An atheist has at least made up his mind. The agnostic takes great pride in the fact that he cannot make up his mind. The agnostic tries to pass himself off as impartial, but the word "agnostic" doesn't mean impartial; it means ignorant.
"You see, thinking is a narrowing process. It leads to what people call dogma. A man who thinks hard about any subject for several years is in a horrible danger of discovering the truth about it..."
-- Chesterton
But let's not let the atheist off the hook. Believing in God is more normal than not believing in God. "Atheism" says Chesterton, "is abnormality." It goes against what every normal person believes, namely, "that there is a meaning and the direction in the world."
Everybody is religious because everybody has an ultimate view of things. Most people have not taken the time or trouble to articulate it. And if they did they might be troubled by how incomplete a view of things they have, which is why they too often say, "it doesn't matter what you believe." Because they are hoping that what they believe doesn't matter, since they have given so little thought to it. Still, they believe something, even if they seriously believe that what they believe doesn't matter.
Man is a creature of Faith. Man is a religious animal. Man is an animal who makes dogmas.
Common Sense 101: Lessons from GK Chesterton, Dale Alquist
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