Jason Dollar . Net

Definition

Essentially, agnosticism can be called I-don’t-know-ism, when it comes to the question, “Does God exist?” Agnosticism comes in two flavors. 1) Strong agnosticism says that nobody can know if there is a God. That is, knowledge of the divine is not available to humans. 2) Weak agnosticism is much more modest, stating that some people might know if there is a God, but the agnostic maintains that he has not personally been convinced.

Why do people become agnostic?

Some agnostics have carefully researched all the evidence in favor of the existence of God and have concluded that it is not strong enough to support belief in God. However, they have also concluded that evidence does not disprove the existence of God. So they suspend belief until further evidence is provided.

Some agnostics are too busy to examine the evidence in favor of God’s existence. Since time is a major commodity, it is difficult for many to invest hours attempting to answer the question of whether there is a God. So they simply default on agnosticism.

Some agnostics are too lazy to examine the evidence in favor of God’s existence. It isn’t that life is too busy for these folks, its just that studying can be difficult, and so they opt out and decide to take the risk of agnosticism.

Some agnostics are immoral and want to stay that way. These people know that if they began to believe in God, they would have to change their behavior, so they simply maintain that they do not know if God exists, and remain in their cycle of immorality. These folks are typically not interested in the evidence at all, but rather in keeping the authority over their own lives.

What is the problem with agnosticism?

It is dangerous. Here is a story to illustrate:

Ben was minding his own business while riding on a train from Cincinnati to his hometown of Pittsburgh. The man sitting in front of Ben (whose name happens to be Will) suddenly turns around, holding his cell phone in his hand. He speaks directly to Ben, but in a loud voice so that all the passengers can hear. “I have been on the phone with my wife who is watching CNN. She saw a report that our train is in danger. The bridge we are supposed to be crossing about ten miles down the track has been washed away by a flooding river. We must do something!”

Ben is naturally troubled by this report and turns his ipod off to concentrate. Just then Mary, the lady sitting behind Ben, leans over the seat and retorts to Will:  “Oh, don’t be such an alarmist! I’ve been speaking with my family too, and they say the bridge has sustained some damage, but it’s only minor. They say it should hold our train just fine. We have nothing to worry about!”

Ben is officially an agnostic. He honestly doesn’t know whether the bridge is safe to cross or not. Should he believe Will or Mary? In his gut, Ben is aware of his need to find out for sure. So he begins to research the situation in careful detail. He says to Will, “Okay, tell me exactly what your wife said she saw on CNN.” Will repeats his wife’s story that the bridge is totally washed out.

Ben turns to Mary, “Which network was your family watching?”

“I’m not sure,” she says, “and now I can’t get a cell phone signal to call them back.”

Ben feels a sense of panic and decides he needs to act quickly to get more accurate information. He walks the aisle to the cabin and knocks loudly on the locked door. One of the engineers cracks the door and peeks out. “Yes?”

“Have you guys been watching the news?” asks Ben politely.

“No. Why?”

Ben recounts the information to the engineer, stressing that the train could be in serious trouble if the bridge is out. But the engineer is not interested. “We haven’t heard anything. If there was a problem the station would let us know.” He then adds, “We are on a schedule, mister. We cannot stop this train unless it is a real emergency.”

What is Ben going to do now? He feels that his own life is at possible risk, but he isn’t sure. He is still basically agnostic. But this is precisely why remaining agnostic is so dangerous. Many people, who say they do not know if God exists, or which religion is true, seem to pretend that they are not even on the train of life. They act as though it doesn’t matter whether there is a God, or which worldview is true. But in Ben’s case, it clearly matters.

Most religions have some type of judgment doctrine. Christianity, for example, holds that those who die in their sin will spend eternity in Hell as punishment. So the agnostic is on the train of life and Christians are preaching, in effect: “The bridge is out. If you remain in your current condition you will soon crash and be ruined.”

Of course, other people, like Mary in the story, are saying that everything is fine. No judgment is coming for anyone. Naturalists, for example, claim that when we die, we simply cease to exist. There is no afterlife to worry about.

Who should we believe? Well, at the very least the agnostic, like Ben, should get up and do more research. Maybe the Christian is wrong, but the agnostic should at least study the position very carefully before he simply dismisses it altogether. Put another way, the agnostic had better be absolutely certain that the bridge is safe before he sits back down in his seat awaiting his fate. At that point, of course, he is no longer an agnostic – he has made his decision to disbelieve.

Back to Ben, who warned the engineer about the bridge, but was brushed off. Suppose, as he continues thinking about the situation, he becomes more and more convinced that Will is right. He comes to believe that the bridge is actually out and that his life is in danger. If this happens, he may decide to do something radical. Perhaps he opens the door of the train, takes a deep breath, and leaps. Would that hurt? Absolutely. He would hit the ground hard, and potentially break bones. But Ben concludes that this jump is better than remaining agnostic on the train where he is facing potential death.

The Christian is the person who is convinced that judgment is coming. This is not all there is to Christianity, but this is certainly part of it. He is convinced that he is a sinner who deserves the everlasting judgment of God, and he is willing to take a leap from the train in order to avoid that devastation. Will it hurt? Yes. Will he lose things he really wants? Yes. But in the end, his life is gained. Jesus taught this when he said:

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:43-48)

Agnostics cannot pretend that they are not on the train of life. We are all riding. But there is horrific devastation ahead. The evidence for this is highly convincing. Christ has offered us an opportunity to jump. He even promises to catch us when we leap. You should not be content to sit in your seat and await an unknown fate.