By: Matthew Chatterton
Don't you love the alliteration in the title?
I think something requires a little
clarification. I describe myself as an agnostic atheist. That means
that I don't know if there is a god and I don't believe in any of
them. Simply put, I've never been convinced by any god claim
presented to me.
If you were to ask someone if they
believed in God and they said, "I'm agnostic." I can guarantee
you that they have not answered your question. An agnostic is someone
who doesn't claim to have knowledge that a god exists. An agnostic
can either believe in a god or not believe in a god but belief does
not entail knowledge.
The antonym to agnosticism is
gnosticism. A gnostic is someone who does claim to have knowledge
that a god exists. A gnostic can either believe in a god or not
believe in a god but belief does not entail knowledge.
I find agnosticism to be the most
logical position for an atheist as it is impossible to prove a
negative; that negative being that there are no gods. Some god claims
are not fully unfalsifiable. Some Gods are logical contradictions
like a god who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent in a
world where horrifying accidents like earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions occur. That God could exist but not with those
characteristics. Nevertheless, it is illogical to say that no gods
exists at all.
It is possible, if a god exists, for a
theist to produce evidence of that god. If they were to bring forth
compelling evidence, I may believe their claim. If, however, an
atheist claims that there definitely is no god, how can they prove
it? If there is no god, then there can only be evidence for that god
if it is falsifiable. If a god is unfalsifiable, then neither can it
be proven not to exist nor proven to exist.
That is why I call myself an agnostic
atheist. I do not want people to assume that I claim I can do
what is logically impossible.
Now, prove me your god; if you can't, I'm an atheist.
Now, prove me your god; if you can't, I'm an atheist.
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