Is Agnosticism a Cop-Out? (Creator, salvation, Buddhist, Jesus)

[Paradox22]

It seems to me that if someone asks if you believe in God, claiming to be agnostic does not answer the question.

OK, you believe that the existence of a diety can neither be proven nor disproven. That it is unknowable. But does that mean you have no opinion on the matter? As an agnostic, do you claim that there is a 50% chance that there is a God, 50% chance that there isn't? Be honest, of course you don't.

I believe that most people claiming to be agnostics are also athiestic but is it possible for a Christian to be agnostic? How compatable is agnosticism with Christianity and other religions?

Thought? Criticisms?

[Mercury Cougar]

Originally Posted by Paradox22

It seems to me that if someone asks if you believe in God, claiming to be agnostic does not answer the question.

OK, you believe that the existence of a diety can neither be proven nor disproven. That it is unknowable. But does that mean you have no opinion on the matter? As an agnostic, do you claim that there is a 50% chance that there is a God, 50% chance that there isn't? Be honest, of course you don't.

I believe that most people claiming to be agnostics are also athiestic but is it possible for a Christian to be agnostic? How compatable is agnosticism with Christianity and other religions?

Thought? Criticisms?

Saying "I don't know, and I don't yet have enough data to form an opinion" is not a cop-out.

[JetJockey]

I think it's a wonderful position to hold and it can take a lifetime for some people to make that decision, if they ever do.

I drift into Agnosticism from time to time, but never for long. It's always good to question the world around you

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by Mercury Cougar

Saying "I don't know, and I don't yet have enough data to form an opinion" is not a cop-out.

i agree completely.

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by Paradox22

I
I believe that most people claiming to be agnostics are also athiestic but is it possible for a Christian to be agnostic? How compatable is agnosticism with Christianity and other religions?

Thought? Criticisms?

There is no possible way for agnosticism to be compared to other religions, Christianity or otherwise, as it is NOT a religion at all.

Atheists are not agnostics. Agnostics are not atheists.

Perhaps doing some research on this topic would help you more than anything else, then you wouldn't have to waste your time pondering incorrect information in the first place.

[KJAnsia]

Originally Posted by Mercury Cougar

Saying "I don't know, and I don't yet have enough data to form an opinion" is not a cop-out.

Boom. Exactly.

If more people said "I don't know," this world might be a bit more livable.

[DrummerBoy]

Originally Posted by Paradox22

It seems to me that if someone asks if you believe in God, claiming to be agnostic does not answer the question.

OK, you believe that the existence of a diety can neither be proven nor disproven. That it is unknowable. But does that mean you have no opinion on the matter? As an agnostic, do you claim that there is a 50% chance that there is a God, 50% chance that there isn't? Be honest, of course you don't.

I believe that most people claiming to be agnostics are also athiestic but is it possible for a Christian to be agnostic? How compatable is agnosticism with Christianity and other religions?

Thought? Criticisms?

In my opinion you are trying to lable everyone in nice tidy little boxes, like: "Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, etc" But I think that lables are too restricting when it comes to a question as big as the one pondering the existence of a creator. Also, many agnostics DO have opinions on their version of God, or a Higher Power, or The Big Guy in The Sky, or whatever you please.
I consider myself an agnostic, as I believe proof or disproof of God will forever elude mankind. And for brevity's sake I will often answer people with that lable. But if they REALLY want to know, I'll elaborate and tell them I find Taoism to be the closest to my true belief. That is: there is a guiding, all-powerful--but impersonal--force in this world that can be "tapped into" for empowerment and harmony. To me, this force is indeed scientific; an energy force, but it is often mystified a bit in Eastern Religion. I think this "force" is what we are tapping into when we experience synchronicity. I also think that Jesus, though he was fully human, was the all-time master at tapping into this force.
And the many different religions in the world, to me. are sort of like spokes on a wheel, all converging on a central hub. That hub is: to eliminate our egos so we can tap that Force. They all just use their own mythology and dogma to get their points across! LOL.
Peace.

[cncracer]

Originally Posted by Paradox22

It seems to me that if someone asks if you believe in God, claiming to be agnostic does not answer the question.

OK, you believe that the existence of a diety can neither be proven nor disproven. That it is unknowable. But does that mean you have no opinion on the matter? As an agnostic, do you claim that there is a 50% chance that there is a God, 50% chance that there isn't? Be honest, of course you don't.

I believe that most people claiming to be agnostics are also athiestic but is it possible for a Christian to be agnostic? How compatable is agnosticism with Christianity and other religions?

Thought? Criticisms?

To be honest I think in some social environments being agnostic is a good decision. It is less of a slap in the face of someone who is pushing their own brand of salvation. I personally have no problem with agnostics, and think their views are in most cases like mine. (I am one of those hard core atheists.) I think when we have to stand in another persons situation it would be easier to see why a person claims agnostic VS atheist. It is not my choice, but I like to argue, and debate, as well as being big enough to take care of myself if I should have said agnostic VS atheist. I think agnostics mix with religions about as well as atheist do. Sort of like oil and water.

[Paradox22]

Ouch!

I think I failed to make myself clear on a couple points and flat out mispoke on another.

(1) I should not have claimed that I suspected that many agnostics are athiests. As pointed out, the two are incompatable. The agnostic claim is that there is insufficient evidence and that the agnostic is unwilling to take a definite position, for or against theism. The athiest claims that there is sufficient reason to believe that no God exists.


(2) To be more clear what I should have said is that many agnostics, though they state that the existence of God can not be proven or disproven, ADDITIONALLY believe that God doesn't exist. I fall into this group. I understand that there is insufficient proof for or against, yet at the same time I feel strongly that it is very unlikely that God or any other deity does/did exist. If I was asked whether I believe in God, I could honestly and truly say that the truth is unknowable, but I would be wrong not to add that I additionally believe that there is no God.


(3). My question about the compatability of agnosticism and religions was poorly worded, perhaps. I certainly wouldn't call agnosticism a religion and was not grouping it with religions. I was grouping Christianity with other religions and asking whether a religious person could be agnostic, as well.
It would seem a Christian could not hold the position that there is insufficient evidence about whether there is a God. My question concerns whether there are other religions that you can think of that might acknowledge that the existence of God is unknowable. Perhaps varieties of spiritualism? As it happens, Drummerboy's above post is exactly the type of discussion I was asking about.

[jbird82]

I claim myself to be agnostic, but I definitely drift more towards atheism. My personal view is this. Religion and the concept of god as we know it is a completely man-made idea. However, I hold the belief that we haven't figured out how our universe works and what drove it into existence in the first place. Many of these questions will probably never be answered as it just isn't possible to prove. So whether there is some natural force driving the universe or everything is a chaotic accident, we really don't know and won't ever know.

Whether this view makes me truly agnostic, I don't know.