(non)Belief

Two weeks ago, I joined a Facebook group for atheists and agnostics. Last week I was kicked out -- for not being atheist / agnostic enough.

Here was what I was told:

Just wanted to let you know we've revoked your membership as you are a self professed theist. While a questioning nature and agnosticism is absolutely encouraged within theist communities, we cannot allow any theists to be in the group.

Such utter BS.

I wrote her back, clarifying my (non)beliefs as an "agnostic theist." She wouldn't have any of it: I was told that I may accidentally preach or interject belief into my comments or posts in the group, and where do I get off breaking the rules and then complaining about getting kicked out? This is an atheist group!

More BS. The group description specifically indicates it is for atheists and agnostics. Which, of course, leads to a world of confusion because people don't realize that the terms are actually mutually exclusive. Therefore one can be agnostic and atheist, or agnostic and theist. I will expand on this in a moment.

The whole affair left me feeling quite dejected -- after all, I wasn't expecting the atheists to be so exclusive (reminds me of a lot of religious organizations) -- and after seeking council on the Facebook page for Minority Atheists of Michigan (who do accept agnostic theists), I ended up making two new friends. So that lemon got turned into a sweet fruity beverage! Winning!

However, this ordeal made me pause and think: how, exactly, should I define my (non)belief? I've been claiming to be agnostic theist for months now, but after all that I've read and begun to understand, I don't feel that is is the right banner under which I should stand. So what should I be calling myself?

There are two philosophical standpoints when it comes to metaphysical belief:

• Gnosticism -- from the Greek, gnosis, which means "knowledge." I'm using this term in a purely academic manner, not in a manner associated with the pre-orthodox Christian sects called "Gnostics." For my purposes in this post, a gnostic is someone who claims specific knowledge of the existence of one or more deities -- be it from a book, oral tradition, personal revelation or anywhere else.
• Agnosticism -- from the Greek, a gnosis, which means "without knowledge." An agnostic claims to have no specific knowledge of any deities, regardless if he believes in any or not.

There are two major standpoints of metaphysical belief:

• Theism -- from the Greek, theos, which means "god." A theist is someone who claims belief in at least one deity, regardless if he holds to a gnostic or agnostic philosophy.
• Atheism -- from the Greek, a theos, which means "without god." An atheist is someone who claims no belief in any deities, regardless if he holds to a gnostic or agnostic philosophy.

So combined, there are four major categories concerning one's position on the existence of a god:

• Gnostic Theist -- The majority of religious adherents in the world fall into this category, which claims that there is evidence for the existence of at least one deity. 
• Gnostic Atheist -- The rarest of these four categories, where you may find those who are anti-theist (opposed to the concept of deity) or "explicit" atheists (argues from philosophy against the concept of deity). 
• Agnostic Theist -- Those who are skeptical about religious beliefs or the supernatural, or who claim that one cannot know anything about any deity, and yet still believe that at least one deity exists.
• Agnostic Atheist -- Most self-professed atheists fall into this category, which claims that there is no evidence for any deities, and so therefore there is nothing to actually believe in.

Please note that, for the purposes of this post, I created the terms of "gnostic theist" and "gnostic athiest." While these concepts do exist (and so far as I am aware, they remain ungrouped in such a manner), the terms themselves do not.

I am definitely agnostic -- I don't believe that there is any empirical evidence for or true knowledge of any particular god(s). This is the default position for a skeptical mind, as the skeptic wants proof and such has been lacking from the very beginning. But here is my dilemma: I am not quite atheist and not quite theist; I fall somewhere between.

Despite the lack of evidence, I do believe that there may be a god, who may have began the universe and / or may have sparked off life on at least this planet. My simple human mind just cannot wrap itself around how things started or where matter originated from. And of course, this opens me up to the First Cause counter-argument (more colloquially known as "Who created god?"). We all know where this path leads: if a god can be eternal then why cannot the universe be eternal in god's stead?

Is there an alternative to the four major positions I've outlined? It turns out that there are quite a few, but one in particular seems to fit me better than agnostic theism:

• Agnostic Pragmatism -- Also known as "pragmatic agnosticism", or its catchy portemanteau "Apatheism" (apathetic and a/theism). The best way I can describe this concept is as a contract between you and any deity that he/she/it/they is/are going to ignore you and you are going to ignore him/her/it/them back. No phone calls. No text messages. No Facebook tagging or emails or showing up randomly at your door at 4 in the morning. If you see each other at the club, you'll just stay in your own respective corners. And if god wants to stop being so stand-offish and actually reach out, then perhaps you'll say "hi" back. Maybe.

It is obvious to me that there is a total lack of interest by any deity in the workings of our universe (let alone our planet or individual lives). To boil it down to a simple statement: if a god were truly interested in humanity, that god would manifest itself to humanity, and not leave stupid humans to try and interpret its divinely-inspired words.

If god is apathetic with regards to me, then there is absolutely no reason why I cannot be apathetic back. And so this arrangement works perfectly for me: I can stay comfortably somewhere between atheist and theist (about 95% / 5% respectively) without having to violate my leanings in either direction!

I'm happy to report that I've updated my Facebook profile. Let's see how many groups I get kicked out of now...

Until next Monday,
Frank