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Password Please enter your Password. Forgot password? You could not be signed in, please check and try again. But Unitarians call themselves Christians, although they do not believe in the divinity of Christ, and many people nowadays use the word "God" in a much less precise sense than that which it used to bear.
Many people who say they believe in God no longer mean a person, or a trinity of persons, but only a vague tendency or power or purpose immanent in evolution.
Others, going still further, mean by "Christianity" merely a system of ethics which, since they are ignorant of history, they imagine to be characteristic of Christians only. When, in a recent book, I said that what the world needs is "love, Christian love, or compassion," many people thought this showed some changes in my views, although in fact, I might have said the same thing at any time.
If you mean by a "Christian" a man who loves his neighbor, who has wide sympathy with suffering, and who ardently desires a world freed from the cruelties and abominations which at present disfigure it, then, certainly, you will be justified in calling me a Christian. And, in this sense, I think you will find more "Christians" among agnostics than among the orthodox. But, for my part, I cannot accept such a definition.
Apart from other objections to it, it seems rude to Jews, Buddhists, Mohammedans, and other non-Christians, who, so far as history shows, have been at least as apt as Christians to practice the virtues which some modern Christians arrogantly claim as distinctive of their own religion. I think also that all who called themselves Christians in an earlier time, and a great majority of those who do so at the present day, would consider that belief in God and immortality is essential to a Christian.
On these grounds, I should not call myself a Christian, and I should say that an agnostic cannot be a Christian. But, if the word "Christianity" comes to be generally used to mean merely a kind of morality, then it will certainly be possible for an agnostic to be a Christian. This question has no precise meaning unless we are given a definition of the word "soul.
If this is what is meant, an agnostic is not likely to believe that man has a soul. But I must hasten to add that this does not mean that an agnostic must be a materialist. Many agnostics including myself are quite as doubtful of the body as they are of the soul, but this is a long story taking one into difficult metaphysics. Mind and matter alike, I should say, are only convenient symbols in discourse, not actually existing things.
The question whether people survive death is one as to which evidence is possible. Psychical research and spiritualism are thought by many to supply such evidence. An agnostic, as such, does not take a view about survival unless he thinks that there is evidence one way or the other.
For my part, I do not think there is any good reason to believe that we survive death, but I am open to conviction if adequate evidence should appear. Heaven and hell are a different matter. Belief in hell is bound up with the belief that the vindictive punishment of sin is a good thing, quite independently of any reformative or deterrent effect that it may have.
Hardly an agnostic believes this. As for heaven, there might conceivably someday be evidence of its existence through spiritualism, but most agnostics do not think that there is such evidence, and therefore do not believe in heaven.
Most certainly not. I also deny Zeus and Jupiter and Odin and Brahma, but this causes me no qualms. I observe that a very large portion of the human race does not believe in God and suffers no visible punishment in consequence. And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence.
I do not understand where this "beauty" and "harmony" are supposed to be found. Throughout the animal kingdom, animals ruthlessly prey upon each other. Most of them are either cruelly killed by other animals or slowly die of hunger. For my part, I am unable to see any great beauty or harmony in the tapeworm. Let it not be said that this creature is sent as a punishment for our sins, for it is more prevalent among animals than among humans.
I suppose the questioner is thinking of such things as the beauty of the starry heavens. But one should remember that stars every now and again explode and reduce everything in their neighborhood to a vague mist. Beauty, in any case, is subjective and exists only in the eye of the beholder.
Agnostics do not think that there is any evidence of "miracles" in the sense of happenings contrary to natural law. We know that faith healing occurs and is in no sense miraculous. At Lourdes, certain diseases can be cured and others cannot. About the Author: Thaddeus Kozinski. He teaches Great Books for Angelicum Academy. Related Posts. November 12th, 0 Comments. November 10th, 2 Comments. November 6th, 2 Comments.
October 31st, 0 Comments. October 28th, 3 Comments. Are you going to put a gun to my head? What of climate change was global warming, was the new Ice age earlier? Can one be agnostic? Eric Dec 9, at pm - Reply. Alexander Chesterman Dec 10, at am - Reply. Craig Dec 10, at am - Reply. Patrick Dec 11, at pm - Reply. Lucille Apr 10, at pm - Reply. Layton Dec 16, at pm - Reply. John Neff Dec 17, at pm - Reply.
Andrew Miller Mar 13, at pm - Reply. Blackstone Loring Jan 19, at am - Reply. I am an agnostic atheist. But I am not a true atheist. I am an agnostic. I am an agnostic atheist Atheism is not the ignorance of a higher being. I do not believe in a god. But I cannot prove my beliefs… And neither can you. Ricky Jul 21, at pm - Reply. Jim Feb 26, at pm - Reply.
Leave A Comment Cancel reply Comment. Go to Top. But in all fairness, this phenomenon of cruelty or persecution is not unique to religious people. My advice to Vincent Bugliosi when he promotes agnosticism is to be careful with what he wishes for. Statistics show that those who adhere to the Bible are far more charitable than others, since they follow a set of laws that demand kindness and benevolence.
Yes, Biblical verses may sometimes be taken out of context, and — as I suspect Bugliosi himself has done — misunderstood. But we should not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Better to educate those who have a warped understanding of religious philosophy than to undermine religion as a whole, since spiritual principles and faith-based ethics have brought so much good and justice to our world.
If Bugliosi were to stand before an ice cream counter and not conclude whether it was going to be strawberry or chocolate, he would not be having ice cream. You see, not deciding is tantamount to deciding. He seems to have made up his mind in favor of evolution, though, and practically speaking, agnostics are atheists. They never live as Christians in their agnosticism.
There are people who come by their faith naturally, whose upbringing was churched and spiritually nurtured, but many of us came to Christ the hard way. We began as Bugliosi, but we searched, and we investigated various religious paths.
One must seek to find Matthew Everyone wrestles with doubt at times, but at times our faith is also especially reinforced. This would be the case whether one was pro-Christ or anti-Christ, but the choice is all-important. Life and Arts. Contact the Valley Sun. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options.
Get it? Amy Pringle St. Roberta Medford Atheist Montrose Yes, Agnosticism is a way to view religion, but is it a valid way to do so?
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