Agnostics Sound
Fair-Minded but I Can't Be One
In
2012 I jotted down all the reasons I could think of why I am a Christian. I found
26 so I decided to serialise them in a blog every fortnight for a year.
I
covered themes from the realms of science, philosophy and theology before
looking at five different facets of Jesus. Then I looked at the inspiration,
invincibility and influence of the Bible. Then there were six posts about
experiences, mostly personal to me.
I
am now drawing near to the end of writing about why I am a Christian, having
set out my different reasons every two weeks since January.
As
I said at the start, I do not consider that any one reason, on its own, is
enough for me to believe that Christianity must be true. The one that probably
gets closest is Number
14 about the resurrection but even that one leaves a nagging “what
if…” especially when something awful happens in life that makes even the most
convinced believer briefly wonder if our existence isn't just a random deal of
good and bad luck.
But
taken together, all 23 reasons so far make up a cumulative case built on (a)
what I think and (b) what I have experienced. Taken together, the 23 reasons I
have written about up till now satisfy me that I am not deluded or brain dead
and that Christianity really is true. Basically, it all adds up for me and I
think if anyone looked honestly, with an open mind, at all I have written about
so far they would have to admit that the case for Christianity is a serious
one.
If
I wasn’t a Christian I would be something else. I have mused about the
“something elses” for a long time and these last three posts are about why I do
not go along with the three most popular alternatives to being a Christian;
religion, atheism and agnosticism.
What
about other religions? Could it be that I am just naturally credulous? Do
I just need to believe in something as a crutch to help me limp through life?
If so, might I have joined another religion had I not become a Christian? What
if I was attracted to being a Christian simply because I was born in Britain?
What if I had been born in Japan or India or Saudi Arabia or Thailand? Would I
have become a devotee of Shintoism, a Hindu, a Muslim or a Buddhist? I’ll look
at other religions in Reason 26.
What
about atheism? What if all I had ever read in life was the BBC’s Have
Your Say forums or the Guardian’s Comment Is Free section?
Would I just never have taken Christianity seriously at all? If I had been
brought up by atheist parents, self-crowned ‘brights’ who scoffed at Christian
faith and suppressed any interest in spiritual things throughout my childhood,
would I have ended up an atheist like them? Maybe. But I’ve thought about
atheism, I've read their stuff, I've dialogued with some of them - and decided
that atheism misses the mark. I’ll write about why I have chosen not to be an
atheist in Reason 25 in two weeks' time.
But
this week, reason 24, is about agnosticism. I have thought it through carefully
and decided not to be an agnostic. But probably the majority of the population
in the UK - I would hazard a guess that about 60-70% - is agnostic.
There
is a small core of people who self-identify as believers whether they are
Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jews or whatever. They tend to get derided at school.
(Well, not so much the Hindus, Muslims, Jews or whatever because that might be
seen as racist or islamophobic or anti-Semitic or intolerant).
Then
there is a growing and vocal core of people who self-identify as atheists. They
are never picked on at school. (Well, unless they are overweight, or ginger, or
have zits, or wear the wrong trainers, or like the wrong music. But not because
they proclaim that there is no God - no one gives anyone a hard time for that).
But
the majority of people in the UK are pretty live-and-let-live about such
things. “Yes there might be a God, probably not in all honesty, but who can
really say for sure? Churches don’t seem to do too much harm a few obvious bad
apples apart; they even do quite a lot of good, and if you’re that way
inclined, going along might cheer you up. But it’s not for me.” This is
probably the default world view of the majority of people in the U.K.
Many
such people don’t think much about spiritual things. They just don’t
feel the need to, although in times of need most will not hesitate to send up a
quick prayer just in case. “If there’s a God – fine. If not, well, whatever.”
If
you asked the question for a survey “Is there a God?"
- Yes
- No
- Don’t know
most
I guess would instinctively tick box number 3. These are the agnostics.
In
a way, I really respect agnostics. Generally, they are not heavy or
antagonistic. They don't wait like a coiled spring, ready to react the moment
someone expresses an opinion consistent with the Bible. They don’t go around
saying that they’re scientifically right and everyone who thinks differently to
them is brainless. There’s a refreshing intellectual honesty about agnostics.
“You might be right. You might be wrong. Whichever way round it is, let’s agree
to get on and not cram the internet with opinionated rants.” I like that. I
never feel that agnostics are trying to convert me to their way of thinking or
indeed scold me for mine.
I
warm to people who, when I ask them a question, reply “I honestly don’t know”
instead of bluffing and pretending they do.
The
comedian David Mitchell (who was brought up in a Jewish home) in this short YouTube clip has recently admitted to being an agnostic
and not an atheist. This is part of his interview:
“I
don’t accept the argument that atheism is the most rational response to the
world as we see it. I think agnosticism is. And I don’t want there to be
nothing. No, I’m not convinced there’s something but I do want there to be
something. I want there to be an all-powerful, benevolent God and I like that
thought. And I was initially brought up with it and now I’m not sure – but I’m
not ready to reject it and I’m suspicious of the disdain for people who find
that a comfort in their lives.”
What
could be fairer than that? Mitchell’s approach appeals because it is eminently
reasonable and fair-minded and tolerant of difference. It is open to discussion
and persuasion. It is not that brand of agnosticism that says that we can’t know
if there is a God or not so don’t bother looking. Mitchell just says he doesn’t
know; he’s not convinced as things stand, but he sees no virtue in being
completely closed about it.
If
I wasn’t a Christian I would probably be an agnostic. After all, it’s what I
was before I was a Christian.
And
yet in some ways an agnostic is the worst possible thing to be.
You
see, either my name is John or it isn’t. There is no perhaps. Either you are
married or you’re single. There is no maybe. In the same way, either there is a
God or there isn’t.
So
it might be that atheists have been right all along. Perhaps there is no god
after all. Maybe it is just a figment of people's imagination and people like
Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens have justifiably made a
fortune selling books because they are correct in their assertion that God is a
hare-brained fantasy.
Or
on the other hand, it may be that theists are right instead. Perhaps there
really is a God who made the universe and is behind our
concepts of virtue, truth, justice and beauty. Maybe it’s true after all.
The
Irish poet W.B. Yeats summed up the fatal weakness in agnosticism when he said,
slightly tongue in cheek, “Some people say there is a God. Others say there is
no God. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.”
Of
course the truth is not in between, but at one of the poles. Either there is a
God or there isn’t. But whichever it is, agnostics are wrong.
Put
it another way. Anyone can back the wrong horse. (At the racecourse, most
people do in fact; that’s why the man who owns the betting shop drives a
Mercedes). But in a two-horse race, what sense is there in backing neither
runner just because you really can’t choose between them? Either way, you miss
out on the winnings.
Stephen
Gaukroger in his little book It Makes Sense asks you to
imagine that you are about to drown at sea. You’ve just had a third lungful of sea water and it’s not
looking good. Now you know that there are two boats nearby. One will get you
home safe and dry. The other is packed with explosives ready to go off at any
moment. If you're an agnostic, Gaukroger says, you choose to stay in the water.
One boat heads back to port. The other is blown to smithereens. And you
drown.
You
were absolutely right about the perilous danger of one of those boats – and
absolutely wrong to stay in the sea.
Rejecting
both the reality of God and the unreality of God, agnostics are condemned to
make the wrong choice because either God is real or he isn’t. Agnosticism is
therefore the worst of all worlds.
About
3,500 years ago Moses spoke to the whole Israelite nation in these words:
This
day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have
set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so
that you and your children may live and that you may
love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to
him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many
years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob (Deuteronomy
30.19-20).
He
was saying "Come on, make your minds up. Don't sit on the fence
forever."
That’s
why I am not an agnostic any more. When I left the security of my uncertainties
and discovered the sure riches of Jesus Christ I knew there was no going back.
I absolutely don’t regret it for a minute. That’s the 24th reason
I am a Christian.