What is the definition of "agnositc" and is that different from believing

[Hosnon]

in a "first cause?"

[EC]

1. Agnostic believes in a higher something

but not organized religion..

[Hosnon]

3. Does an agnostic believe in a higher being? nt

[Dogmudgeon]

16. Actually, an agnostic doesn't believe anything

The agnostic simply doesn't know and doesn't think s/he knows.

It's not a "middle" or "compromise" position -- it's based on a philosophical principle.

--p!

[Hosnon]

17. Agnostic is by definition the 'middle' position. Theism is: God exists,

and Atheism is: It is not the case that God exists. So, mathematically, God exists would be 1 ad God does not exist would be -1. Therefore, not knowing would be 0...or the 'middle' position.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

25. I think that's wrong.

An agnostic is someone who doesn't know whether or not a god exists.

What you're describing would be something like deism, or a form of mysticism, although I don't know if there's a technical term for it precisely.

[Thtwudbeme]

28. Where did you hear that? It has to do with knowledge or a lack of it.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&defl=en&q=define:Agnostic&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title

Remember this: A-Theism basically means Without (A) Theism or Without a Belief in a God and A-Gnosticism basically has to do with Not (A) Knowing (Gnosticism) and unable to know of the existance of a God, god or gods.

As in it's unknowable.

Atheism has to do with "belief".

Agnosticism has to do with "knowledge".

The best description on the linked page for Agnostics IMO is:

An Agnostic <1> embraces a worldview in which the existence of deity is unknown or unknowable. Derives from the Greek agnostos, a = without, gnostos = known or knowledge. "Agnostic was coined by Professor TH Huxley in 1869 to describe the mental attitude of one who regarded as futile all attempts to know the reality corresponding to our ultimate scientific, philosophic, and religious ideas."

[Proud_Democratt]

33. This is the Webster definition....

agnostic
2 entries found for agnostic.
To select an entry, click on it.
agnostic<1,noun>agnostic<2,adjective>

Main Entry: 1ag·nos·tic
Pronunciation: ag-'näs-tik, &g-
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek agnOstos unknown, unknowable, from a- + gnOstos known, from gignOskein to know -- more at KNOW
: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and prob. unknowable; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god
- ag·nos·ti·cism

[Random_Australian]

2. Agnostic is unsure of the existence of God.

Theist is sure that there is a God, Atheists are sure there isn't.

[Hosnon]

4. But I want to know what you think about a first cause regarding theists.

A "first cause" being related to Aristotle and the non-existance of an infinite regress.

[Bill McBlueState]

39. not all atheists are "sure"

Some atheists are certain there are no gods. Other atheists (like me) simply see no evidence for gods and would believe in a god if presented with good evidence that one existed. The first case is often called strong atheism while the second is called weak atheism.

It's like magnetic monopoles. I don't believe they exist, but if a paper appeared in a refereed physics journal claiming to have found one and other physicists were able to repeat the result, I would have to reconsider my stance on magnetic monopoles.

[cynatnite]

5. 'I don't know'

That's the definition for me right now. It's fluid and I may change my mind, but I don't know. I don't know if God exists, but if he/she/it does, it's nothing like what the fundies say.

I believe Jesus was here and his message got hijacked after he died. It's possible he rose in the spiritual form, but I don't think it was a physical rising.

I'm still trying to figure it all out. So, I guess that makes me agnostic. When I think about it, I think I've been one for years.

[Hosnon]

8. I could not agee with you more except that I don't believe in a

"spiritual form" that Jesus could have "rose" from.

[AndreaCG]

31. Oh I think Jesus could have risen physically

From a coma. It would have passed for death back then.

And I'm an agnostic too.

[last1standing]

6. Asking for the definition of a belief......

Is like asking a hundred blind men to describe the color Red. You'll get a hundred different answers and none of them will be quite right.

Good luck. :)

[Hosnon]

10. I'm not quite sure as to how to respond to analogies like this because

by definition an analogy implies that all of the properties are not equal.

Hence, I tend not to use/trust analogies because of their inherent non-equalities.

[last1standing]

14. You just made my brain hurt.

I guess that's what I deserve for providing a flippant answer to a serious question, but it was still mean.

:P

[Hosnon]

18. Yeah:) Sorry for the bad syntax/grammar...I just noticed my error:) nt

[rman]

23. except that agnosticism is not a belief

[last1standing]

32. LOL! Thanks for proving my point. n/t

[magellan]

7. Basically agnostics are skeptics

They don't know if there's a God or not, believe it's not proveable either way, and therefore don't dwell on it.

[dipsydoodle]

20. Dyslexic agnostic insomniacs dwell on it.

They lie awake the whole night trying to figure if there really is a dog.

[kittenpants]

29. happens to me all the time...

:P

[Donald Ian Rankin]

26. I don't think "not dwelling on it" is part of the definition.

Or that an agnostic technically has to believe that it's not proveable, either (although I'm sure most do), just that it's not *proven*.

I think it's entirely possible for an agnostic to spend a lot of time wondering about whether or not god exists, provided they don't reach a definite conclusion.

[deadcenter]

9. my

paleontology professor referred to Agnositics as "gutless atheists". Personally, I'm in the camp of "I'm not sure about god, but I'm sure that I don't believe in organized religion, but that's just me", camp of philosophies.

[Divernan]

22. I (agnostic) think of mysel as an optimistic atheist.

Or as I sometimes define my "religion", Some days I'm an atheist,but on a good day, I'm an agnostic.

[Erika]

11. What it comes down to is we do not believe in a fundie God

We may believe in some other superior being but we may not. We don't give our accountability of our actions to be judged by others, we judge ourselves. Normally, we are much harder on ourselves than someone who thinks someone else was the scapegoat (whipping boy) for our wrong doings and they were punished for our sins. It doesn't quite meet logic muster.

Feudal kings had whipping boys who were lashed whenever their master was guilty. Why Christ was created?

[DanCa]

15. So would you label me as an agnostic?

Really I don't know where I stand on religion at this point in time but I do now i dont worship the same being as the fundies do.

[DanCa]

12. I don't know where I fall really.

I still go to church but just to recieve communion and because I am able to help with the local food pantry. Other than that I really dont know where I fall but I can say with certainty I really dislike conservative dogma thumpers. I can't stand em.

[Lexingtonian]

13. easy

Greek 'a' ('without') + 'gnostikos' ('knowledge/certainty'). Essentially, someone who admits he or she has no special knowledge, aka particularly meaningful or decisive evidence, to enable him/her to reach a conclusion about the issue.

[Hosnon]

19. You adequately define "agnostic," what about the idea of a 'first cause?'

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. Some have claimed that a 'first cause' must be 'god' by definition

because they define 'god' as 'that which is not created'. If you do want to bring a 'first cause' into theology, it probably makes you a 'deist' - that some entity created the universe, but has had no apparent effect on it since.

[Bill McBlueState]

40. this reminds me of something about intelligent design

One of the reasons it cracks me up to see evangelical Christians embrace intelligent design is that the argument from design is really an argument for deism. If everything was designed as the ID movement claims, that lends exactly zero support to the specific claims made about the Christian god.

A god who designed my sinus cavities to drain as poorly as they do doesn't seem like the sort of fellow who could raise a man from the dead, or who is worth singing hymns to once a week.

[BooScout]

21. I don't try to define myself....

...as being agnostic.....I do believe there is some higher power.........but I also beleive that most of the Bible was written from the male perspective of King James time and I am loathe to go along with much of it. The bible and religion has held women down for centuries and it's about time that bullshit was put to a stop.

I don't hold much of organized religion very highly in my thoughts. It's been my experience that organized religion is self serving, hypocritical and discrimantory towards women. Not to mention they meddle in world affairs and politcs when and down thru the centuries has probably been responsible for many of the wars killing millions on this planet. Hard for me to side with any organizations that kill in the name of Jesus.

[malachibk]

27. A true agnostic believes that god is "unknowable" to the human mind

You can be a theist agnostic (Belief in a higher power but feel that the nature of this being is totally unknowable) or an atheistic agnostic (not only is the nature of god unknowable but so too is the existence of god).

Thus, the agnostic really isn't 1/2 way between a theist and an atheist.

[varkam]

34. Exacta-friggen-mundo

Agnosticism is a claim regarding knowledge, wereas a/theism is a claim regarding faith or belief. They're two entirely different things.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

38. I don't think so.

I think that both the dictionary definitions and the standard usages are:

Atheist: believes that there does not exist a god.

Agnostic: does not know whether or not a god exists. Occasionally, but I think technically incorrectly, used to exclude those who aren't certain for themselves but believe it may be possible to find out.

Theist: a subset of the people who believe that a god exists (I *think* theism implies monotheism, so a religious ancient Greek wouldn't be a theist, although I'm less sure about that one).

But all three are statements about what one believes, and they're all the same sort of claim.

[varkam]

41. I've always taken it 'agnostic' to mean

"I don't know whether or not a God exists", not that I don't know but it may be possible to find out. Those are two different claims, and agnosticism doesn't make the second. Agnosticism is a claim that deals in knowledge and epistemic certainty, not in belief.

[beam me up scottie]

35. You usually see the two terms switched.

I am an agnostic atheist.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

37. I don't think that's true.

Both the dictionary definition and the standard usage of "agnostic" are "one who does not know, or believes it is impossible to know, whether or not there is a god".

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/agnostic
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=agnostic
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=1676&dict=CALD

So "how way between a theist and an atheist" is a fair characterisation, I think.

If you believe that a higher power exists but it's nature is unknowable then you're a theist, but not an agnostic.

If you believe that both the existance and nature of a higher power are unknowable then you're an agnostic but not an atheist.

[ulysses]

42. thank you.

Agnostics aren't "this part theist" or "this part atheist".

[JanMichael]

30. Can anyone "know" or provide evidence of a "first cause" and the...

...implications and premises that some people place on it?

Probably not.

From the man that coined the modern description of Agnosticism.

"An Agnostic <1> embraces a worldview in which the existence of deity is unknown or unknowable. Derives from the Greek agnostos, a = without, gnostos = known or knowledge. "Agnostic was coined by Professor TH Huxley in 1869 to describe the mental attitude of one who regarded as futile all attempts to know the reality corresponding to our ultimate scientific, philosophic, and religious ideas."

I would imagine that a "first cause" (And the implications some people wish to make with the claim) would fall into the "unknown" or "unknowable" realm.

[libhill]

36. I am agnostic,

and my view is that the existence of any deity is unknown, and unknowable. That is the classic definition, although other people may have other takes. Neither do I emphatically deny the possibility that a god of some sort COULD exist. I just don't know. I don't believe it's possible to know. I certainly don't believe in the Judeao - Christian Bible God. In my opinion, Jesus never existed, at least not as a living, breathing, miracle working human being. As to whether or not he did / does exist in some spiritual, metaphysical form, is not for me to speculate on. The Apostle Paul seemed to take that approach, as he never revealed any knowledge of having known any historical or biographical details of such a life, and Paul's writings are considered by most scholars to predate the gospels. There is just no reliable evidence outside the Gospels, (which I do not accept as historical evidence), for a "historical Jesus".