Online Bible Study for Agnostic

[Anonymous]

I am agnostic, but would like to try out a Bible study this year - something online, most likely. For background - I'm a woman and was raised protestant and now attend a Unitarian church. Looking generally to explore spirituality and religion, and it's been a very long time since I've read a Bible. Any women's online Bible studies that are any good, and that might be a good fit for someone like me?

[Anonymous]

You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

[Anonymous]

Look into BSF, a colleague likes it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

You can be agnostic AND atheist at the same time. Nearly all atheists are. And, you can be both and attend a Unitarian church - or any other church. You just don't believe and attend for social reasons, or to keep familial peace. I wouldn't do that, but it is possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

Agnostic and atheist are two different things. They have different definitions. See, for example, why Dawkins calls himself agnostic but not atheist—because he things there’s a tiny, minuscule, but non-zero chance of a higher power.

You can be agnostic AND atheist at the same time. Nearly all atheists are. And, you can be both and attend a Unitarian church - or any other church. You just don't believe and attend for social reasons, or to keep familial peace. I wouldn't do that, but it is possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

If you mean me who posted about UU, didn't say she's an atheist. Although even then I'm sure there are atheists who (even AS atheists) have been involved in a deep stufy of the Bible. There's differet ways to go about that. Most Christian platforms (online or not) will build in their own doctrine, but when you read sources that look deeply at linguistics and culture of the times various portions were written, and which also look at how certain scriptures were censored in the early Christian Era and what they have to say, there's a lot of interesting stuff going on.

If I read Ovid does that mean I believe in Zeus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

If you mean me who posted about UU, didn't say she's an atheist. Although even then I'm sure there are atheists who (even AS atheists) have been involved in a deep stufy of the Bible. There's differet ways to go about that. Most Christian platforms (online or not) will build in their own doctrine, but when you read sources that look deeply at linguistics and culture of the times various portions were written, and which also look at how certain scriptures were censored in the early Christian Era and what they have to say, there's a lot of interesting stuff going on.

If I read Ovid does that mean I believe in Zeus?

We should let OP speak for herself. But if she’s doing this voluntarily because she “wants to explore spirituality and religion,” then she seems to be thinking there’s at least a possibility of something. Otherwise, just write, “I want to educate myself about this for whatever reason.” Why does it bother you that she’s interested in exploring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look into BSF, a colleague likes it.

What’s BSF? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

If you mean me who posted about UU, didn't say she's an atheist. Although even then I'm sure there are atheists who (even AS atheists) have been involved in a deep stufy of the Bible. There's differet ways to go about that. Most Christian platforms (online or not) will build in their own doctrine, but when you read sources that look deeply at linguistics and culture of the times various portions were written, and which also look at how certain scriptures were censored in the early Christian Era and what they have to say, there's a lot of interesting stuff going on.

If I read Ovid does that mean I believe in Zeus?

We should let OP speak for herself. But if she’s doing this voluntarily because she “wants to explore spirituality and religion,” then she seems to be thinking there’s at least a possibility of something. Otherwise, just write, “I want to educate myself about this for whatever reason.” Why does it bother you that she’s interested in exploring?

I wanted to explore religion because I realized as an adult that I had a child's understanding of it. As a result of my exploration, I'm now an atheist. There are many atheists like me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

You can be agnostic AND atheist at the same time. Nearly all atheists are. And, you can be both and attend a Unitarian church - or any other church. You just don't believe and attend for social reasons, or to keep familial peace. I wouldn't do that, but it is possible.

Right. Agnostic is "I don't know" and Atheist is "I don't believe". Many people are both, but may feel more comfortable describing themselves with one word or the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

If you mean me who posted about UU, didn't say she's an atheist. Although even then I'm sure there are atheists who (even AS atheists) have been involved in a deep stufy of the Bible. There's differet ways to go about that. Most Christian platforms (online or not) will build in their own doctrine, but when you read sources that look deeply at linguistics and culture of the times various portions were written, and which also look at how certain scriptures were censored in the early Christian Era and what they have to say, there's a lot of interesting stuff going on.

If I read Ovid does that mean I believe in Zeus?

We should let OP speak for herself. But if she’s doing this voluntarily because she “wants to explore spirituality and religion,” then she seems to be thinking there’s at least a possibility of something. Otherwise, just write, “I want to educate myself about this for whatever reason.” Why does it bother you that she’s interested in exploring?

I wanted to explore religion because I realized as an adult that I had a child's understanding of it. As a result of my exploration, I'm now an atheist. There are many atheists like me.

Cool story, bro

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

You can be agnostic AND atheist at the same time. Nearly all atheists are. And, you can be both and attend a Unitarian church - or any other church. You just don't believe and attend for social reasons, or to keep familial peace. I wouldn't do that, but it is possible.

This is OP. I differentiate between being agnostic and atheist - I do not consider myself to be atheist. The UU church that I attend has a congregation that takes more of a humanist approach and it does have many people who consider themselves to be agnostic or atheist. I started attending the church because my older son had questions about religion and I wanted a church that was welcoming to all and that encouraged exploration of different religious beliefs. I’m not sure that I am getting all that much from the church, though, which is why I’d like to explore religion on my own. Partly for my own benefit - to see if anything strikes a chord in me and makes me lean toward having some kind of belief and also for general educational purposes - and partly so that I have more of a base of knowledge to offer for my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not agnostic if you attending church and want t o study the bible.

Not true at all. Besides the fact that there are plenty of atheists and agnostics (often closeted) who attend church regularly (to meet some kind of expectation--family, social, etc), besides the fact that the UU church has NO doctrinal requirements at all BUT does have the "Six Sources" which include Judeo-Christian sources AND a hymnal which includes hymns about God as well as readings from the Bible (among other books), there can be plenty of reasons for an agnostic to want to read and explore the Bible--possibly to challenge one's own current belief or lack thereof, to explore it in the sense of literature or history or in comparison to what other religions say.

This isn’t it. OP is not atheist. She’s agnostic if she’s in between atheist and the possibility of something there.

You can be agnostic AND atheist at the same time. Nearly all atheists are. And, you can be both and attend a Unitarian church - or any other church. You just don't believe and attend for social reasons, or to keep familial peace. I wouldn't do that, but it is possible.

Right. Agnostic is "I don't know" and Atheist is "I don't believe". Many people are both, but may feel more comfortable describing themselves with one word or the other.

These are mutually exclusive — you can’t not believe and yet not know. They are different. A dictionary is your friend, or agnostic writers like Richard Dawkins.