2007-11-04 17:41:35 · 15 answers · asked by Mommy Dearest 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
****I meant to use the word "Belief" not believe.
2007-11-04 17:42:30 · update #1
Actually... to my knowledge, atheists are very set in their beliefs that there isn't any afterlife/deity/etc., we're here and we die, and that's it.
Agnostics (which my husband calls himself) are very skeptical, but they are willing to consider that there might be something out there. They're just looking for a bit more proof.
Very simple and blunt answer.... but that's what it comes down to.
2007-11-04 17:47:25 · answer #1 · answered by Lone Wolf 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They have different root words, and the two are not mutally exclusive.
To put it briefly...
Theism = belief in god(s)
Atheism = lacking belief in god(s)
Gnosticism = knowing or experiencing
Agnosticism = lacking knowledge or experience
So, you can have a gnostic atheist, who "knows" there is no god. You can have an agnostic atheist, who doesn't know that there is no god, but he has no reason to have a belief.
You can also have an agnostic theist, which is what most religious people fall under, as they rely on faith. You can have gnostic theists, who "know" there is a god through direct observation. I question those people, as they are quite rare. It's almost more like a delusion than a belief, since why would a god make himself known to these few people and not the rest of the world?
2007-11-04 17:45:54 · answer #2 · answered by Rev Kev 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Atheists do not believe in the supernatural. Agonists believe the supernatural may exist but don’t have firm religious beliefs.
2007-11-04 17:46:56 · answer #3 · answered by AEH101 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Agnosticism is the belief that neither the existence of a god nor the nonexistence of a god can be proven. That having been said, there are many Christians who fall in that category.
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2007-11-04 17:45:48 · answer #4 · answered by Weird Darryl 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
According to my coasin (An Agnostic), he believes that there is a God, but he does not know what God wants from him. He believes that it is ignorant when someone says, "There is no God, there are no such things as Hell, Heaven, etc." because, "no one knows for sure until the end".
An atheist simply does not believe in God because an atheist is, according to a dictionary, one who has no religion.
2007-11-04 17:46:51 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
No it takes about as much faith to say there is no God as it takes to say that there is a God so the Agnostic is the one who honestly lacks faith by giving the answer "I don't know"
2007-11-04 20:27:05 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, atheists do not believe in god, agnostics aren't sure about the existence of god or don't think it's possible to know of the existence of god.
2007-11-04 17:49:22 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. An atheist doesn't believe in God. An agnostic doesn't believe it's possible to know whether or not God exists.
2007-11-04 17:46:27 · answer #8 · answered by Tut Uncommon 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, atheists outright object to the existence of any and all gods. Agnostic is "maybe there is a god, maybe not, I'm not sure."
2007-11-04 17:51:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you ever noticed how often times the first to answer is the one who spends the least amount of time thinking about his answer? And, even if he did, he would not have anything useful to say on a subject he knows nothing about.
2007-11-04 17:51:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋