Agnostic Beliefs

Ok, so what do you call a dyslexic agnostic insomniac?

Someone who lays awake all night wondering if there really is a dog.

All kidding aside, the beliefs of an agnostic person are filled with reflection, contemplation and truth-seeking. The official definition of Agnosticism is 'the belief that the truth regarding things such as the existance of God, life after death, the soul or reality itself is unknown.' A term coined in 1869 by Thomas Huxley, he used the word to thumb his nose at the entire religious world and it's assumptions and teachings of any kind of faith-based knowledge.

Whereas Atheists choose not to believe in a spiritual entity with any sort of omniscient power, Agnosts merely dispute the truth. An atheist would make the statement "There is no God." On the other hand, an Agnost would make the statement "There might or might not be a God, further investigation is required."

Like anything relating to a classification of religious belief or preference, there are spectrums of types under the umbrella of agnosticism.

The Absolute Agnost operates with the view that God's existence is unknowable through anything but fallible and subjective anecdote. Meanwhile, a Soft Agnost withholds judgment in favor of or against the existence of God until concrete and undisputed proof becomes available. Viewing the whole debate over whether God exists or not, apathetic Agnosts consider the question to be academic in nature and that while God may or may not exist, He/She/It does not care for the universe. Agnostic Theists and Agnostic Atheists are individuals who believe or do not believe in the existence of God, but claim not to know whether this belief is true. Ignostics argue the definition of God rather than the knowledge of his existence, if God cannot be defined then how can His/Her/It’s existences is tested?

Agnosticism is a complex system hinging on a simple question of testable, defined existence. Many agnostic people, much like atheists, refuse to believe without irrefutable proof. Meanwhile, the search for answers is ever-present, and when answers come, there are always more questions.

Agnosticism differs from atheism in the way that rather than forming a judgment, an Agnost recognizes the need for doubt, relying on the search for answers rather than pointing to the search for definitive proof as a way to disprove the existence of the Divine.

Notable Agnosts include:

• Mark Twain, author of Tom Sawyer and satirical writer.
• Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons.
• Zac Efron, super cute star of High School Musical.
• Protagoras, Greek Sophist.
• Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the UK.
• Marie Curie, chemist, physicist, and Nobel Prize winner.
• Albert Einstein, physicist with great hair.