agnostic versus atheist

Agnosticism is a position concerning KNOWLEDGE.


a = not or absence of


gnostic (gnosis) = Greek for “knowledge”


An agnostic posits that a god does not exist in the context of human knowledge. What agnostics are doing by taking this position is to attempt to escape the stigma associated with admitting they don’t believe in a god by asserting that there is a “god” which is unknowable. This is worse than saying there is no god because it implies that even proof of a god cannot be admissible because there is no way of knowing of a god and, therefore, no way of knowing of proof of a god. God is completely shut out by the agnostic under the guise of acknowledging a god concept. As such, not a single attribute applied to a god by any religion can be postulated to an agnostic. The agnostic enjoys the benefit of the church having decided that any acknowledgment of a god is better than outright denial. But the agnostic has cleverly denied the existence of a god for GOOD!


Atheism is a position concerning THEOLOGY.


a = not or absence of


theism = belief in a deity or deities


Unlike the agnostic who cannot know of a god which is unknowable, the atheist is open-minded enough to accept demonstrable proof and upon such proof will know of – which is to say believe in – such god or gods. Historically, agnostics are considered more acceptable than atheists because of the false appearance in the acceptance that there is a god. But a god which is impossible to know of is much further away than a god which may be knowable given the proof that an atheist is willing to accept. An atheist who posits the absence of a god and furthers this assertion with the denial of the possibility of there being a god is just as close-minded as the theist in which they oppose. Dogma is dogma no matter which pole the attraction. I am not such an atheist. I am an atheist who does not believe in a god and who seriously doubts that there will ever be proof of the existence of any of the thousands of gods proposed by the human race. Monotheists have also since abandoned the thousands of other gods in exchange for one god. I’ve simply gone one god further than monotheism. This is called atheism. And given acceptable proof, I reserve the right to acknowledge a god or gods.