Christian Agnosticism
If you know me, or have read more than a few things I’ve written, you’ll know that I have written about my faith before, and that …
- I believe God exists – not because I want to, but because I simply believe
- I have questions about my faith, and I think that’s okay.
- I feel more comfortable in a community of people who feel the same way.
- I think faith should unite people, not divide them.
- I believe my country was founded as a secular nation for good reason, and I am proud of that.
- I find much in common with people of no religious faith.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently, but it’s on my mind today as I work on a book review.
I don’t have the training or the energy to get into a protracted debate about the nature of knowledge or the meaning of faith, but I can tell you that two statements can sum up my theism.
I believe – very strongly – that there is a God.
I know that I can’t know there is a God.
Does that make me an agnostic? And if I am, does that mean I can’t be a Christian? born again? saved? redeemed?
I don’t subscribe to everything I was taught as a child, but I still believe the “important” stuff.
So, I guess I can be an agnostic and a Christian at the same time, right?
NOTE: I know of at least some who use the term agnostic in a sense similar to the way programmers might say something about being “language agnostic” or “tool agnostic” when they mean that one things is just as good as the other. I am not using the term that way (and I’m not sure those examples are legitimate use of the term, but I’m not a linguist ). I mean agnostic in the strict sense that I know that I can’t know that God exists.