A lot of people think that Christianity does not have an intellectual side because it is based on beliefs and faith. There are also plenty of fundamental Christians that don't engage with atheists and skeptics in rational way. Well, Christianity also has an intellectual side, and as a field it is referred to as Christian apologetics. This field deals with how Christians should think and reason about the faith.
Agnosticism also has the same deal. It is not limited to a view or just simply being undecided or uncertain. Thomas Huxley who coined agnosticism also developed principles that explain how agnostics should think and draw conclusions. I've summed up these principles as these: being non-partisan, open-minded, and freethinking. Huxley used these principles to reach his conclusion, but it's important to keep in mind that he was not expecting other agnostics to reach the same conclusions. Here is some of what Huxley says on that matter,
Any thoughts, questions, reactions are welcomed!
Agnosticism also has the same deal. It is not limited to a view or just simply being undecided or uncertain. Thomas Huxley who coined agnosticism also developed principles that explain how agnostics should think and draw conclusions. I've summed up these principles as these: being non-partisan, open-minded, and freethinking. Huxley used these principles to reach his conclusion, but it's important to keep in mind that he was not expecting other agnostics to reach the same conclusions. Here is some of what Huxley says on that matter,
And this:The results of the working out of the agnostic principle will vary according to individual knowledge and capacity, and according to the general condition of science. That which is unproven today may be proven by the help of new discoveries to-morrow. (source)
To Huxley, what makes an agnostic is how you reach the conclusion which involves using the agnostic principles together. Too many agnostics today may just be non-partisan by not wanting to take sides, especially if it involves leaving one dogmatic side (Christianity) for a side that can be just as dogmatic (atheism). But the agnostic should not forget to apply the other principles which could take them beyond the "I don't know", although there is no problem if that is your landing spot.The extent of the region of the uncertain, the number of the problems the investigation of which ends in a verdict of not proven, will vary according to the knowledge and the intellectual habits of the individual Agnostic. I do not very much care to speak of anything as "unknowable." (source)
Any thoughts, questions, reactions are welcomed!
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