Arguing for Agnosticism? | Episode 610 | Closer To Truth

Agnostics claim that they do not know whether or not God exists. Theists surmise they're reprobates. Atheists suppose they're cowards. Are there different kinds of agnostics? Can agnosticism deepen appreciation for existence? Featuring interviews with Mark Vernon, Nick Bostrom, Denis Alexander, Leonard Susskind, and John Searle.
Season 6, Episode 10 - #CloserToTruth
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Closer To Truth host Robert Lawrence Kuhn takes viewers on an intriguing global journey into cutting-edge labs, magnificent libraries, hidden gardens, and revered sanctuaries in order to discover state-of-the-art ideas and make them real and relevant.
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Closer to Truth presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.*
#Agnosticism #Philosophy

Пікірлер: 702

  • @deanwilson8955
    @deanwilson89553 жыл бұрын

    Agnosticism is really the only intellectually honest position regarding theism or atheism.

  • @musicaangomera

    @musicaangomera

    3 жыл бұрын

    Its not. Pantheism is.

  • @pierrestober3423

    @pierrestober3423

    3 жыл бұрын

    The Spaghetti monster is the ultimate truth. Wake up !

  • @randomblueguy

    @randomblueguy

    3 жыл бұрын

    Most people think of agnosticism as a position between theism and atheism, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Almost all people who identify themselves as agnostic are actually agnostic atheists, yes, they’re not mutually exclusive. Agnosticism is a claim about knowledge, atheism is a claim about belief (or lack thereof). An agnostic atheist is a person who does not know whether or not a god exists, but does not believe in one anyway. That description fits most agnostics. Also, you can be an agnostic theist, a person who does not know but believes.

  • @pierrestober3423

    @pierrestober3423

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@randomblueguy I think those definitions are bogus. An atheist is someone who rejects the possibility of God. An agnostic leaves it open. Those are mutually exclusive.

  • @randomblueguy

    @randomblueguy

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@pierrestober3423 Please let us define what we are. The definition of atheism I used is the definition used by almost all dictionaries. Atheism is the disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God. If you simply lack belief, you’re an atheist. Technically speaking, babies are born atheists. Most people who identify as agnostic are actually atheists. In the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter how we choose to define the word. What matters is that we both mean the same thing when we’re talking about it, that’s why I think arguing over definitions is dumb.

  • @steveodavis9486
    @steveodavis9486 Жыл бұрын

    I consider myself agnostic on many issues especially any metaphysical questions that are unprovable by their nature. People who demand you choose sides are always dogmatic and doctrinal which is contemptible to me. It's alright to say you don't know when you don't. Agnosticism is a sign of rationality to me.

  • @toddfordr8218

    @toddfordr8218

    Жыл бұрын

    I feel the same. But I make the mistake of wanting other people to see that they don't know either. It's weird how propaganda is used in every aspect of life, and it's hard not to engage in it. We think our way is the only sensible one. So it's hard to not become dogmatic also, just in a different way. But my veiws are similar with politics and science also. I dont claim to know how something works unless I actually do. And I would gladly bash any hardcore Republican or Democrat or Communist with the same amount of venom as hardcore atheists or theists. I guess the mob, or the herd mentality scares me, but its mainly the "one right way" ideologies that tick me off. And they're everywhere you look.

  • @martinabdalla8766

    @martinabdalla8766

    10 ай бұрын

    Correct, yet you still fall in a fallacy. If God exists, then why not pray about it to God to reveal who he is. + It goes against the Non contradiction Law !

  • @lasel2630

    @lasel2630

    8 ай бұрын

    @@toddfordr8218 You cannot imagine how I love this comment. You really made my day. I couldn't agree more or could have said it in a more beautiful way. Thank you xD

  • @realnumber9show326
    @realnumber9show3263 жыл бұрын

    This show is a rare gem. I am intrigued by the various views, and opinions. The philosophies shared are intellectually profound. I am fortunate to have found this channel

  • @danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307

    @danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307

    Жыл бұрын

    Theres only two choices god pretenders (theists) and evryone else (athesits) agnostic are atheists!

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    Жыл бұрын

    You know what element athiests and agnostics are missing in the equation ? The Biblical prophecy is the element that is missing, something that other religions can't claim to possess. Not only did the Jews survive more than two thousand years of threats of annihilation and persecution but the fate of this group of people has been disclosed in prophecies thousands of years ago. Many of which have been fulfilled, others are being fulfilled currently and a few have yet to be fulfilled. Case in point: 1ST---More than thousands of years ago, God said that the Jewish people will be scattered in all four corners of the world - check! 2nd---They will return to their homeland , to be specific- to a desolate land - check! [ Mark Twain, during his visit to Israel 150 years ago described the holy land as a desolate land that even cactus could hardly grow ] Israel has been one of the top exporters of agricultural products in the world..heck it even the Netherlands, the number 1 exporter of flowers worldwide even import flowers from Israel. 3rd----They will make the land prosperous- check! considering the fact that israel was such a small country, mostly dessert, had no oil nor gas during the first 5 decades of existence..[it was etablished in 1948 btw} and always in constant threats of annihilation as they were surrounded by enemy countries. 4th---Think about this...God made a promise that He will preserve them as a separate people until the end of days despite thousands of years of being scattered in all parts of the globe - check! I have been in Israel and you will see Jews from Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, etc..People who came to Israel from all countries of the world and yet their identity remained intact...that is nothing short of a miracle..a fulfillment of prophecy made thousands of years ago. and that's just a few of the reasons why it is wise to seek God with all your heart to prove His existence....all you have to do is ask Him..come to Him in humility and He will reveal Himself to you.

  • @MasterKoala777
    @MasterKoala7772 жыл бұрын

    I was expecting the physicist studying String Theory (Prof. Susskind) to be the most sure of what he knows and believes, yet he is the most vocal about how little we know. It’s both humbling and amazing.

  • @universe36
    @universe363 жыл бұрын

    such a lovely and wholesome show

  • @esmeralda7060

    @esmeralda7060

    2 жыл бұрын

    this is the nicest episode I've ever seen from closer to truth

  • @deepaktripathi4417
    @deepaktripathi4417 Жыл бұрын

    I've been listening debates on God and I can say that I'm proud to be an agnostic.

  • @davidely7032

    @davidely7032

    Жыл бұрын

    But are you am agnostic who holds a belief in a god, or an agnostic who lacks a belief in a god? To say you are an agnostic is to only tell half the story, to speak,on what you don't know but not what you believe ... or don't believe.

  • @69amogus420

    @69amogus420

    11 ай бұрын

    ​@@faysaleladdouti8394 are you a bot or are you stupid enough to copy and paste this reply everywhere?

  • @patrickgrant6389

    @patrickgrant6389

    10 ай бұрын

    ​@@faysaleladdouti8394I feel like a god because humans have invented one thing that can be used for multiple things sounds stupid doesn't it

  • @patrickgrant6389

    @patrickgrant6389

    10 ай бұрын

    @@faysaleladdouti8394 well humans sleeping at night is only a new sleeping habits so yeah

  • @joejohnson6327

    @joejohnson6327

    8 ай бұрын

    @@faysaleladdouti8394 You're sooo deep. 🤤

  • @Nicolaitan369
    @Nicolaitan3693 жыл бұрын

    Maybe God is a girl and maybe that is why you cant find him

  • @davidjayhalabecki438

    @davidjayhalabecki438

    3 жыл бұрын

    Good one. The God I believe with has girl power🤘😇🤘

  • @cosmikrelic4815

    @cosmikrelic4815

    3 жыл бұрын

    why you can't find her?

  • @johnaugsburger6192

    @johnaugsburger6192

    3 жыл бұрын

    Funny

  • @MulteMach

    @MulteMach

    3 жыл бұрын

    simp

  • @HappyHermitt

    @HappyHermitt

    7 күн бұрын

    If you suck with the ladies.... Sure.

  • @luiseqf
    @luiseqf2 жыл бұрын

    I’m feeding my brain watching this. Thank you for existing. 🙌🏼

  • @johnnavarra4970
    @johnnavarra49703 жыл бұрын

    I consider myself a passionate (analytic) agnostic as championed in this video. Like Kuhn, I very much would like "god" to exist and ultimately provide some meaning to our world and our lives, but like Searle and many others, I remain highly skeptical that a God Hypothesis is a cogent path to follow. However, it is a bit surprising (and somewhat disappointing) that Kuhn commits one of the very fallacies talked about in another of his other videos in this series, and right in front of Simulation Argument guru Nick Bostrom no less! Presuming that an all-powerful (blah blah blah) Creator God is the only theodicy in town is a huge fallacy! Like Susskind advocates, we should be uber-agnostic about the origins of this universe, and what it all means, if anything. It is very possible that everything was created by a far less than perfect God. It is possible that we are living in a Simulation. At least the Simulation Hypothesis can be cogently formulated and analyzed (at least in comparison to other creation stories), and readily answers the Problem of Evil, and the Fine-Tuning Problem as well. Anyway, as a final word, my passion for the agnostic position can be boiled down to one simple statement: God May Exist. That statement is categorically true. And what's more, any addition to that statement breaches a religion. And that religion should be passionately, vehemently, and most critically challenged.

  • @Gjermund-Sivertsen
    @Gjermund-Sivertsen3 жыл бұрын

    Agnosticism = Honesty. If you don't know, be honest! Too many people "know", where they are in reality just wishing.

  • @kwamecharles6037

    @kwamecharles6037

    2 жыл бұрын

    Exactly

  • @smitsos1
    @smitsos1 Жыл бұрын

    All the speakers were great and very honest. We simply cannot verify that there is a God but equally we cannot disprove a universal negative. The concept of God helps us come to terms with questions about the finality of death, the injustices of our world and the burning questions of our purpose but as John S rightly states we ought to be suspicious of believing something that we desperately want to believe.

  • @Thiscityis

    @Thiscityis

    2 ай бұрын

    Yeah as an agnostic I find myself almost envious of the faithful, it would be nice to have the comfort of a higher power, and I see with some of my relatives the positive impact religion has had on them. I try to keep an open mind and heart but I just can't make myself feel it..

  • @HappyHermitt

    @HappyHermitt

    7 күн бұрын

    You're not animated by a Duracell AAA battery. This system that all works together in the cycle called life on this life giving planet is just random and from nothing. The celestial beauty is just rocks and random lights floating around the great nothing. The numerous sightings in the skies that defy physics and every law possible is just ET in a spaceship. Your ability (maybe?) to create and think is nothing special. Sure buddy.

  • @followyourbliss973
    @followyourbliss9739 ай бұрын

    I'm an agnostic but I still pray!!

  • @DrRemorse
    @DrRemorse2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you ... sadly parent can push their faith on children before they can understand and then have to deal with heavy emotional and spiritual problem for years once they are older

  • @JLS53

    @JLS53

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hi. I submit to you that everyone is religious and everyone teaches their particular religion to their kids. For example, an atheist is really a 'natural panthiest.' Atheists claim that matter, left unaided, created everything. Most atheists subscribe to the big bang theory. They worship their god, which is an explosion in space. They stand in awe of the power that brought matter from nothing. Yet, atheists are the children of chaos, of meaninglessness, the universe leaving them void of meaning and conscience. They are only a chemical reaction. Moreover, the children of chaos have no foundation for morality as morality is simply a word for 'special treatment.' That is, without God, we are simply another life form. Boil a potato; boil a person: it is all the same. According to the religion of atheism, people are not a special form of life, so there are no rules on how to treat others. Certainly, many atheists choose to live nicely with others, yet do not mistake that with a moral law. According to atheism, there is no higher authority than people. Therefore, whatever people decree becomes their morality. For example, Herod slaughtered kids under 2 years of age; yet, if you are an atheist, you have no moral foundation to even call Herod wrong. Yet, the moral law is written on your heart. Hell is eternal, but Christ died so that we can know and love God. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Even atheists have seen God and the spiritual realm in their visions and during NDE and were transformed by the experience..you however have no proof that there is no God..how can you declare with 100 % certainty that He doesn't exist..relying only with your own limited understanding to rationalize such belief? Even Einstein who is way more intelligent than you are, though He did not believe in the God of the Bible..still believed in his heart that there is an Intelligent Being who created the universe..because he understood the intricacies and the complexieties in which the universe is made.Don't rely on your own limited human undertstanding on things. Question everything including your own belief..otherwise it is nothing short of bigotry-to have a mind that is closed to the truth, declaring with 100% certainty the validity of your own belief... the non existence of God- even without verifiable proof to prove the validity of your stance. You have no proof..we who believe in God's existence have proof. The universe is made with such unimaginable precision that Einstein is wise enough to admit that the universe is made by a Thinking Being..an Intelligent Creator..and by now I assure you that he already discovered who that Intelligent Being is.. that the One who made the universe is the God of his ancestors. Einstein is a Jew.

  • @JLS53

    @JLS53

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@mikeygarcia8271 Hi. Were you addressing that last post to me? You wrote, "how can you declare with 100 % certainty that (God) doesn't exist." I know the Lord, so how could that be a question for me? Moreover, it sounds like you, too, have a belief in God. What do you believe about the afterlife? Is there a heaven or hell? If so, how does a person get to heaven? Thanks! Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@JLS53 It's for Dominic..Time to sow seeds brother..We're living in the last days..you were born for a time like this..keep on sowing the seeds..even if you're rejected..the important thing is we are sowing the seeds..leave everything else to God.The seeds you sow..God will grow.

  • @DaveJLin
    @DaveJLin3 жыл бұрын

    There's a theist in every atheist and an atheist in every theist.

  • @andreea5927
    @andreea59273 жыл бұрын

    'When you're dead, you don't know you're dead, but for the others it's sad..the same is when you're stupid' 😻

  • @Renato404

    @Renato404

    3 жыл бұрын

    "Being dead is like being an idiot, it's only painful for othes" - Ricky Gervais. 😄

  • @luisramrod9121

    @luisramrod9121

    3 жыл бұрын

    Love this quote 👌😂

  • @micheal74rich

    @micheal74rich

    3 жыл бұрын

    @Andreea _"When you're dead, you don't know you're dead, "_ When you are dead, you will know you are dead, as you will start seeing things in different dimension, so your analogy above is simply falsifying the realm you haven't seen or experienced and it exhibits dishonesty and those who have given thumps-up for your comment weren't thinking through.

  • @andreea5927

    @andreea5927

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@micheal74rich This is your ideology, I think that after you die there is nothing. So my statement is true (for me of course, if you have other beliefs that's your business). After all no one died and came back to tell us what's in there so whatever we believe in here is just a speculation. We'll see at the right time🥲or not🥲

  • @micheal74rich

    @micheal74rich

    3 жыл бұрын

    ​@@andreea5927 c1: _"This is your ideology, "_ I can say the same line at C1 for your line _"I think that after you die there is nothing. "_ come on, we all are on the same boat. Even scientists admit, sometime things happens beyond our realm of understanding, but you to say something like this _"after you die there is nothing. "_ that puts you an awkward position. C2: _"for me of course, if you have other beliefs that's your business"_ Your line c2 is fair statement, but your first post on this tread is premature, that is all I want to tell you.

  • @henryhawthorn8849
    @henryhawthorn8849 Жыл бұрын

    I didn’t choose to be an agnostic, but I’m an agnostic by nature, or skeptical about any claims beyond human senses. I feel that many things are simply beyond humans’ ability to comprehend, just as it’s impossible for a dog to understand quantum physics. Unanswerable questions are, for example, the concept of infinity, the manifestation of something out of nothing in reference to how the universe started out of the vacuum of space, how was life started from dead matter, is there a conscious supernatural being that designed and created the universe? So agnosticism, or skepticism go beyond simply not knowing if there’s a god or not, but in realizing that it’s impossible to know anything beyond the realm of the human senses. And I am completely comfortable in not knowing. I feel freedom in guiding my own life without the restraint of having to follow other people’s rules.

  • @zbyszeks3657

    @zbyszeks3657

    Жыл бұрын

    So you want complete freedom. And because of that you reject theism in form that was offered to you.

  • @Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr

    @Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr

    9 ай бұрын

    @@zbyszeks3657 Which random high control group do you want to subject yourself to? The Amish? Jehovah Witnesses? Islam? Mormonism? Pick your poison.

  • @ryanvandy1615

    @ryanvandy1615

    5 ай бұрын

    This sums it up beautifully

  • @thephilosophicalagnostic2177
    @thephilosophicalagnostic2177 Жыл бұрын

    I'm a philosophical agnostic because I've thought seriously about the implications of human limits. The more I learn, the more I know that I don't know. And the kinds of assertions made by theists and atheists are the kinds of things humans simply cannot know.

  • @frankwhelan1715
    @frankwhelan17153 жыл бұрын

    ''I'm suspicious when we believe what we want to believe''

  • @jyeviolegrace2143

    @jyeviolegrace2143

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@rebellion54678 sounds like nihilism is slowly gonna be your go to

  • @scambammer6102

    @scambammer6102

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jyeviolegrace2143 that isn't nihilism, it is self-reflection. you should try it some time.

  • @jyeviolegrace2143

    @jyeviolegrace2143

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@scambammer6102 pff tell that to my adhd angst driven brain again?.

  • @jyeviolegrace2143

    @jyeviolegrace2143

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@scambammer6102 never said nihilism was bad..

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jyeviolegrace2143 New one or i for got for ADHD AND HDTV Channels my thinking memories 🥴🥴😂. well i get what your getting at and being nice about it. A good adhd way of being.

  • @danielpaulson8838
    @danielpaulson88383 жыл бұрын

    Suskin is always a breath of fresh air. Sees things for what they are. Doesn’t make up illogical reasons to explain it. And John Searle. Sheesh. I love this episode

  • @cosmikrelic4815

    @cosmikrelic4815

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes, I like to listen to both these guys.

  • @mr.coffee5220
    @mr.coffee52203 жыл бұрын

    I’m Agnostic because it’s not ignorantly believing there is something, nor are you ignorantly believing in nothing. It’s a perfect balance, I think.

  • @almighty1829

    @almighty1829

    2 жыл бұрын

    That is a good thing For You, Not For A lot of people, And For Me, I can't live my Entire life in A doubte, so that Is Just your opinion.

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hitchens know by now that God is real. Even atheists have seen God and the spiritual realm in their visions and during NDE and were transformed by the experience..atheists however have no proof that there is no God..how can an atheist declare with 100 % certainty that God doesn't exist..relying only with his own limited understanding to rationalize such belief? Even Einstein--- though He did not believe in the God of the Bible..still believed in his heart that there is an Intelligent Being who created the universe..because he understood the intricacies and the complexieties in which the universe is made.Don't rely on your own limited human undertstanding on things. Atheists must question everything including their own own belief..otherwise it is nothing short of bigotry-to have a mind that is closed to the truth, declaring with 100% certainty the non existence of God- even without verifiable proof to prove the validity of such stance. Atheists have no proof..we who believe in God's existence have proof--we have seen Him our visions..while others during NDE [near death experience] The universe is made with such unimaginable precision that Einstein is wise enough to admit that the universe is made by a Thinking Being..an Intelligent Creator..and by now I assure you that he already discovered who that Intelligent Being is.. that the One who made the universe is the God of his ancestors. Einstein is a Jew.

  • @mr.coffee5220

    @mr.coffee5220

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@mikeygarcia8271, Bruh.

  • @mr.coffee5220

    @mr.coffee5220

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@almighty1829, Bruh. I’m not living in doubt. Did you read my comment?

  • @almighty1829

    @almighty1829

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@mikeygarcia8271 I'am atheist theres No religion True, and the god never communicated with Human.But We all agnostic about the cause who Created the universe.

  • @ricco48219
    @ricco482192 жыл бұрын

    As a theist and former atheist and former agnostic. Agnosticism is the only path to knowledge and truth. I found theism unattractive and unconvincing. Then atheism became unconvincing. The agnostic period of my life made me study a lot on these issues. Ultimately, I came back to theism by studying philosophy.

  • @frantiseknovotny2674

    @frantiseknovotny2674

    Жыл бұрын

    What made you to convince God is real and the faith is not just about believing?

  • @ricco48219

    @ricco48219

    Жыл бұрын

    @@frantiseknovotny2674 It is still about believing. I am confident in my belief. I do not claim God to be a fact per se. But I believe there is a God for multiple reasons. A lot of it is the argument from contingency, as well as fine-tuning after and applied to that. Also that I have reason to think that there is a largest thing in the universe and parallelism leads one to believe there is a greatest being. Not necessarily in an ontological argument sense but cut and dry. Also watching debates and atheists not making good arguments that atheism is true. I have not seen nor heard one argument convincing me that atheism is true. But I have heard convincing arguments for theism. (Above examples)

  • @Booth81
    @Booth813 жыл бұрын

    There's a quote I think of when it comes to both Atheists and the super religious... "Only a Sith deals in absolutes..."

  • @LastBastian

    @LastBastian

    2 жыл бұрын

    Except that there are plenty of both atheists and theists who certainly do not deal in absolutes.

  • @jerryjohnston3844

    @jerryjohnston3844

    2 жыл бұрын

    The overwhelming majority of theists profess certitude in not only the existence of a God of one stripe or another, but that they and theirs have absolute certainty in its will and intentions. Atheists claim certitude that no God exists nor may exist. In your scenario, most theists and all Atheists, by the very meaning and definition of the term, would qualify as Sith.

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Question evrything, including your own belief. Even atheists have seen God and the spiritual realm in their visions and during NDE and were transformed by the experience..you however have no proof that there is no God..how can you declare with 100 % certainty that He doesn't exist..relying only with your own limited understanding to rationalize such belief? Even Einstein who is way more intelligent than you are, though he did not believe in the God of the Bible..still believed in his heart that there is an Intelligent Being who created the universe..because he understood the intricacies and the complexieties in which the universe is made. Don't rely on your own limited human undertstanding on things. Question everything including your own belief..otherwise it is nothing short of bigotry-to have a mind that is closed to the truth, declaring with 100% certainty the validity of your own belief... the non existence of God- even without verifiable proof to prove the validity of your stance. You have no proof..we who believe in God's existence have proof...we saw Him in visions ..even atheists did see in visions others during NDE [ near death experience] and they were transformed by the experience..and their lives were changed dramatically..some went on becoming servants of Christ because of what these atheists saw. The universe is made with such unimaginable precision that Einstein is wise enough to admit that the universe is made by a Thinking Being..an Intelligent Creator..and by now I assure you that he already discovered who that Intelligent Being is.. that the One who made the universe is the God of his ancestors. Einstein is a Jew.

  • @inquiringreality1354
    @inquiringreality13543 жыл бұрын

    I am convinced that passionate agnosticism is the only intellectually honest worldview.

  • @LastBastian

    @LastBastian

    2 жыл бұрын

    Then why are people who claim to be "only" agnostic, consistently the most intellectually dishonest people I've ever spoken to?

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@LastBastian Every christian i know have been dishonest consistent enough to reconsider. and ya in a way of many shapes and forms of changing minds if they don't get the answer they will make one up and make an opinion insted of truth.

  • @LastBastian

    @LastBastian

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@trafficjon400 Yes, I definitely see irrationality from theists. But I've spoken to a number of them who actually seem pretty intellectually honest and reasonable. Whereas, I've spoken to many "only" agnostics, or "passionate" agnostics, as you put it, and so far, every single one has demonstrated themselves intellectually dishonest, illogical, and irrational. Now, I'd truly love for this trend to end. ...But I'm still waiting.

  • @poike5299

    @poike5299

    Жыл бұрын

    @@LastBastian Then, I don't think you've actually met an agnostic. How can someone who claims to not being able to fully believe in certain concepts... to be dishonest? or illogical? or irrational? Isn't that completely contradictory to the concept of agnosticism? He neither believes nor denies the existence of god so he is being honest that he, as a mere human might have or might have not been created by a higher power. He has already admitted that he doesn't know thus he cannot be dishonest, illogical or irrational. He does not fully support any argument after all. It is the state of not being fully certain. An agnostic never truly believes nor is committed to any beliefs, It is not just the lack of belief but the uncertainty of anything at all.

  • @LastBastian

    @LastBastian

    Жыл бұрын

    @@poike5299 Well first off, I *am* an agnostic (by certain definitions) second, I've probably spoken to hundreds of "only" agnostics. And that is specifically who I am referring to. The *"only"* agnostic types. I certainly agree, simply admitting when you don't fully *know* something, is very intellectually honest. That's great, and that is the version of agnostic I personally fall under. The: gnostic = claiming to know (if god exists) agnostic = not claiming to know (if god exists) It's all the other stuff that "only" types like to throw in, that is the problem. Like dishonesty misrepresenting atheism. Like claiming illogical positions such as: "nothing *CAN* be known of the existence of God" -Most proposed gods are all powerful types who *by definition* have the ability to make themselves known if they like. So to claim they *cannot* be known, is to claim you know they can't exist. It's an illogical, paradoxical, self defeating position. Many claim agnosticism is some magical position *between* having belief and not having belief. -This is illogical. You have belief or you do not. Belief exists, or it does not. You can't not believe and *NOT* not believe at the same time. etc… Unless you can explain the position between existing and not existing? Because so far, nobody has. "A person who claims neither faith (belief) nor disbelief" -Same as above. Disbelief is either a refusal or a the simple *inability* to believe. Which most claim to be the case. They are unable, or unwilling to believe, yet claim they do not have disbelief. ...it is illogical. Then there are cases of adding random or illogical things to the term. No offense but you give some examples here: "He has admitted he doesn't know thus he *cannot* be dishonest, illogical, irrational." -Admitting one doesn't know a specific thing, does *not* prevent one from being dishonest, illogical, or irrational about any number of things. "He does not fully support any argument after all" -You are making and supporting an argument right now. "An agnostic never truly believes nor is committed to *ANY* beliefs" -You seem pretty committed to this belief. -Being agnostic certainly does not prevent people from believing things in general. "not just the lack of belief but the uncertainty of anything at all." -You seem pretty certain of that. Honestly, your description of agnostics makes them sound even more befuddled and irrational than I even alluded to.

  • @cindy90305
    @cindy903052 жыл бұрын

    I just discovered your channel. Love it and very informative

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hitchens know by now that God is real. Even atheists have seen God and the spiritual realm in their visions and during NDE and were transformed by the experience..atheists however have no proof that there is no God..how can an atheist declare with 100 % certainty that God doesn't exist..relying only with his own limited understanding to rationalize such belief? Even Einstein--- though He did not believe in the God of the Bible..still believed in his heart that there is an Intelligent Being who created the universe..because he understood the intricacies and the complexieties in which the universe is made.Don't rely on your own limited human undertstanding on things. Atheists must question everything including their own own belief..otherwise it is nothing short of bigotry-to have a mind that is closed to the truth, declaring with 100% certainty the non existence of God- even without verifiable proof to prove the validity of such stance. Atheists have no proof..we who believe in God's existence have proof--we have seen Him our visions..while others during NDE [near death experience] The universe is made with such unimaginable precision that Einstein is wise enough to admit that the universe is made by a Thinking Being..an Intelligent Creator..and by now I assure you that he already discovered who that Intelligent Being is.. that the One who made the universe is the God of his ancestors. Einstein is a Jew.

  • @flowwiththeuniverse31
    @flowwiththeuniverse313 жыл бұрын

    Doubting the existence of god is what makes you give all you've got in life. Either way is a win/ win situation!!

  • @scambammer6102

    @scambammer6102

    2 жыл бұрын

    that's assuming you need outside motivation. some people just strive for excellence regardless of the outcome. IKR?

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Even atheists have seen God and the spiritual realm in their visions and during NDE and were transformed by the experience..you however have no proof that there is no God..how can you declare with 100 % certainty that He doesn't exist..relying only with your own limited understanding to rationalize such belief? Even Einstein who is way more intelligent than you are, though He did not believe in the God of the Bible..still believed in his heart that there is an Intelligent Being who created the universe..because he understood the intricacies and the complexieties in which the universe is made.Don't rely on your own limited human undertstanding on things. Question everything including your own belief..otherwise it is nothing short of bigotry-to have a mind that is closed to the truth, declaring with 100% certainty the validity of your own belief... the non existence of God- even without verifiable proof to prove the validity of your stance. You have no proof..we who believe in God's existence have proof. The universe is made with such unimaginable precision that Einstein is wise enough to admit that the universe is made by a Thinking Being..an Intelligent Creator..and by now I assure you that he already discovered who that Intelligent Being is.. that the One who made the universe is the God of his ancestors. Einstein is a Jew.

  • @mikhilsaju6929
    @mikhilsaju69293 жыл бұрын

    The possibility of god exists Or not is not 50/50

  • @federicopettinicchio
    @federicopettinicchio Жыл бұрын

    There is a famous story in Buddhism: One day a guy who never believed in God comes up to Buddha and asks him: Is there a God? And the Buddha says: Yes. Later that day a guy who always believed in God comes up to Buddha and asks him: Is there a God? And the Buddha says: No. A follower of the Buddha who overhears both conversations comes up to him and asks: I've heard you say to one man that there is a God and to the other that there is none. So which is it? Why did you do it? And the Buddha says: I told the non-believer that there was a God because he never truly considered the idea and I told the believer that there was no God because he never considered that there could be no God. If I told them what they already knew they wouldn't have been able to learn anything, so I just nudged them in a way that would allow them to progress.

  • @douglasfaichnie6931
    @douglasfaichnie69313 жыл бұрын

    Robert, your final summary was simply exquisite. I wholeheartedly agree. We keep pushing, and we never yield. Open-minded and learning to the last. I feel glad I am not alone in this pursuit. Thank you.

  • @johnaugsburger6192

    @johnaugsburger6192

    3 жыл бұрын

    I sometime wonder why all these smart people aren't interviewing Robert?

  • @douglasfaichnie6931

    @douglasfaichnie6931

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@johnaugsburger6192 Agreed

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@johnaugsburger6192 He is them may be🧐Gearing up for a new one.

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Even atheists have seen God and the spiritual realm in their visions and during NDE and were transformed by the experience..you however have no proof that there is no God..how can you declare with 100 % certainty that He doesn't exist..relying only with your own limited understanding to rationalize such belief? Even Einstein who is way more intelligent than you are, though he did not believe in the God of the Bible..still believed in his heart that there is an Intelligent Being who created the universe..because he understood the intricacies and the complexieties in which the universe is made. Don't rely on your own limited human undertstanding on things. Question everything including your own belief..otherwise it is nothing short of bigotry-to have a mind that is closed to the truth, declaring with 100% certainty the validity of your own belief... the non existence of God- even without verifiable proof to prove the validity of your stance. You have no proof..we who believe in God's existence have proof...we saw Him in visions ..even atheists did see in visions others during NDE [ near death experience] and they were transformed by the experience..and their lives were changed dramatically..some went on becoming servants of Christ because of what these atheists saw. The universe is made with such unimaginable precision that Einstein is wise enough to admit that the universe is made by a Thinking Being..an Intelligent Creator..and by now I assure you that he already discovered who that Intelligent Being is.. that the One who made the universe is the God of his ancestors. Einstein is a Jew.

  • @NeverTakeNoShortcuts
    @NeverTakeNoShortcuts2 жыл бұрын

    I have no idea, and neither does anybody else.

  • @donritchfield1407

    @donritchfield1407

    2 жыл бұрын

    They have ideas, they are just wrong!!!

  • @williamburts5495
    @williamburts54953 жыл бұрын

    No argument can prove that God doesn't exist because somethings existence Isn't determined by argument. Having faith in something also doesn't determine that it exist, in the end it's more about realization.

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    realize faith is realization? better have it he said or go to hell! is EVIL IN ALL SHAPES AND FORM MADE BY CROOKS CRICKED MONSTERMEN. Grace is power though.

  • @Unknown86483
    @Unknown86483 Жыл бұрын

    I just became an Agnostic, today. I argued for Christianity, but everyone called me a hypocrite, everyone told me their religion is true, every Christian told me i should believe in their Christian beliefs instead of believe my own Christian beliefs i had. I got confused and upset, depressed about whether i was a Hypocrite, clown, and a dummy. Now i have realized that we can never know the truth fully.

  • @bruhmoment2558

    @bruhmoment2558

    Жыл бұрын

    Hey sorry for the late reply but do you know agnostic theism ?

  • @akilade0824
    @akilade0824Ай бұрын

    This is an exceptional documentary

  • @josephgerrety4321
    @josephgerrety43212 жыл бұрын

    You’re doing a good job. Continue on

  • @akprice17
    @akprice17 Жыл бұрын

    This video makes me feel so seen and understood

  • @wisdomseeker3937
    @wisdomseeker39376 ай бұрын

    I was a reformed christian for 43 years... now I am agnostic

  • @ChipThaRip

    @ChipThaRip

    4 ай бұрын

    Born and raised catholic. Got confirmed and everything. Agnosticism is the one true answer.

  • @cjfroese70
    @cjfroese702 жыл бұрын

    Superb episode!

  • @robertkreischer4195
    @robertkreischer41952 жыл бұрын

    Imagine if we could convince all the religions and atheists to focus on science and technology to prove or disprove the existence of God. Just admit we don't know but, that we are willing to find out. How advanced our world would become.

  • @barbarastaskelunas1090
    @barbarastaskelunas10903 жыл бұрын

    I am an agnostic and have been one since the age of seventeen. How can anyone be sure one way or another? I am 83 and still searching for answers.

  • @liveandserve568

    @liveandserve568

    3 жыл бұрын

    If God is real, Do you believe that he has the ability to Enter into Time and space, and Proclaim to everyone who he is?

  • @lloydtucker5647

    @lloydtucker5647

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@liveandserve568 I believe God does have the ability to speak, but it seems like he doesn't.

  • @liveandserve568

    @liveandserve568

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@lloydtucker5647 God is always speaking, you just have to open your heart, mind and ears to hear what he is saying. If u are not patient with God you will fool yourself into thinking he doesn’t care or hear your prayers.🙏🏼 Also, I asked that question because God did enter time, space, and matter over 2000 years ago in the form of a human being through a virgin, he died for us and then rose again, This is the greatest message God has ever spoken to the world.❤️

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@liveandserve568 A tricky cruel way to make God. REPENT WITH A STICK IN YOUR EYE.

  • @silverskid
    @silverskid3 жыл бұрын

    Well I'm glad to see a discussion on agnosticism as a potentially constructive approach to living and not just a blase position of uncaring neutrality. Agnosticism does not bow to the temptations of certitude which have more to do with comfort than knowledge. But I speak only for myself. If others truly feel their bedrock beliefs to be certainties, I can at best question them about it, but in each case we arrive at our own sense of what is or is not the case. I do think living with uncertainty without freaking out, despairing or becoming apathetic is a virtue in a world as surprising and unreliable as our own often is.

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    God is real. I used to be an agnostic..but I still prayed to Him..but one day..while I was praying in my room... I saw a vision of Christ on top of a hill while seated praying and was fully awake..I never looked back..Im here to tell you..Jesus is real..I saw Him with a woman who was also clad in a white garment and with a white veil on her head. She died the next day..I already knew of her impending death because her face beamed as she was standing face to face with Jesus. You can't declare with 100% certainty that there is no God.. You have no proof..while I and many others..even atheists themselves saw visions of God and the after life...and were transformed because of those spritual experiences. Will it not be reasonable to seek God..knowing that you're one and only soul is at stake? We don't have a lot of time in our hands..we are living in the last days..actually the last days started in the first world war..and it has accelerated since the Jews return to their homeland in 1948 aftr two thousand years of exile aftr their expulsion from Israel in 70 A.D during the Roman invasion of Jerusalem.

  • @bellabong8862

    @bellabong8862

    2 жыл бұрын

    silverskid: Amen! Oops, I mean Yes! I feel just as you do about this topic.

  • @emilgabl9069

    @emilgabl9069

    Жыл бұрын

    Agnosticism would have saved millions of lives throughout history…probably billions.

  • @mildredrodriguez3336
    @mildredrodriguez3336 Жыл бұрын

    Excellent intellectual perspectives on this subject. Took me a while to understand what my true beliefs are, i am moving closer to who i am. Since i have doubts, (doubting Thomas), i feel that agnosticism befits me quite well.

  • @garybalatennis
    @garybalatennis3 жыл бұрын

    There are more things in Heaven and Earth . . . Because there is much we that all don’t know, we are all at least partial agnostics.

  • @KraftyUk
    @KraftyUk5 ай бұрын

    Im a believer in god but resent and disagree with religion and faith in cult religious activities. Maybe im an Agnostic.... but im quite fond of Christmas because it makes everyone Happy.

  • @dennistucker1153
    @dennistucker11533 жыл бұрын

    What's behind the curtain? Some knowledge and another curtain. Thank you CTT another very good video.

  • @jerryjohnston3844
    @jerryjohnston38442 жыл бұрын

    I recently had a professed atheist accuse me, and by me I mean all agnostics, of being an atheist, but being a coward that wished to not offend theists. When I protested, he insisted to know what I believed concerning God, I explained to him that belief did not even enter into it for me. Belief is the domain of theists and atheists, agnosticism is not about belief, it is about knowledge. The amount of knowledge on this subject is insufficient to make any meaningful determination on it. Atheism and theism require a belief in something that is not properly evidenced, agnosticism acknowledges the true fact that verifiable evidence does not exist to make a decision on the question with even the slightest degree of certainty. I do not believe that I know better than everyone else, I also do not believe that anyone else knows better than I. Until one side or the other can present a superior, more logical and reasoned argument, or some event occurs that provides more conclusive knowledge on the subject, here I shall remain.

  • @americanliberal09

    @americanliberal09

    2 жыл бұрын

    Guess like being an atheist doesn't make you immune from being "irrational". And, what's even worse is that they wanna believe anybody who isn't religious are an "atheist" by default, because irreligion is synonymous with atheism to them.😔

  • @jerryjohnston3844

    @jerryjohnston3844

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@americanliberal09, Lots of things are like that these days, most people use all manner of labels, stereotypes, any shortcut in order to avoid actually thinking.

  • @americanliberal09

    @americanliberal09

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jerryjohnston3844 Agreed.

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Even atheists have seen God and the spiritual realm in their visions and during NDE and were transformed by the experience..atheists however have no proof that there is no God..how can an atheist declare with 100 % certainty that God doesn't exist..relying only with his own limited understanding to rationalize such belief? Even Einstein--- though He did not believe in the God of the Bible..still believed in his heart that there is an Intelligent Being who created the universe..because he understood the intricacies and the complexieties in which the universe is made.Don't rely on your own limited human undertstanding on things. Atheists must question everything including their own own belief..otherwise it is nothing short of bigotry-to have a mind that is closed to the truth, declaring with 100% certainty the non existence of God- even without verifiable proof to prove the validity of such stance. Atheists have no proof..we who believe in God's existence have proof--we have seen Him our visions..while others during NDE [near death experience] The universe is made with such unimaginable precision that Einstein is wise enough to admit that the universe is made by a Thinking Being..an Intelligent Creator..and by now I assure you that he already discovered who that Intelligent Being is.. that the One who made the universe is the God of his ancestors. Einstein is a Jew.

  • @jazzfish1437
    @jazzfish14373 жыл бұрын

    You should start a new channel - closer to the question mark

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    OPINIONS ??????

  • @theodoridi
    @theodoridi3 жыл бұрын

    Perhaps you should consider the trickster god idea? In addition, the materialistic non-theistic Jain doctrine and the Theravadin Buddhist perspective. this episode is perhaps the closest to truth that you have presented so far. Perhaps the agnostic position is the most rational and HONEST of worldviews? Somewhat strange that epistemology was not mentioned! Please keep asking the right questions. Many thanks.

  • @James92028
    @James920282 жыл бұрын

    Not understanding why Huxley's POV was not used to address some of the arguments.

  • @micotexo
    @micotexo3 жыл бұрын

    This universe was created with a perverse software.

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    PERVERSE THAT CAME FROM NOTHING

  • @tac6044
    @tac6044 Жыл бұрын

    I like to wear black myself. A black t-shirt and shorts is what I typically wear year round. Winter and summer, its simple and comfortable. People often look at me funny for wearing shorts in the dead of winter in a cold state. I just cannot stand the way that jeans feel, they are very uncomfortable and I'd rather be cold. I actually like being cold for a couple reasons. It gives me an opportunity to practice mind over matter, I'm at a point now where I can largely ignore the feeling of being cold. Secondly I think its beneficial to make yourself physically uncomfortable because it makes you appreciate it when you are not. I need to go grocery shopping today, I'm not looking forward to it. I don't enjoy being around other people. I spend virtually 99% of my time alone and feel very content alone. I never feel lonely, this actually concerns me a bit sometimes. I don't dwell on it though, I've accepted that I'm not a "normal" person. This comment if proof of that. ... flush

  • @devildocfmfmarines103
    @devildocfmfmarines1032 жыл бұрын

    Christians I believe are “living to die”hoping for this magical afterlife instead of trying to live every moment of every day knowing that in the end you will return to the basic elements that all living things are made of…end of story. Only memories of you remain in the living world.

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    A belief of opinions with no to little truth leaves the tooth fairy with out a real job.

  • @TimeisReel

    @TimeisReel

    2 жыл бұрын

    Exactly, and I believe they do the so called "Right Things" because they believe God is Watching. Not just because it's the "Right Thing" to do...

  • @donritchfield1407

    @donritchfield1407

    2 жыл бұрын

    Exactly!

  • @kuzonio
    @kuzonio3 жыл бұрын

    Cosmos. Consciousness. Creator. (Just a thought)

  • @uremove
    @uremove3 жыл бұрын

    I like Leonard Susskind’s comment - that we may be asking the wrong question. Maybe we should start from human experience, rather than metaphysics. How do we explain life changing religious/spiritual experiences? That is the ‘evidence’ which needs unbiased investigation and evaluation. That’s why I prefer those without prior commitment to either theism or atheism ie. strong agnosticism.

  • @cosmikrelic4815

    @cosmikrelic4815

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes, I like Lenny. I've probably watched all of his instruction videos and I really like his ability to analyse situations.

  • @drfuzzles1
    @drfuzzles12 жыл бұрын

    I admire your truth seeking pursuit.

  • @mikeygarcia8271

    @mikeygarcia8271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Even atheists have seen God and the spiritual realm in their visions and during NDE and were transformed by the experience..you however have no proof that there is no God..how can you declare with 100 % certainty that He doesn't exist..relying only with your own limited understanding to rationalize such belief? Even Einstein who is way more intelligent than you are, though He did not believe in the God of the Bible..still believed in his heart that there is an Intelligent Being who created the universe..because he understood the intricacies and the complexieties in which the universe is made.Don't rely on your own limited human undertstanding on things. Question everything including your own belief..otherwise it is nothing short of bigotry-to have a mind that is closed to the truth, declaring with 100% certainty the validity of your own belief... the non existence of God- even without verifiable proof to prove the validity of your stance. You have no proof..we who believe in God's existence have proof. The universe is made with such unimaginable precision that Einstein is wise enough to admit that the universe is made by a Thinking Being..an Intelligent Creator..and by now I assure you that he already discovered who that Intelligent Being is.. that the One who made the universe is the God of his ancestors. Einstein is a Jew.

  • @danellwein8679
    @danellwein86793 жыл бұрын

    thank you for this Robert ... i appreciate the time you take to do these interviews with the different people ... my favorite interview is the one you had with John Searle ... i also like the fact that he knew Bertrand Russell .. I seem to relate to John the most ... although i am a christian ... i had an experience back in my teens at a coffee house .. this was during the 70s when the Jesus Movement was going on ... and i did feel the hand of God touching me ... i obviously can't prove that ... but for me it was very real ... even to this day ... i am not a very good christian ... but i do believe ... if that makes any sense .. my desire is to be found in Him (in His son Jesus) on that day when this life comes to an end ..

  • @NoirHammer
    @NoirHammer9 ай бұрын

    "What do you think Mr. Spock?" His right eyebrow arched before he said, "Agnosticism is logical". How can I go against that?

  • @Mindfulskeptic-
    @Mindfulskeptic-7 ай бұрын

    It is weird that no one mentioned about agnostic atheism. I think "not believing a god exists and not knowing if a god exists or not" is not contradictory.

  • @LastBastian

    @LastBastian

    7 ай бұрын

    It is not contradictory.

  • @KindNine

    @KindNine

    5 ай бұрын

    This channel is weird like that. I've seen other videos where they just seem to want to perpetuate centuries-old religious propaganda that atheism is always a dogmatic position, when in reality is rarely is.

  • @bairamqassem6149
    @bairamqassem61493 жыл бұрын

    Thanks Robert for your effort. I also think like you.

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    He wants to know is that your opinion or 🥴🤣🤣🤣

  • @CrystalTwinStar
    @CrystalTwinStar Жыл бұрын

    What about CHILDREN? Has Mr. Kuhn considered interviewing children on this topic? They seem to KNOW without the need to implement their intellect. Where did they come from? How did they get here? Who and where were they before arriving here? It would make a FASCINATING episode or SEASON!

  • @jdm3072
    @jdm30722 жыл бұрын

    It should be noted that the English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley created the word 'agnostic' in 1869, and said "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."

  • @peterberryprivate
    @peterberryprivate3 жыл бұрын

    I think the only position that one can take is to decide how eager you are to believe in an architect of this universe. Considering we are here (big bang, evolution, consciousness) , I think chances are good. The next question then is whether an afterlife is part of the equation in the architect's project - associated with that constant nagging for a purpose in life. Eventually, you get to a point where you believe what you want to - for me, consciousness and life are on another dimension, outside this simulation constructed of matter and laws. You cannot not prove an afterlife, so why not just embrace it as a comfort that life exists where space-time does not.

  • @handsome_butter_biscuit3925
    @handsome_butter_biscuit39253 ай бұрын

    "Morality has come out of matter"well said

  • @rollotomassi6232
    @rollotomassi62322 жыл бұрын

    I have two beliefs: "All religions must be tolerated... for every man must get to heaven in his own way." - Epictetus* "In the Beginning Man created God" - Ian Anderson*

  • @johnbrzykcy3076
    @johnbrzykcy30763 жыл бұрын

    "I think that attitude is exactly right. And I think that one should never, ever force oneself into a certain belief." I like that statement. How can anyone "force oneself" to believe something? If God loves us, reality must be more than forcing a belief.

  • @TimeisReel
    @TimeisReel2 жыл бұрын

    Excellent...

  • @victorjcano
    @victorjcano Жыл бұрын

    The most important question is how do you define God?

  • @handsome_butter_biscuit3925
    @handsome_butter_biscuit39253 ай бұрын

    I dream of going to Oxford University and having these discussions, to know someone with such a high philosophical respect towards an agnostic approach yet value the overall well-being of a sum of choice that comes with arguments holding virtue's towards overall?

  • @georgegrubbs2966
    @georgegrubbs29662 жыл бұрын

    Also, what if “intelligence” or at least “high intelligence” is not required to perceive God? What if faith, surrender, and repentance are necessary to perceive God? What if God is felt, not understood logically? What if God is known through revelation? Robert should explore those questions.

  • @Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr

    @Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr

    9 ай бұрын

    Why does God allow children to be abused without intervening?

  • @newtonfinn164
    @newtonfinn16410 ай бұрын

    Add in the fact, yes the fact, that supernormal events occur (see Leslie Kean's recent reports about Stewart Alexander's physical mediumship) and there is all the more reason to move from atheism to agnosticism. Imagine the most hardcore atheist who comes face to face with and talks to his long-departed, now briefly re-materialized mother. Indeed, how many atheists remain convinced of their position after a much more common, far less "miraculous" NDE?

  • @davidjayhalabecki438
    @davidjayhalabecki4383 жыл бұрын

    Truth is alive, free, thrilling, and always moving. When truth becomes crystalized, dogmatized, and institutionalized then the facts are all that's left to ponder. Ya, ya.. The bible will do you well in your search for truth, but why should people continue to press forward in the March of Progress with a trumpet blast from the middle ages when all we want most is this 'Living Truth' to be closer to.

  • @robertbaird6432
    @robertbaird64323 жыл бұрын

    If, in the highly improbable event, I were to meet St Peter at the pearly gates, I would propose the exact same question I ponder now: "Why am I here?"

  • @eds3079

    @eds3079

    2 жыл бұрын

    Whatever way we are here , I have come to believe if we were to know why we are here , if whatever put us here knew , we would know. OR it's only to be an experiment .

  • @arthurwieczorek4894
    @arthurwieczorek48947 ай бұрын

    To argue for permanent agnosticism is to deny the biblical injunction that says no man can serve two masters. That said, what exactly is wrong with that kind of compartmentalization? Oh, on an Ocham's Razor consideration, you have to juggle two basic worldviews instead of concentrating on one. What else? In favour of it is that you have membership in a tribe of sorts. That might be worth any cognitive down-side to this compartmentalization

  • @ahmedafcershishir990
    @ahmedafcershishir9902 жыл бұрын

    You are one of those luckiest thirty thousand peoples who was able to experience this beautiful piece of the universe.

  • @naturepro9440
    @naturepro944010 ай бұрын

    Agnosticism is a personal stance that recognizes the profound and elevated awareness gained through questioning everything around us. It is deeply rooted in philosophical realism and practicalism, both of which provide rational arguments. Agnosticism asserts that crisis is not existential.

  • @Uberrima.Fides.
    @Uberrima.Fides. Жыл бұрын

    "Nick's how -to-think guidance is good. But his approach will not appeal to theists or atheists." It appeals to me, a theist, and I wager it would appeal to Dr. Graham Oppy, a prominent, extremely level-headed atheist philosopher, who definitely should be among the rotating experts in these episodes.

  • @ApePostle
    @ApePostle3 жыл бұрын

    Think of agnosticism as akin to the superposition principle of quantum mechanics. For now we do not know for certain whether intelligence (God) played a role in our (the Universe’s) creation, so for now it is in a superposition of both intelligence and no intelligence involved in the creation. We await for a “wave function” collapse sometime in future...

  • @ellengran6814

    @ellengran6814

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agree. I would like to add : I dont understand why scientists was surprised by quantum state. We all know what doubt is.

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    AAH you forgot about reason and the whether forms to create a collapse for regrowth with all ways a new answer.

  • @stephenlawrence4821
    @stephenlawrence48213 жыл бұрын

    I think being agnostic about God's existence is one thing. But no reason to be agnostic about myths about God. Obviously Jesus's mother wasn't a virgin, the angel Gabriel didn't visit Mohammed in a cave and so on. And if you take away all the myths whether God exists or not really makes no practical difference.

  • @nyttag7830
    @nyttag78303 жыл бұрын

    I know that i dont know

  • @nyttag7830

    @nyttag7830

    3 жыл бұрын

    So how. CAn you know 🤣

  • @nyttag7830

    @nyttag7830

    3 жыл бұрын

    We are so screwed , and id hate to have it any other way.

  • @nyttag7830

    @nyttag7830

    3 жыл бұрын

    m.kzread.info/dash/bejne/pnaettGJl9TaZs4.html

  • @willbrink
    @willbrink Жыл бұрын

    I'm agnostic and don't really give a damn religious or atheistic types want label that one way or another frankly.

  • @deepakkapurvirtualclass
    @deepakkapurvirtualclass Жыл бұрын

    I think as far as knowledge goes we are doomed because in the end we have to take 'something' to be 'existing always'. No further questions asked!! This thing can be God or (laws + energy). After we have reached this stage, we can't question anymore. This inexplicable certainty is the fate of all human quest for knowledge. In this sense, everything (whether God or ever existing laws+energy) is Supernatural because both these options defy logic/explanation.

  • @PURE.EVIL.
    @PURE.EVIL.3 жыл бұрын

    Mr. Kuhn, the feeling "I am alive" IS THE SAME to all living things in all the history of earth. The personality that develops inside each living organism disappears after death, but you continue to exist in the bodies of the other living organisms of course with other personalities. Yes, the enemy who want to hurt is YOU just as the poorest or the wealthiest man on earth. You are not going to any paradise neither any "god" exists, all these are absolute nonsense.

  • @mounirasnai
    @mounirasnai10 ай бұрын

    My argument against agnosticism goes as follows: by stating that one doesn't know about something,one presupposes that they are talking about something knowable, but the human mind has evolved in such a way that it enables us to interact with and understand only what lies within the realm of our natural universe, which makes science the suitable means whereby we can do that, since it's based on methodological naturalism and endeavours to investigate and understand only the phenomena that are governed by the laws of nature. However, our minds also enable us to imagine, wonder about, and invent the supernatural (Not metaphysics, which belongs to philosophical terminology). Along this line of reasoning, just because we can ask such questions like whether there's a creator of our universe, which arise from our deepest psychological and social needs (e.g., connecting to a higher power, fairness, certainty, etc.), and we can feel as such and transcend, doesn't necessarily indicate that there must be answers Waiting to be discovered. Even when we think about and assign verbs such as originate from, transform, create, begin, etc., these are verbs that describe and denote processes that take place in and pertain to our physical universe. As though trying to extend our knowledge by means of assimilation beyond the boundaries (not the limits) of knowledge itself. Let's take the verb create, for example. Since we can conceptualise and mentally represent it, it becomes obvious that we are referring to a process that occurs in nature. e.g., stars are created from interstellar gas, animals create their habitat,and an enormous civilization has been created by humans, etc., principally because to create something means to do so using something else. In other words, you need something to create something else, and if the creator is something, it follows then that the creator is not a supernatural entity, which makes it a biological organism governed by the laws of nature; therefore, if there were any creator, it would be our universe; i.e., nature is the real creator.

  • @GlossRabban
    @GlossRabban3 жыл бұрын

    What is behind the curtain? Oz ofcause!

  • @johnbrzykcy3076

    @johnbrzykcy3076

    3 жыл бұрын

    But I think the imagination that lies beyond the curtain invites us to experience the land of Oz.

  • @Homo_sAPEien
    @Homo_sAPEien Жыл бұрын

    I’m an atheist and not an agnostic atheist. *arms crossed*

  • @sew_gal7340
    @sew_gal7340 Жыл бұрын

    The reason why there isn't a satisfactory answer to the question of "why do children suffer" is because it wasn't framed correctly. I am a Buddhist and in my religion we believe that all souls are reborn into different lives and lived experiences. The soul achieves perfect harmony once it has lived through all forms of suffering and attains enlightenment this way. Life is about balance, too much happiness is bad for the spirit...too much suffering is as well, suffering is key to understanding the universe, thats why buddhists dont shy from hard work, it pushes them to embrace it and understand it.

  • @coachmellorock
    @coachmellorock3 ай бұрын

    As a person who has been a devote agnostic since I was 12 I love how religious people sound more religious while my Atheist brothers and sisters sound like Light agnostics lol

  • @jamesruscheinski8602
    @jamesruscheinski86023 жыл бұрын

    Agnosticism or even atheism in knowledge allows experiential certitude.

  • @1DangerMouse1

    @1DangerMouse1

    3 жыл бұрын

    Meaningless comment.

  • @1DangerMouse1

    @1DangerMouse1

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agnosticism is not certainty.

  • @theanonymousrealist
    @theanonymousrealist7 ай бұрын

    agnosticism in one sentence: “ how can you be 100% sure? “

  • @garychartrand7378

    @garychartrand7378

    6 ай бұрын

    By a direct experience of God OR you can believe those who have experienced such instead of calling them liars or crazy OR investigating Near Death Experiences.

  • @ayamore
    @ayamore9 ай бұрын

    Wow! What a great video! I have been an agnostic my entire life, even though I went to catholic school and church. When old enough, and on my own, I dropped out of church. Too much hoopla and no proof. As an agnostic I can believe in a God my own way, without any particular religion and or ritual that goes with it. I believe there is a god, and I believe in re-incarnation. I believe our universe is a complex machine, orchestrated by someone, or something. I believe we are all here for a reason, yet unknown. Based on my own experiences, I do believe there is some type of life after we die here on earth. However, I also think that everyone has a right to believe in what they want to believe. Like they say.... whatever floats their boat to get through life. Me, I keep an open mind, and I thank my creator for being here on earth, every day, just in case there is a creator. If not, what does it matter after my body is dead? Again, thanks for a great video!

  • @garychartrand7378

    @garychartrand7378

    6 ай бұрын

    I am happy to see you at least trying to get it right. Most of my life I also hedged my bets. I was raised in the Catholic faith and said that I believed in God BUT there was always a tiny bit of doubt in my mind and heart - until 16 years ago. In January 2008 God gave me a job description that says " I am sending you out by the power of My Spirit to Release those bound by Fear, to Proclaim Forgiveness, and to show Love to ALL men". Ironically, I don't have to like you but it is necessary that I Love you. This is a request, NOT a command. Contrary to very popular belief God DOES NOT COMMAND. I could easily say no to my job at any time and I KNOW that God will NEVER stop Loving me UNCONDITIONALLY. As for the so called Commandments, God said that He actually gave us the 10 COMMITMENTS. He says that if you are truly looking for Him then you will find it impossible to do anything mentioned in the so called commandments. I could explain further about God's Perfect System which has reincarnation and Free Will as major components. Just ask me. I don't wish to write a book here. I am available to help you with your Fears anytime. As for hedging your bets about a God yes or no, trust me there is a God and He KNOWS what is in your mind and heart. Please don't try to deceive Him. There would still be no reason for Fear but I think that we can both agree that to try something like that with someone who Loves you UNCONDITIONALLY....is not cool. Bless you 🙏❤️

  • @ericjohnson6665
    @ericjohnson66652 жыл бұрын

    It's curious that fundamentalist religionists discount or actively oppose the idea of evolution, when all of the worlds of time and space, are predicated on evolution to bring them closer to a perfected universe. "115:1.1 Partial, incomplete, and evolving intellects would be helpless in the master universe, would be unable to form the first rational thought pattern, were it not for the innate ability of all mind, high or low, to form a universe frame in which to think. If mind cannot fathom conclusions, if it cannot penetrate to true origins, then will such mind unfailingly postulate conclusions and invent origins that it may have a means of logical thought within the frame of these mind-created postulates. And while such universe frames for creature thought are indispensable to rational intellectual operations, they are, without exception, erroneous to a greater or lesser degree. 115:3.1 The absolute cosmos is conceptually without limit; to define the extent and nature of this primal reality is to place qualifications upon infinity and to attenuate the pure concept of eternity. The idea of the infinite-eternal, the eternal-infinite, is unqualified in extent and absolute in fact. There is no language in the past, present, or future of Urantia adequate to express the reality of infinity or the infinity of reality. Man, a finite creature in an infinite cosmos, must content himself with distorted reflections and attenuated conceptions of that limitless, boundless, never-beginning, never-ending existence the comprehension of which is really beyond his ability. 116:2.3 Unqualified Paradise Deity is incomprehensible to the evolving creatures of time and space. Eternity and infinity connote a level of deity reality which time-space creatures cannot comprehend. Infinity of deity and absoluteness of sovereignty are inherent in the Paradise Trinity, and the Trinity is a reality which lies somewhat beyond the understanding of mortal man. Time-space creatures must have origins, relativities, and destinies in order to grasp universe relationships and to understand the meaning values of divinity. Therefore does Paradise Deity attenuate and otherwise qualify the extra-Paradise personalizations of divinity, thus bringing into existence the Supreme Creators and their associates, who ever carry the light of life farther and farther from its Paradise source until it finds its most distant and beautiful expression in the earth lives of the bestowal Sons on the evolutionary worlds." truthbook.com/urantia-book/urantia-book-online

  • @smitsos1
    @smitsos1 Жыл бұрын

    I too would like to believe in God because as a human I can understand this narrative more than I can understand a random universe with fine-tuned, immutable laws. But I cannot convince myself that this is the truth. This only convinces me that I haven't got the ability or the faculties to answer these questions. Atheism and theism are both leaps of faith. I humbly have to say that I'm not intelligent enough to understand.

  • @michaelbindner9883
    @michaelbindner9883 Жыл бұрын

    To what extent must we be agnostic to the beliefs of others. Is their gnosis any of our business? Is it pro or counter evolutionary. Is it charitable to go beyond the group dynamics of belief?

  • @dennistucker1153
    @dennistucker11533 жыл бұрын

    I look at it like this. We are human. We are limited in our knowledge. The evidence for me, tends to indicate that an "omni-this and that" GOD most likely cannot exist. I acknowledge there are somethings greater than myself. I believe there could be much life outside of Earth and that some of that is more advanced than we are.

  • @johnaugsburger6192
    @johnaugsburger61923 жыл бұрын

    Thanks

  • @bongonvlogs9531
    @bongonvlogs9531 Жыл бұрын

    I'm a Filipino I'm agnostic

  • @augustodelerme7233

    @augustodelerme7233

    2 ай бұрын

    Im a Puertorican I'm agnostic.

  • @sirchristopher7684
    @sirchristopher76846 ай бұрын

    As a skeptical theist the problem can be summed to this. The religious theists generally have the burden of proof of historical evidence for their beliefs. The just as dogmatic group, the atheists have to argue experience is purely physical. Therefore metaphysical categories like morality, ideas, reason, etc. stem from purely physical functions like neurons in your brain. The result of this would be that morality is purely an imaginary thing we create to order ourselves and there is really no such thing as good and evil. It is merely a story we tell ourselves on repeat.

  • @OP941nine
    @OP941nine Жыл бұрын

    Religion is the easy answer to an unanswerable question

  • @adamrspears1981
    @adamrspears19813 жыл бұрын

    I'm an Agnostic when it comes to the possible existence of aliens. I tend to view A Creator of The Universe, as an alien. At the end of the day, we just don't have sufficient knowledge & resources to know these kinds of things.

  • @trafficjon400

    @trafficjon400

    2 жыл бұрын

    it is and excepts your opinion.

  • @scottguitar8168
    @scottguitar81682 ай бұрын

    I think pure agnosticism is indefensible. Everything has to hinge on the claim that Gods/Goddesses exist. We don't know what we don't know so it takes a topic about "something" to give any meaning to not knowing. From this perspective, the question becomes do you "believe" the claim that a God exists and that question is why pure agnosticism is indefensible. You either believe a God exists or you don't, where agnosticism only addresses that there are gaps in our knowledge and also why everyone wants to know what you mean by agnosticism. I like the curtain analogy, where in front of the curtain, we have only natural explanations and every time we move the curtain back with new knowledge, we keep finding more natural explanations. As a result, there is nothing that supports intelligence being involved on the grand scheme of existence and an expectation of future natural explanations since that is the only thing we have found with every step of the curtain being moved back. As an atheist, I don't want to assume that every time the curtain moves back it will be only be support for natural causes even though that is my suspicion, so I add agnosticism to my atheist label to identify that I don't believe the claim, but I don't completely know that the claim is false. The primary reason I don't believe the claim is that the evidence and reasoning used by theists is very poor. Even looking at holy books, I don't see advanced intelligence but rather human ignorance. I can certainly imagine a scenario where all existence, at least in this dimension is completely natural, yet a God is still able to exist in an alternative dimension that doesn't require a natural explanation. I think that is what the one theist meant by not being able to just stay agnostic and why I don't think pure agnosticism can be maintained, you are going consider other things and move towards some level of atheism or theism. Even if you ask a person who has no interest in seeking answers to the question does a God exist, there will be no belief that one does exist as they answer "I don't know".

  • @miguelrosado7649
    @miguelrosado76499 ай бұрын

    I consider myself an agnostic and not an atheist because I recognize that I don’t know everything about the universe. I know for sure that the present concept of God is wrong. My agnosticism derives from acknowledging that I might not be capable of conceptualizing a universal God. As long as we have questions about the universe humans will keep making Gods.

  • @khaleeda2368
    @khaleeda2368 Жыл бұрын

    The point is to never find an answer, it’s to make the question deeper