Religion is one of taboo topics in social events or social gatherings. People have different beliefs or have different religions, so it’s hard to talk about religion without starting a debate or offending people whose beliefs are different than yours.
It is said that about 84 percent of the people in the world believe that there is a god or a super natural being that created the universe. However, there are some people who believe the contrary, and these people are called atheist, agnostic, unbeliever, skeptic, etc.
Many people think atheist and agnostic have the same or similar beliefs, but they are different. An Atheist believe that there is no god.
There are kinds of atheists, some have reasons for their denial for the existence of god while others could not prove god does not exist, but they also believe that there is no god. Their common belief is that there is no God.
In this article, we will focus on the meaning of agnostic. Agnosticism is a theory of knowledge, unlike Atheism which is a belief system. An agnostic simply believes that human beings do not have the capacity to know beyond the physical realm; so, knowing the existence of god is beyond their capability.
The difference between agnostic and atheist may be simple. The former doesn’t claim to know if any gods exist, while the latter believes that there is no god. However, agnostic is divided into two groups:
What is Agnostic?
Agnostic atheist: a person who doesn’t believe in any gods but does not have the knowledge to back up this belief.
Agnostic atheist has three types:
- Strong/hard/closed/strict or permanent: a person who strongly believes that the existence or nonexistence of god is unknowable by a reason of our natural inability to verify any experience with anything but another subjective experience
- Weak/soft/open/empirical or temporal: a person who believes the existence or nonexistence of any god is currently unknown but is not necessarily unknowable
- Apathetic: a person who believes that the existence or nonexistence of any god has little to no impact on personal human affairs and it is not very interesting to know.
Agnostic theist: a person who believes the existence of one god but does not have the knowledge to back up this belief.
Aside from the above definition, agnostic can also be used to describe people who are uncertain of anything. For example, one can say “I’m agnostic on the question whether the manager has enough skills to lead the employees.”
Example of “agnostic”.
- Matt started to doubt his faith and has started to consider himself as agnostic.
- She said that the reason they broke up is because he can’t live with an agnostic person.
Dialog:
Jill: May, do you have plans for Sunday?
May: Nope. I am free on Sunday.
Jill: Great. Can you come with me to our church? It’s our church’s anniversary and we are having lots of activities. We welcome people who have different religions or beliefs.
May:Well, sorry but I don’t go to any church. I used to go to church but now, I believe the existence of god is beyond our understanding.
Jill: So, you have no religion? Don’t worry we welcome anyone.
May: I’m agnostic. We can meet on Saturday or anytime when you’re done with your church’s activities.
Jill: Oh, sure. We can have coffee at around 3.pm. I will have been done in church by then. But, I’m just curious. Do you not believe in god?
May:I’m agnostic theist. I believe there is god, but I don’t think I can understand why god exists.
Jill: You need prayers. I will pray for you. God gives us wisdom to understand everything if we ask for it.
May: Sure, you can pray for me.
Other word you can create from agnostic:
Gnostic: it literally means “one who knows”.
Related idioms:
In a quandary: When someone is in a quandary, it means that they are confused or unsure.
Like doubting Thomas: When someone is described as like a doubting Thomas, it means that they refuse to believe anything without direct personal experience.
This idiom was created in reference to the Apostle Thomas, who refused to believe that the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other apostles, until he could see and feel the wounds received by Jesus on the cross.
Espri fort: Expri is a French word that has been used in English for many centuries, it literally means “spririt”, “soul” or “mind”, and “espri fort” means “no religion”.
Of two minds: This refers to people who are holding conflicting opinions about someone or something.
Agnostic Synonyms (other ways to say):
Skeptic
Doubter
Doubting Thomas
Cynic
Unbeliever
Nonbeliever
Rationalist
Pyrrhonist
Equivocator
