Is it odd that I am agnostic but...

[Joemonkey]

I ask people to pray for things?

For instance, I work directly with 3 very religious people and they seem ok with my being an agnostic, and i'm fine with their being religious. My father was in the hospital for a week and I told them I may have to leave with very little notice. They were genuinely concerned, and asked if they could do anything. I asked them to pray for my dad.

Does it matter whether or not I think their praying was going to make a difference? By asking them to pray for him, it makes them feel like they are truly doing something to help me out, and I appreciate the effort. And honestly, if they asked me to pray for a member of their family, I'm sure I would, but again does it matter if I really believe or think it will make a difference?

I guess I'm an odd agnostic, I still think organized religion has it's place, especially for those that say "if it wasn't for God I'd be out stealing things because hey, why not?" and it gives a lot of people a sense of purpose, also most organized religions do a great job of charity and helping others even if they have other flaws.

 

[DaveSimmons]

It's because you're an agnostic and not an atheist.

Some of the more fundamentalist atheists here would start ranting about sheep, crutches, imaginary people, etc. but an agnostic accepts that there might actually be a god or a Flying Spaghetti Monster.

I wouldn't feel threatened or offended if someone offered to pray for my health, or cooked some pasta in my name to appease the FSM, even though I'd have no expectation of it making a difference.

 

[nonameo]

??????

OP has confused me.

 

[Steve]

Atheist = Nothing's out there

Agnostic = Something's out there

 

[EGGO]

Originally posted by: Steve
Atheist = Nothing's out there

Agnostic = Maybe something's out there

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: Steve
Atheist = Nothing's out there

Agnostic = Something's out there

Incorrect. Agnostic = "I don't know if there's anything out there."

 

[nonameo]

I don't really think it matters if there is anything out there or not. I guess that makes me apathetic? LOL

 

[0roo0roo]

basically yea, agnostic = apathetic nonconfrontational

 

[jjzelinski]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
basically yea, agnostic = apathetic nonconfrontational

Evan that is a crude approximation. "maybe" does not equal "I don't care" or "if you say so...".

 

[Alone]

Originally posted by: Steve
Atheist = Nothing's out there

Agnostic = Something's out there

That's gnostic. As others have mentioned, Agnostic means that you don't know if there is or isn't anything out there.

 

[dyn2nvu]

Nothing wrong with praying.

 

[FoBoT]

sounds like you just want to cover your bases

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Steve
Atheist = Nothing's out there

Agnostic = Something could be out there

fixared

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
basically yea, agnostic = apathetic nonconfrontational

Hardly. I'm agnostic and I'm anything but apathetic or nonconfrontational.

The OP's stance is not unusual. Praying is a form of self-affirming meditation that can make people feel good about themselves even if there is no God, and organized religion does have it place and purpose when it comes to charity and keeping those persons with weak morals in line.
I don't see the issue. The agnostic chooses to see things as they are, rather than how he would like them to be in order to suit some form of personal agenda.

The problem with this topic is the usual misconception that agnostic lies somewhere halfway between atheist and theist. It doesn't at all. Agnostic means a person who believes that human knowledge is limited to human experience and therefore ultimate knowledge is impossible. The agnostic believes solely in the physical world as told to him by his senses, as opposed to a gnostic, who believes in enlightenment from the mystical/supernatural.
To the agnostic, both atheism and theism are forms of claiming ultimate knowledge.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: Steve
Atheist = Nothing's out there

Agnostic = Something's out there

That reminds me of foxholes.

 

[TallBill]

Meh... I like how its ok for believers feel fine sharing what they think to whomever, but get all offended when an athiest blurts out his opinion. When I first realized that there is no god I was sensitive and didn't want to hurt feelings. Now I just don't care.

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: Vic
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
basically yea, agnostic = apathetic nonconfrontational</end quote></div>

Hardly. I'm agnostic and I'm anything but apathetic or nonconfrontational.

The OP's stance is not unusual. Praying is a form of self-affirming meditation that can make people feel good about themselves even if there is no God, and organized religion does have it place and purpose when it comes to charity and keeping those persons with weak morals in line.
I don't see the issue. The agnostic chooses to see things as they are, rather than how he would like them to be in order to suit some form of personal agenda.

The problem with this topic is the usual misconception that agnostic lies somewhere halfway between atheist and theist. It doesn't at all. Agnostic means a person who believes that human knowledge is limited to human experience and therefore ultimate knowledge is impossible. The agnostic believes solely in the physical world as told to him by his senses, as opposed to a gnostic, who believes in enlightenment from the mystical/supernatural.
To the agnostic, both atheism and theism are forms of claiming ultimate knowledge.

But see, the Atheism that I know (being the Atheism that I "follow"), doesn't claim ultimate knowledge on the issue. How I see it is, there is no evidence of God's existance. Just like there is no evidence of a One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater. Therefore, the default position (for me) is to not believe that a God exists. It isn't an affirmation. I don't ever think about it. It's a lack of a belief, like I lack a belief in so many other things.

 

[TallBill]

Hehe, you're in Baghdad too? We should have an ATOT Lan party!

 

[Vic]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: datalink7
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Vic
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
basically yea, agnostic = apathetic nonconfrontational</end quote></div>

Hardly. I'm agnostic and I'm anything but apathetic or nonconfrontational.

The OP's stance is not unusual. Praying is a form of self-affirming meditation that can make people feel good about themselves even if there is no God, and organized religion does have it place and purpose when it comes to charity and keeping those persons with weak morals in line.
I don't see the issue. The agnostic chooses to see things as they are, rather than how he would like them to be in order to suit some form of personal agenda.

The problem with this topic is the usual misconception that agnostic lies somewhere halfway between atheist and theist. It doesn't at all. Agnostic means a person who believes that human knowledge is limited to human experience and therefore ultimate knowledge is impossible. The agnostic believes solely in the physical world as told to him by his senses, as opposed to a gnostic, who believes in enlightenment from the mystical/supernatural.
To the agnostic, both atheism and theism are forms of claiming ultimate knowledge.</end quote></div>

But see, the Atheism that I know (being the Atheism that I "follow"), doesn't claim ultimate knowledge on the issue. How I see it is, there is no evidence of God's existance. Just like there is no evidence of a One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater. Therefore, the default position (for me) is to not believe that a God exists. It isn't an affirmation. I don't ever think about it. It's a lack of a belief, like I lack a belief in so many other things.</end quote></div>

Except that reductio ad absurdum doesn't prove anything. There's no evidence that lots of things don't exist, therefore you must turn away from the mere abstract symbolism and seek the objective purpose of the thing in order to find its definition. What does the One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater do? What is this God supposed to have done? Then you change your preconceived perceptions based on empty symbolism to fit an understanding based on reality. And see... it's the fact that you can't see the difference between that where it becomes clear that yes, you are making an affirmation. In the negative, but an affirmation nonetheless. You see, the agnostic doesn't deal with beliefs, neither affirmative nor negative. Belief is meaningless for those wishing to perceive reality as it is.

edit: okay, WTF is up with the forums?

 

[thehstrybean]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
It's because you're an agnostic and not an atheist.

Some of the more fundamentalist atheists here would start ranting about sheep, crutches, imaginary people, etc. but an agnostic accepts that there might actually be a god or a Flying Spaghetti Monster.

I wouldn't feel threatened or offended if someone offered to pray for my health, or cooked some pasta in my name to appease the FSM, even though I'd have no expectation of it making a difference.

I cook pasta in your honor tonight...

 

[Joemonkey]

Wow, I figured I'd get flamed by the atheists and the super religious, thanks for a good civil discussion guys

 

[E equals MC2]

I'm agonstic. This is how I define being agnostic:

"There is inconclusive evidence to confirm OR deny that there is a god and I refuse to blind it believe either side. In my eyes, people who believe so strongly that there isn't a god is just as ignorant as a theist, because there isn't enough evidence to go either way. In the meanwhile, I will continue to keep my mind open to continue to learn and enjoy life."

Hardly apathetic or nonconfrontational.

 

[Mucho]

Agnostics are supposed to believe in god but not in miracles.

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: Mucho
Agnostics are supposed to believe in god but not in miracles.

wtf you talking about?

 

[DangerAardvark]

Agnosticism is a broad category. "Agnostic Theism" exists.

However, it's my personal belief that the term, and indeed the concept contradicts itself. In other words, it sounds to me like you're not really an agnostic. There's more to being an agnostic than just saying you are; just like there's more to being a Christian than just believing in God.