What is Atheism? (Atheism vs Agnosticism Explained)

Atheism vs agnosticism: what is the difference? There are no linguistic authorities, however I thought I'd offer my 2¢.

@CosmicSkeptic

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Snapchat: cosmicskeptic

[CosmicSkeptic]

Do you call yourself an atheist or an agnostic? Or something else?

[HolyKoolaid]

This is pretty spot on. I've been active in the atheist community for some time, and most atheists I encounter self-identify as agnostic atheists.

I'm a gnostic atheist towards the Christian, Muslim, and Hindu gods because science disproves their holy books, but I'm an agnostic atheist if we're just talking about some impersonal deistic god out there somewhere.

[warpo]

We better crowdfund Alex a $20 whiteboard and markers!

[turvytophat]

I love that he made an actually graph, nerds are amazing

[gary_buckley]

“Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to know or believe.” - Thomas Huxley

[hermitpal]

I think anti-theist and gnostic atheist is being mixed up here.
anti-theists are people who are against organised religion, its not a statement of knowledge.

'I am an agnostic anti-theist atheist' is not a contradiction.
'I am an agnostic gnostic atheist' is a contradiction.

[astasvanebacchus]

I have to say Cosmic, I truly find that you are the single best youtuber to dig into such concepts. Your reasonable, researched and unbelievably polite argumentation, sets a great example for all trying to tackle the whole "religion" debate. Especially since arguments on such, most often ends in the equivalent of one party covering their ears and screaming at the other, that they are wrong. Being raised as an atheist myself, and being raised in country where that wasn't frowned upon, left me only recently being exposed to people challenging my opinion. That made me realize that I could hardly fault religious people, for being religious, just because the were raised to be so, when the only concrete reason for not being so myself, was the exact same. Therefore I decided to seriously look in to the pro's and con's of each side. Though I did end up remaining an atheist, I came out of it, not only with a fair amount of arguments against the existence of God, to engage in intelligent debate with people who would disagree with me, but I also ended up discovering your channel, which has become a favorite of mine.

Keep up the wonderful work, friend!

[Vvalox]

I'm so glad you shouted out Rationality Rules, he makes fantastic videos and I myself am already a Patron of his. I'll let him know of this act of kindness :)

[carlottathefriendlyperson]

Amazing, well worded, honest and articulate. Quality video. I am impressed as always. Will definitely have a loot at Rationality Rules.

[alikhoobiary]

Your definition of Gnosticism is incorrect Alex.
3:40
It (The upper part of the y axis) doesn't mean "I know there is no god" it means "I have knowledge on whether god exists or not"
Gnostic Theism means: "I have knowledge of God's existence and I believe in him."

[Dude-vrgp]

Rationality rules is a great channel. Good guy

[sociallibertarian]

agnostic - I dont know the answer in stuff thats not proven

atheist - Dont believe in stuff thats not been proven

its that simple

[HebiSnake]

Glad you made this video. I've told people this so many times in debates that it gets tiring. Now I can just link this.

[stephenwild]

Alex, I am a 60 year old highly intelligent man, and you are amazing. I see a very bright future for you. I grew up an Evangelical born again Christian who was always frustrated with the lack of evidence of God. I am also gay, and suffered immense pychological abuse from my church. I am now out and finally have my "label", an agnostic atheist. I call myself an atheist for a shorter label. As I deal with the pychological abuse I suffered, and the anger I feel, it amazes me my educated friends and family, especially my gay friends, believe in God still. I've posted some unpopular FB posts to that effect. But as much as I truly miss the emotional positive of my former beliefs and Christian community, there is no turning back for me, short of a visitation from a glowing angel. Keep up the good work. By the way, have you decided on a career yet? Biologist maybe?

[sarcastichearts]

"...and frankly that just makes you an idiot" BRILLIANT

[CampingforCool]

The simple explanation is that gnosticism/agnosticism deals with claims of knowledge, while theism/atheism deals with claims of belief. You can be a gnostic atheist (you claim to know there is not god) or an agnostic atheist (don't believe in god, but don't claim to know there isn't a god). You can also be an agnostic theist, or a gnostic theist.

[timgeurts]

Ignoring your videos for days in my recommendations; I was like: ah fuck that just another super ego angry atheist nah I've seen enough. But you are actually really calm and logical. I like it. New subscriber (:

[sullivan]

Lol, I'm getting PragerU ads on this video.

[robkennedy]

Nice!
Love posts that clarify agnostic atheistic without the usual attack on both.

[nicoarete]

Hi Alex, love your videos.

GNOSTIC ATHEIST
I am a gnostic atheist when it comes to the gods I have heard described in tales of Christianity, Hinduism etc.

AGNOSTIC
I am an agnostic when it comes down to a creator, since I find it plausible that the world is a simulation.

IGNOSTIC ATHEIST
When talking to other people, I'd rather not assume what they believe from what I know of the religion they adhere to. I'd much rather take the stance of an ignostic atheist since ignosticism requires a coherent, non-controversial definition of god before arguing on its existence. Then once the definition is established, we can discuss the existence of such a thing.

My experience of theological discussions
When having been approached by people trying to convert me to a life of faith, I have asked them of a way to test if God exists and I've yet to get a definition or test suggested. This either led them to refer to the requirement of faith, explain away my suggestions for testing (such as prayer) or led them to question their own faith.

I find it quite easy to convince people who actually believe in God, that no such thing exists, since there is often abundant things that speak against their many common beliefs.

It is much harder to convince people who believe in the virtue of believing in God. Commonly phrased as "belief in belief". They know what observation to explain away before doing the test and might even convince themselves.