Is agnostic different from athiest? How so?

by wanderlustguy 34 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  purplesofa

  hey you forgot about the 70,000 Australians who described their religion as "Jedi", a la Star Wars.
• 

  Gopher

  Lore,

  I'm still up, yeah. Point well taken about the term 'agnostic'.

  However in a world where belief in deities is so pervasive (as opposed to fairies and pasta monsters LOL) the term agnostic is useful. It's one way of explaining / defining non-belief to believers, especially those that are afraid of the term 'atheism'. Atheism has an unfairly evil connotation, and so some who are in reality atheist or leaning that way may feel more comfortable calling themselves agnostic in society such as it is today.

  Maybe someday the following will be true in history:

  Astrology - after further investigation, was replaced with astronomy

  Alchemy - after futher investigation, was replaced with chemistry

  Superstition and faith - after further investigation, was replaced with science-based reason

  If and when that last one occurs, the term "agnostic" could become obsolete.
• 

  LtCmd.Lore

  hey you forgot about the 70,000 Australians who described their religion as "Jedi", a la Star Wars

  The 2001 percentages of religious affiliations in New Zealand were:

  • Christian: 58.9%
  • No religion: 29.6%
  • Object to answering: 6.9%
  • Jedi: 1.5%
  • Buddhism: 1.2%
  • Hindu: 1.2%

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_census_phenomenon

  And of course

  • Agnostic: 98.4%
  • Omnipotent: 1.6%
• 

  LtCmd.Lore

  It's one way of explaining / defining non-belief to believers, especially those that are afraid of the term 'atheism'.

  True. And that would be very usefull.

  But its when it is applied to everyone who is not 100% sure, including atheists and theists alike, that it becomes meaningless.
• 

  monophonic

  regarding being agnostic, i think that can be varied as well.

  some agnostics i know are like 'f*&k it, i don't give a flying f---, can i bum a cigarette?' and others are searching for answers.

  i think i fall in between, i'd like some answers, but so fed up with the 'we got the troof, hurrah' attitude i had to deal with for so many years, that not knowing is fine.

  "All I know is that I don't know nothin'/ and that's fine"
  - Operation Ivy
• 

  freeme

  for me it appears like being agnostic is the ONLY way to be honest to oneself.
  there is noone on this planet who can 100% say "there is a god!" and even noone who can say "there is NO god!".

  everyone is agnostic somewhere deep in his/her soul.

  thats just my opinion.
• 

  IP_SEC

  Agnostic means literally, "I don't know." A situational recognition.

  Atheist means, "I am sure that there is no God." A positive assertion.

  No, I am an athiest. I do not believe in god/s. I cannot say "Im sure there is no god/s"

  Craig,

  If I hold a gold coin in my hand, I can say "Im sure there is a gold coin in my hand" That is within my realm of knowledge.
  If you tell me you have a gold coin in your pocket, I can 1. believe you; 2. say I dont know; or 3. not believe you.

  Your pocket is out of my realm of knowledge.

  If you were my close friend and you never lied to me before, I might choose 1. but that would still be based on faith unless i looked in your pocket.

  I might decide to be non-confrontational about it and just say "I dont know".

  If you were a fibbing charlatan, I would say: "I dont believe you"

  None of these situations describe what you say: "I am sure that there is no *insert word here*" Almost no athiest will say: I am sure there is no god. No one is saying god is impossible just highly improbable... so improbable it would be foolish to believe. Thats all.
• 

  freeme

  IP_SEC,

  so, youre basically saying if youre believing:

  - >50% no god exists and <50% god exists youre atheistic
  - 50% no god exists and 50% god exists youre agnostic
  - <50% no god exists and >50% god exists youre theistic

  its just about the odds, what is more likely to you.

  to me its somehow morelikely that there is no god in my perception. but i honestly have to say "i dont know anything about it". i just know that my perception can be completely false. the more i argue with myself about the existence of god the more i realize that i dont have a single clue and thats pretty much 50:50 to me. i dont think anyone else on this planet has a clue.
• 

  zack

  Isn't "faith" the belief in realities though they are not beheld (according to Paul)

  So isn't being a believer in something (such as God) which takes faith and not knowledge, being an agnostic?

  Just asking.
• 

  nicolaou