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Cheese · 02-26-2013, 08:11 AM

Looks like I struck a chord on the suggestion of agnostics being fence sitters...good.
Just to make myself clear here I am specifically referring to the conception of God in the western sense, the Judeo Christian or Abrahamic versions. To suggest that there "might" be something or someone else out there is simply out of my realm, and forcing belief on a possible supernatural force or alien being is just not somewhere I am willing to go in this regard. There are many things that are possible, Ogopogo, Santa, the Easter Bunny, but reasonable people are simply not agnostic about them.
So narrowing it down, Agnostics are simply those who want to be believers or conversely were once stout believers on the way out, but just cant bring themselves to disregard all of the information that counters their belief.
They could be the type that were raised religious and have a very difficult time breaking from the traditions and superstitions that were presented to them from a very young age. Most have likely given up on the biblical vision of an omnipotent, omniscient force that sits in the sky judging our every move, but they like the idea of a creator so its easy to remain agnostic about that possibility. They wish they could believe in the written sense of a God, but cant buy into the all of the problems associated with the versions as presented.
The burden of indecision is difficult, I would think most atheists pass through the realm of agnosticism on their way to disbelief if they were raised or found religion at an early point in their life, but at some point that burden becomes too much to carry due to the insurmountable amount of evidence to the contrary.
Blurring the lines otherwise just creates more excuses.

Saying "I believe" in God, but "Im not certain", OR "I dont believe in God", but "Im not certain", just doesn't cut it for me. IF you believe in something then buy in with everything you have got, if you are not certain then certainly dig in and study the situation to gather everything you need to make an honest and open decision. Then move to whichever side makes the most sense for you.

02-26-2013, 08:11 AM	#190
Cheese Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Exp:	Looks like I struck a chord on the suggestion of agnostics being fence sitters...good. Just to make myself clear here I am specifically referring to the conception of God in the western sense, the Judeo Christian or Abrahamic versions. To suggest that there "might" be something or someone else out there is simply out of my realm, and forcing belief on a possible supernatural force or alien being is just not somewhere I am willing to go in this regard. There are many things that are possible, Ogopogo, Santa, the Easter Bunny, but reasonable people are simply not agnostic about them. So narrowing it down, Agnostics are simply those who want to be believers or conversely were once stout believers on the way out, but just cant bring themselves to disregard all of the information that counters their belief. They could be the type that were raised religious and have a very difficult time breaking from the traditions and superstitions that were presented to them from a very young age. Most have likely given up on the biblical vision of an omnipotent, omniscient force that sits in the sky judging our every move, but they like the idea of a creator so its easy to remain agnostic about that possibility. They wish they could believe in the written sense of a God, but cant buy into the all of the problems associated with the versions as presented. The burden of indecision is difficult, I would think most atheists pass through the realm of agnosticism on their way to disbelief if they were raised or found religion at an early point in their life, but at some point that burden becomes too much to carry due to the insurmountable amount of evidence to the contrary. Blurring the lines otherwise just creates more excuses. Saying "I believe" in God, but "Im not certain", OR "I dont believe in God", but "Im not certain", just doesn't cut it for me. IF you believe in something then buy in with everything you have got, if you are not certain then certainly dig in and study the situation to gather everything you need to make an honest and open decision. Then move to whichever side makes the most sense for you. Last edited by Cheese; 02-26-2013 at 08:24 AM.