Being Agnostic Adj. & n. believing that nothing can be known about the existence of God

I am agnostic. My definition of agnosticism is slightly different from the one given above by the Oxford dictionary. I, at this point of time, cannot decide whether I believe in the existence of God or not. In the future, however, I do not rule out the possibility of turning theist or atheist.

All over the world, believers have the tendency to look down upon non-believers. In a survey held in the US, more than ninety percent people were ready to vote a woman, a black or a gay for President. But only one fourth would vote for an atheist. Non-believers are tagged as immoral or plain stupid. The aim of this post is to clear these misunderstandings about us.

Charge no.1: Atheists/Agnostics are egoistic people who find it below their dignity to accept the existence of a power superior to them. (This comes from a column in The Indian Express).

Not true. I understand that I am just an ordinary person out of the millions in this world and I realise the unimportance of my existence on this planet. So I personally don’t have a problem accepting that there is a power superior to me. In fact, it would be wonderful to feel protected and guided all through life. . (Though I do have a problem in accepting that all my actions and my destiny are being controlled by somebody else. What would be the point of our lives then?)

Charge no. 2: Agnostics/Atheists are stupid because how can one not believe in God? (This is usually accompanied by condescending lines like, “You are too young, you know. You’ll know better when you grow up.”

I won’t even bother answering this one.

Charge no. 3: Agnostics/Atheists are stupid because how can one not believe in God? The world is so beautiful and complex. It is even beyond the understanding of science. So God exists.

Huh? I mean, in pre-historic times, Man worshipped the forces of nature because he could not explain them. A lot of thing might be beyond our understanding today, but that hardly proves that God exists.

Charge no.4 (Levelled at agnostics by both theists and atheists): Are agnostics also agnostic about sunrise everyday (i.e. believe that sun may rise or may not)? (This too comes from the same column in The Indian Express)

Again a very fallacious argument. Sun has been rising every single day for as far as we know. Therefore, the probability of the sun rising tomorrow morning is extremely high. It would therefore be stupid to be agnostic about it.

Charge no. 5: Agnostics/Atheists are immoral because they have no fear of God.

If fear of God is the only thing keeping a person from being immoral, then such a person is a big hypocrite. (The omniscient God will see through this!) And then again, don’t we know people who behave immorally and then conduct poojas and visit temples to wash the sins off?
(What helps us choose between good and bad is our conscience.)

‘Believing’ in God is a question of ‘faith’. And ‘faith’ is often beyond ‘reason’. I, an agnostic, am caught between the two. Only time will tell if one of them is to win.