Christian agnosticism means being a Christian despite uncertainty about whether Christian teachings are true. It is not an oxymoron because the two terms refer to different things - agnosticism to knowledge, and Christianity to belief.
The Christian agnostic acknowledges that it is not possible to know for certain if God exists. And if God does exist then there are additional unanswerable questions such as Why is there suffering? Why would God create a world knowing the pain we would all endure? What's the meaning of life? How can we know what God wants from us? Does God interact with the world? If so, in what ways? Of all religions, how does one know Christianity is true? And so on. Religion often uses storytelling to explore these questions. But belief is a matter of faith and not a matter of what can be proven or disproven. So we should not fault each other for believing or disbelieving.
Christianity requires additional leaps of faith. Various Christians may differ on particular points of belief, but this short list is common to all Christians: belief in God the Father; Jesus Christ as the risen Son of God through whom new life is extended to humanity; the Holy Spirit; the Bible as a foundational expression of Christian belief; and the Church as a community of believers.
Christian disagreements over the details of theology are many and will never be completely resolved. But the Christian agnostic understands that the most important thing is not to battle over who is right and who is wrong, but rather to try to understand each other through respectful dialogue.
Faith and doubt are often seen as antagonistic, but faith and doubt as complimentary is another way of looking at it. They coexist in tension, but without one there would not be the other, and so there is much to be learned from engaging this tension. So the Christian agnostic need not believe basic Christian teachings without reservation, but simply keep an open mind about the possible truth of these teachings and to live as if they are true.
A Christian agnostic is someone who:
Is open to Christian faith claims while acknowledging the inability to know factually.
- Values doubt as complementary to faith, and who engages instead of suppressing doubt.
- Acknowledges the lack of a satisfactory answer to the problem of evil and suffering, but who carries out the struggle with this problem in the context of faith rather than the rejection of faith. But those who reject faith are respected for their honest response to this difficult problem.
- Leaves the answers to specific questions open to the individual, such as whether the resurrection was both a physical and a spiritual event, or only a spiritual one. But a Christian agnostic is unlikely to understand the crucifixion as a death demanded by an angry God, but rather as a sacrifice in terms of the risk God was willing to take knowing what would happen should He become incarnate. As such, the crucifixion is for our sins not in the sense of a debt to be paid to God, but instead as humanity hearing the victim's voice to show us what sin is capable of, so that we can be led away from sin. (See Gil Bailie's Violence Unvieled.) I beg to differ
- Believes that the moral life of a Christian is best expressed by living the Beatitudes, the Golden Rule, and love of God and neighbor. Judging others is inappropriate because no one is perfect, and so no one has the moral superiority that judgment implies.
- Understands the Bible as a collection of books written over a 1,000-year timeframe. As such, it represents a conversation with and about God, with God as the central conversation partner. But the people who wrote the Bible were working within the cultures and worldviews of their day, so the Christian agnostic is unlikely to view the Bible as inerrant. This stands in contrast to the conservative view that the Bible is a divine monologue written by God, inerrant not only in theology but in history and science as well. In contrast, the Christian agnostic tries to understand the dynamics of the conversations happening within the Bible, and to engage these conversations. Many Bible stories are understood not literally, but as parables. (See Marcus Borg's Reading the Bible Again for the First Time.)
- Instead of searching for the "historical Jesus," understands this quest not as history in the scientific sense, but rather as deconstructionist theology. As such, it is misguided because the Gospels are narratives of faith. The Christian agnostic recognizes that the resurrection experience, however understood, has always been the starting point of the Christian faith. The Gospels were written to explore the answer to the central question, "Who do you say I am?" (See Luke Timothy Johnson's The Real Jesus.)
- Recognizes that the details of eternal life are unknown to us, but even if one believes that salvation comes only through Christ, one can also believe that Christ could save people of other faiths.
"Well, I beg to differ!" ~Time Reckoner
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Understand that I do see myself as an Agnostic Christian, but I do take up a Bible to understand the core meaning to Integrity, what makes a person as they are, & who or what is responsible for Life & Death as separate showings. I'm about ready to state this clear to tell people to wake-up & stop blaming Satan for all your problems when there's more to life than just wallowing in self-central shame. You need to act to be what you want to be in life, not be something where others may fear you for being wickedly retarded or feeling you're at a loss for being weird. If that being said, write a Blog. Do some Research. Back-up YOUR OWN Evidence to support how you think you're right, instead of thinking that you're some lunatic who hides under his/her own shell for the core purpose of self-hatred upon others for getting back at people to what was intended for YOU. Be like the LORD, not as the LORD. We don't have Superpowers, but we can still make do with Interdependence, not Intendependence. That's what my Theories detest. You can still be who you want to be, so long as you pick up that Bible & guaranteed to show Christians the Truth of what you think is right, over what they think is spiritually believable, otherwise, you'll only be giving a Spiritualist, one who communicates with the Dead to get a laugh over you for failing once they see your Spirit (Ghost) at their doorstep to apologize where they'll cast you out personally with a Cross. Take-up the Cross, use it to some dignifying meaning. Don't just use it to pull your selfish gain into life. There's more to life than selfishness vs selflessness, Real vs Fake. There being a "True" Defiance. It is, WHAT it is. Understand that. Don't let extreme Narcissism take advantage of you. Read-on about Timothy. People around you in a later time will & can subject themselves to Solo-gamy to get the better of you, believe in Religion, but act against it. For every Religion, has their own Dark Conspirators. Understand what you're getting yourself into before you join a Church. Listen to Music, read books, play video games. Understand what Good & Evil is before you decide to act. This is your extent. Know your limits.
DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY
Don't just let Government alone decide it all, for there are Citizen in Office who are secretly negotiating either of your reformation, or your demise. Get out of Food Stamps while you still can. Work. Stabilize your Future. Keep running your resources. Be as One. Your Spirit, Your Body, & Your Rights are what the Bible tells you to be known for. I'm your God, or your World, but I can surely tell tale that you need to step-up to the rightful reason for living over what's keeping you!
If you need to cast unwanted people out from your life that object to Narcissistic Behavior, but insulate & lie, then do it before they consume your happiness, before it is too late.
KNOW FIRST-HAND WHO YOU ARE WORSHIPPING. WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INVOLVED WITH.
There is no good in a Satanic Star, or Alchemy
(Spiritual Indoctrination, Ouija Boards, Possessed Items, Hope Diamonds)