atheist vs. agnostic

[simba928]

I was just wondering what the difference is between being an atheist and being agnostic are. I tried looking it up through google or ask.com, but everything I found seemed to contradict everything else I found.

Also, I do not believe in religion at all (but I will not tell anyone else that they are wrong simply because I respect other people's beliefs). My family is catholic (we don't go to church, except for my grandma, I think it is really just a title that they like to have) and I recently made my confirmation (even though I really didn't want to.) They do not know my beliefs when it comes to religion. They just assume that i believe in g*d and that whole religion thing. Again, I have no problem with people that do, but I don't. Most of my friends know though and most were cool with it. One started to question me when she found out. Anyways, before my confirmation, I was talking to my parents about it and they said that after this, I won't have to go again. And I said "Ever?" At that point, my dad tells me that he should sign me up for more religious classes because he doesn't think the ones I took had a big effect on me (HELLOOOOOOO, I took CCD classes for 9 years, if that didn't have any effect on me, other than to make me not believe, I don't think more classes will) and he told me that that statement was blasphemous (sp?). I just kind of rolled my eyes and was like OK, whatever. What do you "non-believers" do when people say things like that? Another example is when me and my brother fight (like that typical, sibling rivalry thing). My grandmother will tell me that we shouldn't fight and we should love eachother and to watch what I say/do. If I don't, "He" will take one of us away. I just walk away and she says things like "He's powerful and he can do that, you don't believe me, but it could happen". I just ignore things like that. What do you do? I'm just curious.

Sorry this is so long and I don't want to start any debates or anything. This is one of those "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything" threads.

 

[wvrevy]

Simple answer:

Atheist: "There is no such thing as god."

Agnostic: "I do not know if there is a god or not. It is impossible to know the answer to that question."

 

[WDWHound]

I beleive atheiest beleive there is no God, Godess or any Devine entity of any type. Agnostics on the other hand simply state they don't see enough evidence to draw a conclusion.

 

[caitycaity]

there are a great many people out there who fall between the two, such as myself, as well. i choose to identify myself as an atheist because i find myself more at home with them and their beliefs than agnostics.

i personally believe that there is no god. but i'm not denying i could be wrong about that.

dh claims this makes me an agnostic, however most agnostics i have met just say they don't know or it doesn't matter to them. regardless, i identify myself as an atheist.

 

[wvrevy]

dh claims this makes me an agnostic, however most agnostics i have met just say they don't know or it doesn't matter to them. regardless, i identify myself as an atheist.

You could do like I do - since I fall in roughly the same place on the "belief spectrum" that you do - and describe yourself as a "non-practicing atheist." It's always amusing the looks I get when I say that.

 

[caitycaity]

You could do like I do - since I fall in roughly the same place on the "belief spectrum" that you do - and describe yourself as a "non-practicing atheist." It's always amusing the looks I get when I say that.

i'll admit that a large part of why i identify myself as an atheist is to prevent people from proselytizing me. i swear - i was always getting proselytized when i said i was an agnostic, or gave a complicated description.

most of the time, if you tell people who are trying to proselytize you that you are an ATHEIST, they leave you alone, and slowly walk away.

 

[wvrevy]

most of the time, if you tell people who are trying to proselytize you that you are an ATHEIST, they leave you alone, and slowly walk away.

Funny, when I tell the Jehovah's Witnesses that keep ringing my doorbell that the Dark Lord wouldn't allow me to speak to them, I got roughly that reaction as well.

 

[harleyquinn]

Funny, when I tell the Jehovah's Witnesses that keep ringing my doorbell that the Dark Lord wouldn't allow me to speak to them, I got roughly that reaction as well.

Who Voldemort? Sorry, HP crazy here.

Anyway, thanks for bringing this up! My husband was excited, because he thought he had found his label in Agnosticism, but now that I know the meaning, I know he's wrong.

He believes there is a divine "force" (yes it's so star wars), but not in the Christian Bible God. So I don't know what that makes him. I don't think it matters, but he liked having a label. Too bad it was wrong!

 

[WeirdEyes]

Funny, when I tell the Jehovah's Witnesses that keep ringing my doorbell that the Dark Lord wouldn't allow me to speak to them, I got roughly that reaction as well.

Now, that's funny!

 

[Aimee K]

He believes there is a divine "force" (yes it's so star wars), but not in the Christian Bible God. So I don't know what that makes him. I don't think it matters, but he liked having a label. Too bad it was wrong!

My DH said if there was ever a Jedi church he'd be all over it!

 

[momsgoofy]

My DH said if there was ever a Jedi church he'd be all over it!

I've actually been acused by someone of "worshiping at the church of Disney". Wow! And that person thought it was a slam...


As I've always been told, and because I'm too lazy to remove my laptop to get up and go to the dictionary...
that an atheist believes in NO god and that god does not exist. An agnostic is one who questions IF god does exist and seeks tangible proof that god does exist.

That said, here is my personal philosophy when it comes to religion of any kind..."You can lead a horse to water, but ya can't make 'em drink." In other words it's personal and if an individual is ready then they will partake, but you can't force them.

Okay, that was a mini soap box I guess...better quit while I'm ahead.

 

[DisneyRoys]

Atheists do not believe in any form of a God or a higher power. Agnostics believe in the POSSIBILITY of a higher power. This higher power could be in another form and not necessarily the Christian God. Agnostics are not always searching for truth, instead they are simply saying they believe it might be true and they are just not sure.

I also grew up in the Catholic church and went to Catholic school. My parents encouraged me to explore other churches by going to church with my friends. I would consider my self middle of the road between atheist and agnostic. Some days I am more one than the other. I guess it just depends on my mindset that day.

I do not generally share my feelings about religion to anyone other than close friends and family. I am fortunate that my husband and close friends share similar views as mine. I have told my parents my beliefs and they do not understand why I feel the way I do. Especially when you consider my upbringing. As for the rest of the world, I do not really see the need in fueling the fire so to speak. I know that if I share my beliefs we may get into a fight or the other person may try to "convince" me that my beliefs are wrong. I figure they have their beliefs and I have mine. I have complete respect for others views so I just don't even bother to get in to it with them. I am not saying I am scared or anything like that. I just have had experiences with this in the past and at the ripe old age of 30 I know where the conversation is going to go. I am not quite as ambitious to argue as I was at 20.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Funny, when I tell the Jehovah's Witnesses that keep ringing my doorbell that the Dark Lord wouldn't allow me to speak to them, I got roughly that reaction as well.

Funny, when I told the guy at Borders who told me I was going to hell for playing Dungeons and Dragons that I couldn't talk to him because I was late for a goat sacrafice, he shut up as well...

 

[minniepumpernickel]

I consider myself agnostic, because I can not prove (with evidence) that god does exist, or does not exist. Just to be technically accurate about it!

 

[WDWHound]

He believes there is a divine "force" (yes it's so star wars), but not in the Christian Bible God. So I don't know what that makes him. I don't think it matters, but he liked having a label. Too bad it was wrong!

Actually, There are lots of faiths that support a devine force concept. Hinduism can be seen as embracing this for example (it embraces many models of reality as reflections of the one true reality), as does Taoism. Wicca might also embrace this, depending on the specifics of how he sees it.