Agnostics
Agnostics are people who claim that since they don’t know whether a god exists, the best thing to do is pretend they’re equally open to either side of the argument, and will stay that way until one side is proven.
This is, obviously, foolish. As Richard Dawkins often points out, nobody says they’re agnostic in regard to fairies. Nobody is agnostic about invisible pink unicorns. What’s the difference between an invisible pink unicorn and a creator god? Nothing. They are both made-up characters. So why should someone be agnostic about a god just because such a god has not been disproved?
The easy answer is that they are trying to avoid offending others. Either they’re atheists who are afraid of the word “atheist,” or they prefer not to think about what they actually believe so they don’t have to confess to actually disagreeing with anyone about religion.
At this point, most readers will think I have a problem with agnostics. I don’t — quite. I have a problem with their intellectual wimpiness, but I have no problem with them in general, because they are unlikely to do harm in the name of their beliefs as long as they are unable to decide what those beliefs are.
If you’re an agnostic, realize this: You’re an atheist. Seriously. Look at it this way: Do you believe in a god? If your answer is “no” or “I don’t know,” then you’re an atheist. An atheist is simply someone who does not have a specific belief — a belief in the existence of a god. If your answer to “is there a god” is not a confident “Yes!”, then you’re an atheist. And it’s not a dirty word. Welcome to rational thought!
October 20th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Shawn, fortunately there are definitions that are not only for the extreme left or right, but everywhere in between too. You make it sound as though theist and atheist are black and white and it has to be one or the other and addressed as such. The reality is that there is an even larger gray area in most cases. Make fun of agnostics, call them confused or unsure, but it does not constitute being an athiest. It can be confusing to many about religion, especially now when it is involved in everything and supposed to be in nothing, and so many different religions exist. The bottom line is that agnostic individuals question God but want proof. Without proof they are not convinced like you that God does not exist. You would describe these people as ignorant… but to him his own, and when they are in this descision making process, let them be. Agnostic people are not sure if God exists, probably want to beleive and feel that there is something greater out there and that maybe souls survive and we are greater than being just worm food.
Rational thought goes beyond black and white brother. That’s is my rational thinking… I am exhausted :)
October 20th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Shane,
Thanks for posting! The simple fact is that someone who believes in a god is a theist. If you are not a theist, you are an atheist. Simple as that.
Denying the existence of any gods, or saying you’re absolutely certain there are none, is not atheism. There are atheists who do those things, but atheism is only the absence of theism.
Read my article again — I think I was pretty clear about these things. If I was confusing in any way, let me know. I know that many issues are not “black and white.” However, whether you believe a specific thing is a “yes or no” question. Even if your answer is “I don’t know,” you still, by definition, don’t believe.