Will you believe?

Question

Magic in the Garden

I am about to tell you something I have never told anyone. My next door neighbor has a small garden gnome of the sort you've probably seen before. The thing is, my neighbor's gnome comes to life for one evening a month, always on the twelfth day of the month, between 8:00 and 11:00 pm. The gnome explores the yard and has even climbed the fence to come into my yard. I know this not because my neighbor told me but because I have personally experienced it. I asked my neighbor about it once, and he looked at me like I was crazy. How rude! I've scene the gnome spring to life many times, and I'm confident I was awake, not intoxicated, and of sound mind. Thus, I have no question that the gnome is real.

Do you believe that my neighbor's gnome springs to life on a regular schedule as I have described? No? Well, I suppose you are entitled to your opinion. But how can you know for sure? Isn't it at least possible that what I am describing is real?

To doubt that my neighbor's gnome is real requires as much faith as is needed for someone else to believe that it is real.

Deconstructing Belief

The mistake is fairly obvious, isn't it? When I assert that the gnome is real, I am making a claim. I am asking you to accept my claim with no evidence whatsoever. That is, I am asking you to take it on faith that the gnome is real. When you refuse to accept my claim, you do not need to offer a counter claim that you are 100% certain that my neighbor's gnome does not behave as I describe it or that other gnomes could never do the same. You are rejecting my claim because I have not come close to meeting my evidentiary burden, right? Your rejection of my claim takes no faith whatsoever. Rejecting my claim is precisely what the rational person must do because I have offered no evidence to support it.

To insist that faith is required for one to reject claims about my neighbor's gnome, unicorns, fairies, Santa Claus, Odin, angels, or gods misses the mark completely. The individual who refuses to accept such claims need not offer any sort of claim of his or her own. All he or she is doing is pointing out that the evidentiary burden has not been met.

If we refer to belief that garden gnomes routinely spring to life as "gnomism," then "agnomism" refers simply to the lack of "gnomist" belief. An "agnomist" is one who does not accept the "gnomist" claim that garden gnomes routinely spring to life, etc. No faith is required, and insisting that "agnomism" must be a religion is absurd unless you really want to argue that we are all "agnomists."

Atheism is no different. An atheist is someone who does not accept the theistic claim (i.e., a god or gods exist). Like the "agnomist," the atheist requires no faith because he or she is not offering any sort of belief claim.

In fact, it is precisely the tendency to seek evidence rather than to rely on faith that typically leads one to atheism.

Answer 1

we can't wait to hear what your gnomes holy book will be like...

Answer 2

I see your point, I raise you this;
Anyone who does not claim to believe in your grome, is an agnome, so an agnome believes that gnomes do not spring to life. An agnome believes this because he has seen many gnomes NOT spring to life and he has made an assumption based on inductive reasoning, and has decided something, he has seen many other cases and fit this one because of the others. He therefor has no proof that your gnome does not come to life, but he has other experiences that make up his mind for him. Actualy your Agnomist, has no proof whatsoever that your gnome doesn't come to life. The Agnomist only BELIEVES that your particular gnome doesn't come to life because of said premises. The way this relates to God, is, that this was a bad choice, a gnome coming to life. Something else would have related better. The Agnomist can not possibly know, your gnome doesn't come to life. But the agnomist does not have any beliefs on gnomes, what your agnomist must now explain, is how the gnome footprints got into your yard. This is what it is like with God. Theists believe that the 'gnome footprints' are from a 'gnome' or that the universe is from God. Atheists believe that there is no God, so then they have to explain away the 'gnome footprints' hence theories about evolution. There have been other theories before evolution and there will be some after, gnomism, or theism, is just the God centered (gnome centered) explanation for the foot prints.

Who is right? Agnomists or Gnomists?
That is food for a different argument.

Jessica - feel free to email

Answer 3

So what are you really asking here? For someone to validate God? Faith? I have seen God move in ways that cannot be explained. Ever heard the saying, "God moves in mysterious ways"? Let me give you a small example. I live in Georgia, where we are experiencing a terrible drought, and LAST month the Governor of the state, Sonny Perdue, dedicated November 14, 2007 as a statewide day of prayer for rain to help alleviate the condition. The governor stood on the steps of the capitol with several ministers of different faiths and prayed for rain. Citizens around the state also quietly prayed. We have faith that God will answer prayer. Today is the Nov 15th and we had rain last night, and the forecast for tonight is also rain. God will answer prayer based of faith. As far as your gnome is concerned, what does he do? Just animate; or does he mow the lawn? Does he do anything for anyone? Faith in something dead is just that, dead faith. Faith in something living, can make all the difference in your life. God is alive, and well and making decisions regarding our lives.

Answer 4

See what happens when you snort that nose candy. I experienced the same thing and all of a sudden Scooby Doo, Micky Mouse and all his friends were in my room singing for 6 hrs DAYUM........scooby was like "Rooooommmmm, why dont you clean up your roooooommmmmm" and Mickey was doing the bassline like "Ba ba ba booooommm" And Donald was arguing with me about the correlation in the price of oil and president bush underlying motives or so I think he was, its hard to understand Donald especially when your high But I just say this because Dude, I feel your pain. If a gnome wakes up and walks around then thats your thing.......wrote a song about it......like a here, here it go

Gnome from the dome
walk it out
Because your so Hooooodddd.
With your pants below your waist
Bustas in your yard
Pull that heater so you can get a taste.......theeennnnnn
Yuuuuuuuu
Crank that Gnome
In that yard where he roam
This aint superman this that Gnome so
Yuuuuuuuu
Crank that Gnome

Answer 5

"To doubt that my neighbor's gnome is real requires as much faith as is needed for someone else to believe that it is real."

The two claims are not equivalent. If living gnomes were as common as non-living gnomes then they would be.

I believe you state your case fairly well but sadly I don't think most people will make it that far. Most people don't want well thought out complex ideas. They want something comforting and easy to digest. And the power of religion and those promoting it is that they have always known this about people.

This is why ignorance is bliss yet brilliance a struggle.

Answer 6

In a way, you're right. But most people who say that mysticism is irrational and cannot be understood by rational means are simply limiting themselves to intellectualizations. Much of mysticism, religion included, is experiential. While I may not be able to produce external evidence of the God I relate with, there is also no way you can dissuade me from believing what I feel I have clearly experienced. By the way, gnomes do exist along with other such beings. Knowing how to defend ourselves against them, just in case, is the domain of those who, without sophisticated rationalization, just know.

Answer 7

I am not saying yay or nay, if you say you saw it than I'll take your word for it. Gnomes, in legends folktales, are like this. I know this from personal experince too. Yeah, yeah, I hear the boos from the opposite side, but anyways gnomes are notorious for doing this. Its the reason why my hubby won't let me have any. I wouldn't worry about springing to life, because gnomes are of nature, and what he is doing is tending the yards, and doing your and your neighbor's work for you guys. He's helping you two tend your gardens. Just utter a prayer of thanks, and if it disturbs you shut the shades and curtains.

Answer 8

i don't have a major problem with your gnome. your gnome hasn't told me that the world is flat, outer space is full of water, and that trees and plants existed long before the sun was created.

i won't go so far as to say i believe in your gnome, but at least he isn't telling me how to live my life.

he is your problem.

christians are everyone's problem.

Answer 9

if you are talking about God,there is no evidence against him either,plus we have seen that gnomes and know there fake man made objects.God is of the invisible to the naked eye spectrum which many things are like small particles and energy which i believehe is composed of,conscience energy

Answer 10

Actually, I'm not required to offer anything in the way of proof. You are making the claim. It is up to you to supply the evidence.

Answer 11

I guess anything is possible. People believe in demons an witches why not a crazy little gnome.