(July 27, 2010 at 7:52 pm)theVOID Wrote: One is an atheist if they do not hold belief in the existence of God(s). Because agnosticism concludes that a conclusion cannot be reached, an agnostic does not believe in God and is therefore an atheist.Tut tut. I'd have thought the flaw in the above would have been obvious by the use of the contradiction "concludes that a conclusion cannot be reached"...but maybe not.
Agnosticism "concludes" that the existence of God is unknown, or at most, unknowable. In the agnostic's mind, there may be evidence that convinces them that God exists or does not exist, but such evidence is not strong enough to warrant a "proof". As such, agnostics may either believe or disbelieve.
Quote:Agnostic Theism, as stated in your "religious views" is an oxymoron as it by it's very definition concludes the existence of a God (theism). Your individual case is even more innacurate as you have concluded that not only is there in fact a god, but that he has a son called Jesus. Can you please explain where the agnosticism is in that conclusion?Theism doesn't conclude the existence of God. Theism is the belief in the existence of God. It may be a personal conclusion in terms of what is more likely (to the person), but it is not a conclusion on the same level as a proof (knowledge). A theist who claims knowledge of God's existence is therefore a gnostic theist; a theist who does not claim knowledge of God's existence is an agnostic theist.
I don't see the problem with being an agnostic Christian; neither terms are contradictory. A Christian may believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and that you must follow him in order to achieve salvation, but unless they specifically state that what they believe is proof, fact, knowledge, etc, then they are by definition, also an agnostic.
