How Should Christians Think about Agnosticism?

Agnosticism is the belief that the supernatural or divine is unknown, if not unknowable. The Enlightenment, which privileged reason and scientific method, provided the context for a particular species of agnosticism. It is not that there were no agnostics prior to the Enlightenment — throughout history, humans have often recognized the mysterious nature of the divine realm. Post-Enlightenment, however, agnosticism became more closely associated with the human inability to provide rational grounds for belief. Agnosticism is not necessarily associated with either belief or disbelief in the divine. Some agnostics may live “as if” a particular sort of god exists while acknowledging that they don't know the divine. Others are agnostic atheists, living as if there is no higher power. As such, it may be best to understand agnosticism as a posture or orientation that shapes one's expression about the existence of the divine.

When we talk about “knowing,” we are not simply talking about what we often refer to as intellect or cognition. Instead, knowing occurs in at least four ways: propositional (“knowing that”), procedural (“knowing how”), perspective (“recognizing the relevance”), and participatory (“experiential knowing”). When thinking about agnosticism today, there is a tendency to emphasize propositional knowing — conditioned by the Enlightenment emphasis on reason and scientific method. Beliefs that are not grounded in reason or cannot be demonstrated scientifically are relegated to the realm of myth. Yet rational thought and scientific methods fail when it comes to knowing God because they seek to know God in the wrong way (procedural), push God and his revelation to the background while bringing human reasoning to the foreground (perspective), and do not experience the power and presence of God throughout their lives (participatory). Our will is misdirected so that we refuse to repent even when confronted with what is evident about God through creation (Rom 1:18–23).

The clearest biblical example of agnosticism is found in Acts 17. Paul addresses the men of Athens, “very religious” (Acts 17:22), yet he goes on to note the altar inscribed “To the unknown god” (17:23). Here, a religious community acknowledges their ignorance of a god they worship. Their lack of knowledge does not keep them from worship. Paul calls them to repentance, noting that God “overlooked” the “days of ignorance” but has set a day in which all will be judged (17:30–31). Is agnosticism's claim that God is unknown or unknowable correct? Yes and no. For those who have saving faith in Christ, God is both known and knowable. Christ is “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). For those who are not in Christ, God is unknown. They are right to say God is unknown to them. They are wrong, however, to universalize their agnosticism as if it applied to all people at all times. As Christians, we must take care not to adopt an agnostic framework for faith. Faith is “the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).