered by johnnydaring 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
While I do not doubt that you may hold an agnostic view, I can tell you that, in Jesus' own words, there is no middle ground concerning Him.
In Matthew 12, Jesus heals a demon possessed man. The crowd he was with remarks, 'Can this be the Son of David?'. Seizing this opportunity, the Pharisess cry out "It is by Belzebub, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons."
In part of Jesus' response, He states:
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."
So, as far as Jesus was concerned, we can only be for Him or against Him. While we may consider ourselves in a middle ground, Jesus didn't see it that way. From Jesus' own lips, He does not acknowledge the agonstic postition. You can either be for Him, or against.
As an aside, there is an interesting parallel elsewhere in the NT. Jesus gives his disciples a different condition, "He who is not against you is for you."
Being someone with some philosophical inclinations, I am sympathetic to the agnostic position. I see where you're coming from. I do earnestly hope, though, that you come to make a decision about Jesus Christ.
2007-10-29 03:12:50 · answer #3 · answered by soulinverse 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The agnostic position is that neither the existence nor the non-existence of a god can be proven.
There are plenty of Christians who fall under this category.
I am an atheistic agnostic.
.
2007-10-29 02:24:01 · answer #4 · answered by Weird Darryl 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't know why so many get mad at Agnostics. I actually think to say "I don't know what's out there" is a very valid and wise position because, honestly, no one really knows. I know what I feel, and so I would say I know for sure God exists, but I can't really prove it in any satisfactory way to you.
2007-10-29 02:19:16 · answer #5 · answered by Lucky S 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are able to believe what you want. You came to this conclusion by way of free thinking and who has the right to tell you that you are wrong for what you believe.
I'm agnostic too, but I believe a bit differently than you do, but we all come about our beliefs in different ways, who's to say it's incorrect?
2007-10-29 02:19:35 · answer #6 · answered by Leizl 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think those "so many" people are the fundamentalists on both sides who can't acknowledge each other's positions nor common ground in between them.
If you ask me (and you sorta did), I'd say the "I don't really know for sure" position is one of the most honest and wise positions you could take.
But, of course, that makes both sides hate us.
2007-10-29 02:20:58 · answer #7 · answered by Keep On Trucking 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Its only religion that wants you to chose a side. I for one don`t care what you believe. I myself don`t believe in any sort of god because there is no proof only the written word of men who seem to change the meaning for their own needs. I can`t believe in a god that says you can only eat fish on friday, and I can`t believe in the leader of a religion saying that beaver and puffin are fish so he can eat them on friday cus he doesn`t like fish.
2007-10-29 02:31:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
what those people need to learn is that agnostic...is a side. It's a perfectly rational belief and all power to ya.
2007-10-29 02:17:59 · answer #9 · answered by j-Schmaltz 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Of course it exists - it's just a stance of not knowing. It has NOTHING to do with whether you believe or not. So all agnostics are either atheist or theist. (Agnosticism is not a position in and of itself.)
To have a positive denial of God completely is to be atheist-gnostic, which is just being arrogant.
2007-10-29 02:18:22 · answer #10 · answered by Beletje_vos AM + VT 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋