Absence of Evidence
For years there had been rumors of incredible beasts prowling through the jungle. It was said they could smash anything in their path and crush a man with a single blow. Sounded like nonsense until we discovered gorillas. The standard definition of atheism provided by the Oxford Dictionary is “disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.” But atheism exists on a spectrum from those who simply assert a lack of belief and those who assert definitively there are no gods. Some people confuse agnosticism with atheism by stating lack of belief is only agnosticism, and not atheism. An agnostic is defined as “a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God.” What is important to note here is that the definition has nothing to do with belief or lack of belief.
Being an atheist doesn’t mean one is necessarily asserting knowledge that a god or gods do not exist. Theism and atheism are only concerned with belief or lack of belief. Gnosticism and agnosticism are about knowledge.
The Range of Belief
There are four ways to use these terms: agnostic atheist, gnostic atheist, agnostic theist and gnostic theist. It all depends on what exactly is being claimed. Substituting gorillas in the place of a god can help differentiate these terms if we take a look back at what Europeans would have known and/or believed in 1247. An agnostic atheist would be one who said they did not believe in gorillas, but could not know whether or not gorillas exist. A gnostic atheist would be one who asserted gorillas do not exist. An agnostic theist would say they believe in gorillas, but don’t know for sure. A gnostic theist would be one who asserts definitively that gorillas exist. The same exercise can be used concerning dragons, germs, a flat earth and countless other proposals over time.
Most atheists are agnostic atheists about most gods, and gnostic atheists about others. It depends on the god model being claimed. If one proposes the existence of a deistic god that leaves no evidence of its existence and does not involve itself in the affairs of the universe, most atheists would take the agnostic approach being that there is no evidence that can be ascertained concerning said entity. However, if one proposes a deity who created two humans who populated the earth less than ten thousand years ago, many would take a gnostic approach to that claim being that it has been falsified by evolutionary biology. And if someone else were to propose a deity that is perfect, all knowing, all powerful, perfectly good and at the same time jealous, angry, needing of worship, allowing of natural and manmade evils but also condemns people to an eternity of torture, then again most would take the gnostic approach since this definition contains obvious contradictions and is thus logically impossible.
Decisions, Decisions
It is very much like weighing claims that are made in other matters every day. CNN reported today that Damascus was currently under siege by rebel forces. In the background were images of the city. Gunfire could be heard and fires seen. I have no reason to doubt this report, and all evidence confirms it. On the flipside, there is a notorious guest of various History Channel programs claiming aliens are responsible for everything from the pyramids to sliced bread. There is no evidence presented to justify these conclusions and thus I lack belief in ancient aliens. Could ancient aliens be true? Sure, but I currently have no reason to believe they are. At the extreme of this spectrum would be the claims of a government conspiracy involving the school shooting at Sandy Hook. Not only is there no evidence to support this conclusion, but all the evidence we have confirms it was not a government conspiracy, but the work of a single deranged gunman.
It is not necessary for one to choose between being an agnostic and an atheist. The terms are not mutually exclusive. You either believe in at least one god or you don’t, making you either a theist or an atheist. One need not claim to know there are no gods. I lack belief in intelligent aliens visiting our planet only because I have not encountered conclusive evidence suggesting the claim is true. That doesn’t mean I know aliens don‘t exist. I am open to any new evidence anyone has to submit on the matter, and they should likewise be open to skepticism concerning their claims.
