Before you read this article, I request you to have an open mind and try to understand the content (even if I had failed to explain it properly).
As far as I know, all of us must be in any one of these categories -”Theist or Agnostic or Atheist”. Let’s discuss this.
Simple Definitions (as far as I understand):
Theist : A person who believes in the existence of God.
Atheist: A person who denies the existence of God.
Agnostic: A person who says “I DO NOT KNOW whether there is God or not”.
Many of us immediately think “which is correct?”. I would think of “which is needed?”
Since I was born in a religious family, I started my life as a “Theist”. There are several good things about being a “Theist”. I had been to Church, Mosque and Hindu Temples. The common thing about all these religions is “to help humans”. But due to various misunderstandings, misconceptions and superstitions, a religion is not helping humans as it was intended to be (this is my perception). When the religion started doing more harm to humans, I guess, Atheism started gaining popularity. Atheism became the solution for the problems created by the religion. When I saw many superstitions dominating the religion when I was a Theist, I started questioning about God. Since I studied Science, I was convinced with many concepts explained by Atheists. Then I became an Atheist.
Atheism is not about just denying God. It is about protecting humans from superstition and also giving respect to each & every human. There are several good things about Atheism. If you are honest, you will understand what great Atheist leaders meant.
Then I met my Physics Professor Ananthan, who is an Agnostic. He used to tell me, “Viru, like how there is no proof for the existence of God, there is no proof for non-existence of God. So it is much more scientific to say that ‘I don’t know whether there is God or not’.” His perception about God was more logical and from then on I became an Agnostic.
Agnostic people agree with many concepts of Atheist people, but will not hurt any Theist for believing the existence of God (yes, an Atheist may hurt the feelings of a Theist). But some people who say that they are “Agnostic” also follow religious rituals just to satisfy their relatives who believe in God. They have their own reasons for doing the religious rituals.
Which is good?
As mentioned before, there are several good things in all three of them. It is left to the individual to follow which concept is more appealing to them.
What is common about them?
In any group, there are three categories of people : “Top 10%”, “Bottom 10%” and “Middle 80%”.
Top 10% of them will be really good and will follow the principles of that group properly. They will also respect other group’s belief (or dis-belief) and will have an open mind. They are the ones who really does some good to humans.
Bottom 10% of them will be really bad, do bad things to people and to the group itself. They will misuse the group policies for their personal benefits.
The worst in all these groups is the Middle 80%. They will neither follow the group’s principles nor will try to understand other group’s principles. They belong to that group just because they are in that group. They will blindly support their group and oppose other groups without any reason. But because they are the majority, the group remains strong with these people and the Top 10% people don’t complain too much about these “Mid 80%” people.
You must be aware of which category you belong to: “Top 10% or “Middle 80%” or “Bottom 10%”.
Which is correct?
If you can achieve what you want (in an ethical and legal way), there is nothing like “Correct” or “Wrong” in being an Theist / Atheist / Agnostic. What you must try to understand is “Which is needed NOW to help humans?”.
Please send me an email (Viru@HomePlanGuru.com) if you want to write a comment about this article.
