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Why do you call yourself an Agnostic? (1 Viewer)

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veterandoggy

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my question to all agnostics, or those who want to find an answer to their woes, is: if you think something might exist, but are a little iffy about it's existencew, what are you doing to find out if it really does exist?

ill remove the disguise off my question: if you arent sure god exists, what are you doing about it to see if he really does/doesnt? although the above question can cover anything you are unsure about, religious and non religious alike.
 

googooloo

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PwarYuex said:
By the true sense of the word, an agnostic person really is atheist.

You can't 'half' believe in god, rather you believe that it's impossible to know whether he exists or not.

To that end, I believe:

1. It is impossible to know whether god exists unless he shows himself, (agnosticism)
2. If god showed himself, I would know he existed, (err... rationality?)
3. Since I do not know whether god exists, I do not believe in him yet. (atheism)

Also: Notice that 1. cannot be counter-argued (ie, god cannot not show himself).
I ask you, what if god gave you a clear sign that he/she/it existed, would you believe then, or would you ignore the clear sign and what for god to show itself?
 

Not-That-Bright

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The irrationality of a God, to me means that even if someone on earth started to cure people's diseases etc and claimed they were god I would ignore them and seek a more natural/rational answer.
 

SashatheMan

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googooloo said:
I ask you, what if god gave you a clear sign that he/she/it existed, would you believe then, or would you ignore the clear sign and what for god to show itself?
i would believe in god if he did that.

however this doesnt mean through some other person or a book which dont differ in anyway from the ordinary.

if has to be god himself in some visual form

so far it hasnt happened to anyone. so thats why i am an athiest
 

Comrade nathan

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Originally Posted by googooloo
I ask you, what if god gave you a clear sign that he/she/it existed, would you believe then, or would you ignore the clear sign and what for god to show itself?
Well god doesn't exist.
 

withoutaface

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googooloo said:
I ask you, what if god gave you a clear sign that he/she/it existed, would you believe then, or would you ignore the clear sign and what for god to show itself?
Define clear sign. If I were given a clear irrefutable sign that he existed then yes I would become a theist.
 

withoutaface

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veterandoggy said:
my question to all agnostics, or those who want to find an answer to their woes, is: if you think something might exist, but are a little iffy about it's existencew, what are you doing to find out if it really does exist?

ill remove the disguise off my question: if you arent sure god exists, what are you doing about it to see if he really does/doesnt? although the above question can cover anything you are unsure about, religious and non religious alike.
Nothing, because there's nothing we can do due to him existing outside our plane of existence.
 
X

xeuyrawp

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googooloo said:
I ask you, what if god gave you a clear sign that he/she/it existed, would you believe then, or would you ignore the clear sign and what for god to show itself?
How could I call myself rational and ignore an explicit sign from god?

Then again, people could argue that implicit signs are everywhere.
 

SashatheMan

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withoutaface said:
Define clear sign. If I were given a clear irrefutable sign that he existed then yes I would become a theist.

i want a sign , from god him self. if he is so powerful, why does he have to resort to sending his message through a mortal human, or though a human invention that is a book.

give me a sign god.
 
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xeuyrawp

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SashatheMan said:
i want a sign , from god him self. if he is so powerful, why does he have to resort to sending his message through a mortal human, or though a human invention that is a book.
Because he did it at a conveniently unrecordable time. :rolleyes:
 

khandigirl

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Because he did it at a conveniently unrecordable time.
smart ass :p

you couldnt help urself coudya?

either way... that being said... does it really matter what people believe and why / how?

seriously... its not really something up for dispute by others... if someone wants to believe in something, others can not then go tell them that they are wrong and be correct about it... faith/belief is something individual ...
 

leetom

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withoutaface said:
Define clear sign. If I were given a clear irrefutable sign that he existed then yes I would become a theist.
Would you revert to agnosticism if I was able to kill any emergent god?
 

Not-That-Bright

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Personally it would take alot of convincing to get me to believe god exists... even if the moon all of a sudden has 'god exists' written on it I would want to look for a more natural explanation.
 

gerhard

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agnostics never get the burden of proof. :)

also athiesm shares some traits with theism, namely a belief in something which cant be known. both are beliefs without emperical evidence.
 

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PwarYuex said:
By the true sense of the word, an agnostic person really is atheist.

You can't 'half' believe in god, rather you believe that it's impossible to know whether he exists or not.
No, agnosticism is not about a belief in God -- it is about believing that there is a limit in our knowing whether there is a God or not. The "true sense" of the word comes from "a" (without) and "gnosis" (knowledge).
PwarYuex said:
To that end, I believe:

1. It is impossible to know whether god exists unless he shows himself, (agnosticism)
2. If god showed himself, I would know he existed, (err... rationality?)
3. Since I do not know whether god exists, I do not believe in him yet. (atheism)

Also: Notice that 1. cannot be counter-argued (ie, god cannot not show himself).
Again, it is not really a metaphysical issue but an epistemological one. Agnostics do not believe one way or the other because they think it is impossible to know. You are trying to force an excluded middle or disjunctive syllogism where there is none. Technically you can be a theistic or an atheistic agnostic -- so long as you believe that you cannot know whether God exists or not. This is specifically where I sit -- I am an atheistic agnostic because I do not have the believe that there is a god while still thinking that it is impossible to know for sure. My lack of belief in god is due to lack of reason and evidence.
 

MoonlightSonata

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veterandoggy said:
my question to all agnostics, or those who want to find an answer to their woes, is: if you think something might exist, but are a little iffy about it's existencew, what are you doing to find out if it really does exist?

ill remove the disguise off my question: if you arent sure god exists, what are you doing about it to see if he really does/doesnt? although the above question can cover anything you are unsure about, religious and non religious alike.
You can't do anything. But some people can't accept that.

The only thing you can really do is rule out beliefs of certain religions through using your brain. For instance, beliefs in certain gods that seem silly -- like Zeus and the Olympian gods, or gods that are supposed to be all-knowing, all-good and all-powerful, etc.
 

physician

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SashatheMan said:
i want a sign , from god him self. if he is so powerful, why does he have to resort to sending his message through a mortal human, or though a human invention that is a book.

give me a sign god.
This is where the concept of 'test' comes in. If God was to appear before all beings on this Earth, and claim that he was the Almighty etc. and show u signs and miracles etc. Everyone would surely believe in his existence, but only because u saw - right before ur eyes - that he exsist, otherwise u would not believe.

The test, is to believe, worship, trust in God without having seen him, but rather by forming ur own well thought out decision, as to whether u wish to believe in his revelations to his Prophets and the Prophets themselves (peace be upon them all. Including Adam, Moses, Jesus, His final Prophet Mohammad, and the rest of the Prophets) and whether u wish to believe in his existence or not!

This is why we have the freedom to think, the freedom to decide and choose whats right, This is ur test, and should u choose to believe 100% without any doubt that God exists, or not, is completly ur decision, and no one elses.
 

withoutaface

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leetom said:
Would you revert to agnosticism if I was able to kill any emergent god?
No, I'd challenge you to a sword fight.

IN MY PANTS!
 

MoonlightSonata

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physician said:
This is where the concept of 'test' comes in. If God was to appear before all beings on this Earth, and claim that he was the Almighty etc. and show u signs and miracles etc. Everyone would surely believe in his existence, but only because u saw - right before ur eyes - that he exsist, otherwise u would not believe.

The test, is to believe, worship, trust in God without having seen him, but rather by forming ur own well thought out decision, as to whether u wish to believe in his revelations to his Prophets and the Prophets themselves (peace be upon them all. Including Adam, Moses, Jesus, His final Prophet Mohammad, and the rest of the Prophets) and whether u wish to believe in his existence or not!

This is why we have the freedom to think, the freedom to decide and choose whats right, This is ur test, and should u choose to believe 100% without any doubt that God exists, or not, is completly ur decision, and no one elses.
If it is a test then the correct behaviour should be not to have the belief that God exists, for if God gave us brains then he or she surely intended for their proper use, and all evidence and reason is lacking in favour of such a belief.
 

Not-That-Bright

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This is where the concept of 'test' comes in. If God was to appear before all beings on this Earth, and claim that he was the Almighty etc. and show u signs and miracles etc. Everyone would surely believe in his existence, but only because u saw - right before ur eyes - that he exsist, otherwise u would not believe.
Well considering that the existing of a muslim god as you imagine it is so irrational, I believe i would have to be somewhat brainwashed to believe in it or i would still look for further explanation.
 
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