Living Life Under a Question Mark

KenJos, who I follow on Twitter, recently wrote a blog called Agnosticism. I suppose that I'll briefly define that term for you, especially since lots of people hold this belief, (some without knowing that it actually has a name!)

An agnostic can briefly be defined as a person who claims that they cannot have true knowledge about the existence of God, but does not deny that God might exist. They generally claim they do not know or are unable to know whether God exists. I think I've even seen it defined as someone who is doubtful or noncommittal about something.

I'm sometimes tickled by the philosophy of agnosticism because it seems to be the philosophy of the "just to be on the safe side." However, I am a strong believer that if a person can easily mock someone else's beliefs than they don't fully understand it so I won't go there. I can say that I understand some of KenJos's points in his blog. (If you haven't read it check it out here.) But I figure I'd comment on his general idea and share just a couple thoughts.

KenJos says we should just admit that "I don't know" all there is to know about the whole subject of God. He sites Charles Darwin. And I don't think that you'd meet any believer of any religion that would disagree with that. Most of us believe that God is manifold, many faceted. But at the same time people are just as complex. I think it's fair to say that I can never know the whole subject of KenJos or even me, David. My parents have been married for 30 years and they tell me that they are daily discovering more about one another.

1. You don't have to deny the existence of God or abandon any belief that you currently have to say "I don't know." Before any person could see or understand the limitless universe that KenJos references, they took that as a starting point. A hypothesis. That's one of the essential beauties of faith. You believe having not seen... and then God reveals himself to you in ways. But it generally works in that order.

2. So "I don't completely know" is a fair starting point but it does not have to be a permanent posture. Eventually you have to dive in somewhere. KenJos says, "until you are able to admit that you do not know, you will never be able to fully and unconditionally receive the answers." That's fair. But standing at "I don't know" about everything forever is just willing and blind ignorance. If that posture is supposed to open you up to receive answers than why would an agnostic remain an agnostic? Wouldn't he eventually discover something? Would he eventually discover that yes, God is out there and my next step is determining how to know Him, if he can be known, or that God does not exist at all and he is a figment of our imaginations.

3. I just want for people to be honest. Everyone. Believers included. KenJos makes good points about people waging wars, estranging family members and doing a bunch of other things under the banner of religion but this is the part of the 'non-knowing nuances' that believers have to admit they don't know about. It's easy to rile up a crowd of people who have rejected religion using the examples of things done in the name of religion by people who are the general exception and not the rule. You'll find that most people in most religions would condemn those types of behaviors. I want believers to admit that they don't fully know their God but they are everyday in process of relationship with Him to learn about Him. And I believer as a Christian myself that before you surrender you heart in true compliance to really getting to know God, He does prove Himself. He does cause Himself to be known.

I want agnostics to be honest and admit that they are just more comfortable riding the fence. The fact of the matter is that everyone is "feeling after God." People in civilized or industrialized places make the claim that we all made up God to make ourselves feel comfortable when we discovered that we die. But that does little to explain the other nations that have very much the same tenets of rules in their society that most major religions have without having had any interaction. It's ok to feel after God. Even those who claim 'The Universe' is doing good things for them are really responding to something inside themselves that there's something bigger than self.

I want agnostics to try out some of the beliefs with full compliance hearts. Even scientists who make these discoveries start at a place of I don't know, but weren't content there. But they took theories and tested hypothesis in order to eliminate the question mark.

However the reality is that until a person realizes that they are in NEED of a savior and a real life relationship with God, even that won't help. And will in effect but stuck at that place. If that person actually really wanted to honestly admit that they were open to true and real knowledge with their stance of "I don't know" God would reveal Himself. That's why I don't completely buy the whole, it's freeing to 'not know' deal. But that's another story for another time.