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Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the belief in only that which can be proven scientifically. Not being a religious declaration in itself, it is a rather a declaration that there may be a God, but it must be proven to be believed. This differs from an atheist in that an atheist states there is no God. Many philosophers and thinkers have written about the subject, including Thomas Henry Huxley, Albert Einstein, Robert G. Ingersoll, and Bertrand Russell. Religious scholars who wrote about it are Peter Kreeft, Blaise Pascal and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later elected as Pope Benedict XVI. Atheist scholars who have written about it include Richard Dawkins.
Early Christian church leaders used the Greek word gnosis (knowledge) to describe "spiritual knowledge. Thomas Henry Huxley definition: "It in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle." "Positively the principle may be expressed: In matters of intellect, follow your reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any other consideration. And negatively: In matters of the intellect do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable. That I take to be the agnostic faith, which if a man keep whole and undefiled, he shall not be ashamed to look the universe in the face, whatever the future may have in store for him."
Types: It can be subdivided into several subcategorie: Strong It is also called "hard," "closed," "strict," or "permanent. It is the view that the question of the existence or nonexistence of a deity or deities and the nature of ultimate reality is unknowable by reason of our natural inability to verify any experience with anything but another subjective experience. A strong would say, "I cannot know whether a deity exists or not, and neither can you." Weak It is also called "soft," "open," "empirical," or "temporal. It is the view that the existence or nonexistence of any deities is currently unknown but is not necessarily unknowable, therefore one will withhold judgment until/if any evidence is available. A weak agnostic would say, "I don't know whether any deities exist or not, but maybe one day when there is evidence we can find something out." Apathetic also called Pragmatic It is the view that there is no proof of either the existence or nonexistence of any deity, but since any deity that may exist appears unconcerned for the universe or the welfare of its inhabitants, the question is largely academic.
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