Are Agnostics Mad?

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   Ron Montgomeryposted 16 years ago

   It seems not.  We get the best of both worlds - the hope born of endless possibilities without the baggage of a known tyrannical uber-oppressor.  Life is good in the fog.

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   Ron Montgomeryposted 16 years ago

   No one has reponded in 30 minutes......I'm getting slightly peeved.

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      cynthiaaliseposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Dear...some agnostics are more patient than that.

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         Mark Knowlesposted 16 years agoin reply to this

         LOL
         
         I was going to respond, but that is much better than I would have come up with.

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         Ron Montgomeryposted 16 years agoin reply to this

         Watch it!

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3. 68

   jenblacksheepposted 16 years ago

   Noone can really be agnostic though can they? You may be undecided about whether there is a God, but you either live your life as if there is or as if there isn't ... right?
   
   Oh, actually I have a better question that you should answer first. Define agnostic. Do you mean unsure if the Christian/Religion's God exists? Or not sure if there is any kind of God/FSM/higher being?

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      Ron Montgomeryposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I agree your second question comes first.  I believe that there is no conclusive proof that a supreme being of any kind exists, but unlike atheists, I do not dismiss the possibility.
      
      You do not have to limit your options to the two you presented.  If you believe in a supreme being, you spend much of your time trying to figure out how it wants you to live, and try to play by the rules.  If you are certain there is no supreme being, you let logic dictate which, if any, rules you want to live by and can modify your choices right up to your last breath.  An agnostic makes similar life choices, but accepts the limitations of logic and the possibility that a puppetmaster fills in the gaps.

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      countrywomenposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Those are great questions. For the last few years I personally consider myself agnostic but socially comfortable being a Hindu. Because we have so many festivals where we have social gatherings which have underlying religious tones to it.
      
      Yes even for the so called "believers" others who believe in a different definition of God are considered as "unbelievers". Our Universe is full of such complex things which forces me not to be certain of anything hence I prefer to be open to the idea that there may or may not be GOD. Maybe one day I will honestly be able to answer the question about God in particular but till then I am comfortable with leaving some questions open rather than arriving at a "false" certainty.

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   jenblacksheepposted 16 years ago

   So would you say that it doesn't matter (as such) to you whether or not there is a God (higher being)? There may be, or there may not be, but it doesn't have an affect on how you live your life?

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      Ron Montgomeryposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      The possibility of God's existence does affect my life and the choices I make.  There was no logical reason for the Holocaust.  A theist could see it as punishment or a test of faith.  An agnostic could see it as evidence that much of what happens to us, good and bad, is unexplainable, yet worth trying to understand.  An atheist would probably try to find a rational explanation, and I would wish him luck.

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   jenblacksheepposted 16 years ago

   As an atheist (and someone who had family members die in the Holocaust) I am satisfied with the conclusion that bad things happen in the world just because they do. People are evil and bad things happen. To me that seems a lot more satisfactory than coming to terms with the existence of an all loving God who murders millions of his 'Chosen People' as a test of faith.
   
   How does the possibility of God's existence actually affect the choices you make? (rather than the way you view events).
   
   Also, please don't think I'm trying to be offensive or setting you into some kind of trap by asking questions, I'm genuinely just curious!

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      Ron Montgomeryposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Your question is great and I don’t take it as anything but genuine. 
      
      The way I view events has much to do with the choices I make, so I thought that was a logical place to start. For instance, if I believed that people are evil and bad things happen, I may have assumed that your question was meant to be offensive and that you were setting a trap. (Not comparing gotcha questions to the holocaust in terms of severity).
      
      One of the areas of my life where the possibility of God’s existence comes into play is my relationship with my wife and the actions I take to nurture it.  I made a vow to her of eternal love and commitment; a vow that would have been different without the possibility of eternal life guided by an omnipotent being.  Like any husband, I am often faced with situations where I can decide to do something that is beneficial to me but damaging to the relationship, or to honor the eternal covenant I have with her by sacrificing my desires for the greater good that is us.  When faced with these choices, I do not go through a cost/benefit analysis that comes to a rational conclusion.  I am instead guided by an indescribable feeling that precludes the choice of damaging my marriage.  This could possibly be attributed to emotion, but if so it is unlike any I have felt before, and happens uniquely in this situation.   There are many ways to dismiss this, but none work for me.
      
      I have had experiences for which I can find no suitable explanation, where the belief in a living, loving God provides an answer.  I am not at a point where I will accept this answer, but neither am I ready to dismiss it.   I believe we are born to believe in a god, and the need for one is so strong that when we can’t find one, we sometimes invent one.  Evidence supporting this belief has been provided by the work of Dr. Victor Frankl, (a holocaust survivor) among others.

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   Ron Montgomeryposted 16 years ago

   Jen, your question prompted me to write what turned out to be a lengthy and time-consuming response, which inexplicably disappeared just as I was about to post it. 
   
   This agnostic is now absolutely pissed off!!
   
   I will re do it in word so that I don't lose it again and post toward the end of the day.

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   jenblacksheepposted 16 years ago

   Oh that sucks!! If there's that much to say then you should write a hub about it! I'm about to go out so I'll look forward to reading it when I get back.

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   jenblacksheepposted 16 years ago

   I really appreciate that you've taken then time to respond to my questions (twice)! I don't know that I have an awful lot to say in response, unless you particularly want a bombardment of questions (I'm quite the inquisitive type).
   
   I have to say that my experiences are fairly different from yours. I tend to base my choices in life on firstly my happiness and the condition that it's not harming anyone else. Obviously nothing is actually that simple, but I like to think that I can't be going far wrong by living like that.

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