Being Agnostic....

Discussion in 'Politics & Religion' started by Snufflez, Jun 8, 2008.

  1. #1
    Hello.

    This is a thread letting people know what an agnostic is, as they're often interpreted as atheists.

    The Article.


    I'm similar to being agnostic but not fully. It's rather hard to explain.
    I don't necessary believe in the bible fully because man wrote it. I believe in God and all that I just don't know which. Naturally, coming from a Christian family, I learn toward Catholicism.
    Again, it's rather hard to explain my beliefs.

    Anyone else agnostic, or like me, on Digital Point?
     
    Snufflez, Jun 8, 2008 IP
  2. stOx

    stOx Notable Member

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    #2
    you aren't agnostic, You believe in god. You are a theist, Or at best a deist.

    Atheist - Doesn't believe
    Agnostic - Impossible to know either way
    Deist - God exists but doesn't intervene
    Theist - God exists and he listens to whinging, And if i whine enough he intervenes... He's my buddy. By the way, Don't be gay or earthquakes happen.
     
    stOx, Jun 8, 2008 IP
  3. Snufflez

    Snufflez Peon

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    #3
    Oic That's why I said "something similar"
    Thanks - everybody just said I was agnostic... so =\

    I guess I'd be more of a deist.
    I'm talking more of what religion though. Like I'm not really christian/muslim - I really don't believe that much in human-written holy books.
     
    Snufflez, Jun 8, 2008 IP
  4. stOx

    stOx Notable Member

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    #4
    Youd probably be better off staying deist. All religions i know of have some kind of book and some rules, Rules written by men who claim to have a hot-line to god.

    Not believing in religious books was one of the main reasons deism came about. In the 17th century in Europe a lot of people started thinking for themselves and they said "hang on a second, All this religion stuff is complete shit. None of these books make any sense", And the Enlightenment came about. People stopped believing in the rules of theism and stopped accepting that other humans had authority from god and started thinking that if there was a god (and they had to believe in A god) he certainly wouldn't be interested in what a bunch of primates were getting up to on an insignificant planet orbiting and insignificant star in an insignificant galaxy, And he certainly wouldn't have an opinion on what food they should eat, how they should beat their wives or how best to mutilate a child's genitals.

    Deism is the result of applying logic and reason to religious scripture. It fell apart and they rejected it.
     
    stOx, Jun 8, 2008 IP
  5. Snufflez

    Snufflez Peon

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    #5
    You said it all O.O
     
    Snufflez, Jun 9, 2008 IP
  6. Firegirl

    Firegirl Peon

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    #6
    People still might call you agnostic, or even atheist, based on what THEY believe.

    Some people call me atheist because I don't believe in their EXACT interpretation of god. The rest call me agnostic. Needless to say, I'm getting good at arguing both sides.....
     
    Firegirl, Jun 9, 2008 IP
  7. Supper

    Supper Peon

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    #7
    I don't like the concept of agnostic. I think it's like sitting on a fence. Pick a side. I picked atheist by the time I reached 16.
     
    Supper, Jun 9, 2008 IP
  8. stOx

    stOx Notable Member

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    #8
    Yeah i would agree with you. it's almost as if they have bought in to the idea that no matter how unlikely god is it is entitled to concessions regarding it's plausibility. Nobody would be "agnostic" towards goblins, fairies or elves, They flat out don't believe in them, Yet for some reason the inability to disprove god is entitled to special treatment.

    I think a lot of the time agnostics are atheists who don't want to make religious people cry. Because we all know how fragile the precious feelings of religious people are. If they aren't crying over some imagined injustice they are cutting children's heads off for believing in a different invisible man.
     
    stOx, Jun 9, 2008 IP
  9. Snufflez

    Snufflez Peon

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    #9
    That's why I don't believe in a religion.

    There's just too much BS... They say murder is bad, but they kill anyways. It's not like it doesn't apply to people who believe in something else.

    I believe in a god who doesn't necessarily intervene with "Earthly" affairs. I believe he created all creatures equally and humans just happened to come out on top as the dominant species.
     
    Snufflez, Jun 10, 2008 IP
  10. Supper

    Supper Peon

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    #10
    It's crazy. I think Richard Dawkins said it the best.

    “There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden. There is no evidence for it, but you can't prove that there aren't any, so shouldn't we be agnostic with respect to fairies?”
     
    Supper, Jun 10, 2008 IP
  11. ExpertForumGuy

    ExpertForumGuy Well-Known Member

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    #11
    I just find it funny how atheist talk about how stupid religion is.

    If they were smart, they would realize that everything needs balance.

    Black needs White
    Smart needs Dumb
    Rich Need Poor
    and Religion needs Atheism.

    I'm Christian, I appreciate atheists.
     
    ExpertForumGuy, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  12. earthfaze

    earthfaze Peon

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    #12
    Meh your banned but I will go on anyway. Yes we should be agnostic with respect to fairies. We should not assume that something does not and cannot exist just because we have no evidence that it does. On the same token however, who cares if their are fairies if there is no evidence of such and therefor they have no noticeable impact on you? To assert their must not be a God without evidence is just as much a leap of faith as to assert their must be one. Take out those musts and put in maybes and you are at least admitting you are not all knowing. It seems wiser to me to just accept the fact you don't know for sure and don't care than to attempt to "kill god" in the minds of others. I also disagree with Stox's definition of agnostic. To believe we don't know for sure is not the same as believing something is unknowable to anyone.
    That said you can all be Athiest's till Hades (the country, I know you don't believe in the supernatural realm) freezes over. Just don't preach that holier than though logic crap when you don't adhere to logic yourselves. Hypocrisy is never a pretty thing.
     
    earthfaze, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  13. stOx

    stOx Notable Member

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    #13
    Do you believe that fairies exist earthfaze?
    I'm not asking if you have evidence that fairies don't exist, I'm not asking if you are certain fairies don't exist. I'm asking if you believe they do exist.

    Also, Look up what agnostic means, It doesn't mean someone who is unsure. An agnostic is someone who believes the existence of god is unknowable, even if he exists.

    "Agnosticism (Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge; after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of God, gods, deities, or even ultimate reality — is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently unknowable."
     
    stOx, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  14. ac3_spad3s

    ac3_spad3s Well-Known Member

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    #14
    I totally agree with you. I do not believe in the Bible as there are many stories in there which are just impossible to believe. An agnostic thinks it impossible to know the truth in matters such as God. Thats exactly how I believe.
     
    ac3_spad3s, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  15. contentedge

    contentedge Active Member

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    #15
    LOL; the best definition I've ever seen. :D
     
    contentedge, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  16. earthfaze

    earthfaze Peon

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    #16
    See, I read your definition and it supports me, not you. Is unknown but not necessarily, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently unknowable.
    Define "fairy". And keep in mind there is room for maybe in other peoples paradigms. It doesn't have to be as black and white as our avatars.
     
    earthfaze, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  17. stOx

    stOx Notable Member

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    #17
    If we are agnostic to fairies we would have to accept that they are "unknown" or "inherently unknowable". I make the case that if they do exist then they are "knowable" and more than likely "known". as they say, The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.

    Define fairies; Well, One of these, But real. Are you going to attempt to muster the intellectual honesty to answer a simple question now or are we going to descend into the intellectual abyss where you constantly require definitions of words that are commonly used and commonly understood?
     
    stOx, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  18. earthfaze

    earthfaze Peon

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    #18
    Well it is more of a familiarity with the subject than intellectual dishonesty. The concept of faeries did not originate with tinkerbell like images. That is your definition of a fairy. Something from the Legend of Zelda. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy#Origin_of_fairies
    Has a lot more to say on what you seem to think is a simple question. I personally believe the origins of the Fae are most probably related to accounts of an actual people, perhaps a lost tribe of pygmies or some thing of that nature. Another definition/explanation used by some today is the idea of a nature spirit, which of course would be a spiritual idea to you and therefor BS, since you have obviously made up your mind that anything beyond the physical is not "real". It is all so cut and dry for you isn't it?
     
    earthfaze, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  19. stOx

    stOx Notable Member

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    #19
    so do you believe small flying people exist? You asked what i meant by "fairies", so i told you. Now do you believe they exist.
     
    stOx, Jun 17, 2008 IP
  20. seorae

    seorae Peon

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    #20
    I'm not surprised you never mentioned Fideism, stOx. Y'know, the knowledge that god is unprovable and yet choose to believe anyway.
     
    seorae, Jun 17, 2008 IP