“Lack of belief” blurs the line between atheist and agnostic [View all]

[rug]

By James Kirk Wall, today at 7:17 am

When Thomas Huxley created the term agnostic, he considered atheist to mean anti-theological “gnosis” while the religious side was theological “gnosis”. Agnosticism was meant to be anti-dogmatism more than anything else. Huxley was not agnostic regarding the Bible which he criticized heavily, nor was he agnostic regarding the evolutionary work of his dear friend Charles Darwin. Huxley had no doubt that scientific criticism would prove destructive to all forms of supernaturalism that served as the foundation for all existing religions. Agnosticism was never intended to be an in-between position of atheist and Christianity. For Huxley it was the “I know that I know nothing” philosophy of Socrates and the very foundational creed of modern science. The creed of no absolute authority of false gods or men, the creed of following empirical evidence and reason as far as they will take you without regard to any other consideration.

The time of Thomas Huxley is long gone. Today people commonly define atheism the way that Huxley defined agnosticism. Today atheism is not considered a dogmatic stance against any possibility of a greater intelligence currently beyond our perceptions and philosophies, which is the only definition of god that Huxley was agnostic about. In today’s world agnostic and atheist are used interchangeably and the difference is merely a matter of semantics. Whichever “a” word you choose, you are an infidel, heathen, heretic, non-believer and likely a secularist and a humanist. You live without worship, prayer or any regard for something interactive and godlike in your life.

“No” is a word that implies an absolute stance. “Lack” is a word that implies doubt due to some deficiency, but does not imply an absolute stance. Defining atheism as “lack of” god rather than “no” god is a shift in dogmatism, and a good one. Many people blame Thomas Huxley for muddying the waters with his promotion of the agnostic term. Huxley should be thanked as someone who positively influenced the definition of atheist as we perceive it today.

The following quotes from Thomas Huxley were stated well over a hundred years ago. You will find much common ground between these statements made long ago and those by current warriors in the battle of reason over superstition.

http://www.chicagonow.com/an-agnostic-in-wheaton/2012/12/%E2%80%9Clack-of-belief%E2%80%9D-blurs-the-line-between-atheist-and-agnostic/