New Member with a Question!

[shunyadragon]

Do you mind going into a little depth about what those beliefs are?

The belief in philosophical skepticism is to question everything and never be certain of 'belief' particularly where we cannot provide objective verifiable evidence to support it. This is a form of philosophical agnosticism.

As far as the existence of God, I find that there is reasonable evidence to believe in God, but it does not meet the criteria of 'beyond a reasonable doubt.'

In this view I acknowledge atheists, and stronger agnostics as having reasonable arguments. Most theists will not acknowledge their arguments as reasonable or possible.

The God of the Baha'i Faith is an apophatic God that is unknowable, similar to the concept of the Tao of Buddhism, from the human perspective except for the attributes of God Revealed in religions such as: Love, Compassion, and Justice, which are consistent among the religions. I consider older religions to be very much a human view of God in their culture and time. Human desires and fears corrupt religion over time, and the result is many divisions of a human view.

I consider the knowledge of science to an evolving knowledge that is valid 'beyond a reasonable doubt.' The Baha'i Faith believes in the harmony of science and religion, and concerning the nature of our physical existence is the realm of science and scripture must be understood and interpreted in the light of science.

I do not believe the God of Genesis nor the Trinitarian God of Christianity exists. They represent beliefs based on ancient mythology, and a human created image of God.

Your view that God 'possibly' exists, and you are not at present willing to believe, is a stronger agnosticism.

 

[thewalrus]

The God of the Baha'i Faith is an apophatic God that is unknowable, similar to the concept of the Tao of Buddhism, from the human perspective except for the attributes of God Revealed in religions such as: Love, Compassion, and Justice, which are consistent among the religions.

It's exactly for this reason that I don't doubt the possibility of a higher power, but the lack of "objective verifiable evidence" as you put it keeps me skeptical. Thank you for taking the time to write such an informative explanation!

 

[HonestJoe]

After leaving Christianity, I began to call myself Agnostic. However, I've recently begun to lean back towards the possibility that a higher power exists. I still don't agree with Christianity's or any other religion's views and explanations of a higher power, but I'm no longer in the "There may or may not be" mindset. Is Agnostic still the best way to describe my beliefs, or is there another view that might better describe my position?

The best way to describe your position is; After leaving Christianity, I began to call myself Agnostic. However, I've recently begun to lean back towards the possibility that a higher power exists. I still don't agree with Christianity's or any other religion's views and explanations of a higher power, but I'm no longer in the "There may or may not be" mindset.”

If there was a single word that could encompass all of that, you wouldn’t have needed to write it in the first place.

 

[Quintessence]

After leaving Christianity, I began to call myself Agnostic. However, I've recently begun to lean back towards the possibility that a higher power exists. I still don't agree with Christianity's or any other religion's views and explanations of a higher power, but I'm no longer in the "There may or may not be" mindset. Is Agnostic still the best way to describe my beliefs, or is there another view that might better describe my position?

Just to put things into a bit of perspective here, there are tens of thousands of religions, some theistic, some not. You've looked into all of those? That'd be a mighty superhuman feat indeed!

At any rate, I'd also keep in mind that one's theological position is in many cases independent of one's religious affiliations. If you don't identify with any particular religions, you can use theological terms to describe your variety of theism. Based on what you wrote here, I'd probably just go with something like "uncommitted theist." That is, you're leaning towards some sort of theism. If you were leaning towards non-theism, it'd instead be "uncommitted non-theist." You could also be agnostic in addition to both of these, as it addresses a different question. The gnostic-agnosticism spectrum deals with knowledge about god(s) rather than accepting/rejecting particular god-concepts.

 

[columbus]

Greetings thewalrus!
Welcome to RF.

After leaving Christianity, I began to call myself Agnostic. However, I've recently begun to lean back towards the possibility that a higher power exists.

Something you might consider is how useful, and in what circumstances and contexts, such labels even are.

Personally, I often find them a detriment to discussion and understanding. Largely because they make it easy for people to make incorrect assumptions about what you believe based on their understanding of what the labels mean. The words really aren't very precise, despite attempts to treat various dictionary definitions as Holy Writ.

I don't really identify very strongly with any of the various labels, theological or political, people use regularly. I could explain why I am a Catholic atheistic agnostic deist. Every one of those labels applies to my worldview to a large degree. But often somebody will misrepresent me, because they are confident that they know what one of those labels means better than I do, and therefore know what I believe better than I do.
I have a similar issue with socio-political issues. I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every individual, including LGBTQ and the unborn. Is that conservative or liberal?
Not being willing to apply a label to oneself is often inconvenient.
Tom

 

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

Hi everybody, hope this post finds you well. I explored the site a bit and I've gotta say, I'm glad to see there's a place for people to intelligently discuss such a touchy topic. It's a rarity these days, at least in my experience. But, I digress. Onto my question.

After leaving Christianity, I began to call myself Agnostic. However, I've recently begun to lean back towards the possibility that a higher power exists. I still don't agree with Christianity's or any other religion's views and explanations of a higher power, but I'm no longer in the "There may or may not be" mindset. Is Agnostic still the best way to describe my beliefs, or is there another view that might better describe my position?

People misuse this word, 'agnostic'. Agnosticism is the belief that you can not KNOW if a god exists. This speaks not at all to whether you believe one does. You can be an agnostic Theist or an Agnostic Atheist.

One either holds the proposition 'gods exist' to be true or one does not.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Hi everybody, hope this post finds you well. I explored the site a bit and I've gotta say, I'm glad to see there's a place for people to intelligently discuss such a touchy topic. It's a rarity these days, at least in my experience. ...

Shalom and welcome.

After leaving Christianity, I began to call myself Agnostic. However, I've recently begun to lean back towards the possibility that a higher power exists. I still don't agree with Christianity's or any other religion's views and explanations of a higher power, but I'm no longer in the "There may or may not be" mindset. Is Agnostic still the best way to describe my beliefs, or is there another view that might better describe my position?

It seems to me that you are a provisional theist.

 

[Akivah]

I still don't agree with Christianity's or any other religion's views and explanations of a higher power, but I'm no longer in the "There may or may not be" mindset. Is Agnostic still the best way to describe my beliefs, or is there another view that might better describe my position?

Welcome thewalrus!

What other religions' views have you checked out? If you check the RF forums, then you will find more than 20 religions represented here.

 

[columbus]

If you check the RF forums, then you will find more than 20 religions represented here.

More than that really. There are more distinct variations on Christianity than that. 1Robin, Katzpur, Brickjectivity, Musing Bassist, DavidFirth, Muffled, the list of people with dramatically different Christian worldviews is pretty long.
And that's just the Christians.
Tom

 

[shunyadragon]

Shalom and welcome.


It seems to me that you are a provisional theist.

If the belief is only the possibility of God, it would not be theist, even provisional. Any form of Theism would include a Theist God. In way if not agnostic it could the old Jeffersonian Deism.

Agnosticism in varying flavors does acknowledge the 'possibility' that God exists.

 

[columbus]

Just to put things into a bit of perspective here, there are tens of thousands of religions, some theistic, some not.

If the belief is only the possibility of God, it would not be theist, even provisional. Any form of Theism would include a Theist God.

Are both of these true in an objective way?
Or is the word "theism" less comprehensible than theists believe? Perhaps I don't understand what people mean by "religion" .
Tom

 

[LuisDantas]

After leaving Christianity, I began to call myself Agnostic. However, I've recently begun to lean back towards the possibility that a higher power exists. I still don't agree with Christianity's or any other religion's views and explanations of a higher power, but I'm no longer in the "There may or may not be" mindset. Is Agnostic still the best way to describe my beliefs, or is there another view that might better describe my position?

Welcome to RF.

Allow me to suggest a couple of threads.

Religious Perspectives on Atheism

Your definition for "atheist/theist" and its subcategories

 

[shunyadragon]

Are both of these true in an objective way?
Or is the word "theism" less comprehensible than theists believe? Perhaps I don't understand what people mean by "religion" .
Tom

From: theism definition - Google Search
I cut to simplicity: Theism - "belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in one god as creator of the universe, intervening in it and sustaining a personal relation to his creatures."

Religions are necessarily always Theist, Buddhism for example is a religion that is not considered Theist. In fact the different sects of Buddhism my be variations of Theism, Deism, Agosticism. or atheism. Taoism is also a religion that is not considered Theistic.

Where deism and agnosticism beliefs are not as specific, particularly agnosticism that covers a range of beliefs.

 

[Quintessence]

Are both of these true in an objective way?

Considering there are thousands (by some accounts, tens of thousands) of different varieties of Christianity alone? Very much so.