There's a problem I've been noticing among atheists. To explain what I mean, I'm going to break down what I'll call the "spectrum of knowledge." Contrary to popular belief, there aren't only religious, agnostic, or atheist people. There's a spectrum between theism and atheism (gods or no gods) and gnosticism and agnosticism (knowledge or lack of knowledge). It goes like this:

Gnostic theist: someone who believes in a God or gods and knows that this is true.

Agnostic theist: someone who believes in a God or gods but acknowledges that they can't know for sure.

Agnostic atheist: someone who doesn't believe a God or gods exist but acknowledges that they can't know for sure.

Gnostic atheist: someone who doesn't believe a God or gods exist and knows that this is true.

Right now, I classify myself as an agnostic atheist. To clarify, I don't believe any of the world's religions are true. You actually don't have to be atheist to not believe in any of the world's religions, as there are many people who believe in the existence of a higher being but don't think anyone on Earth has it figured out yet. I don't believe there are higher beings, but I also acknowledge that we don't really know the meaning of life or how the universe came into existence. I am without knowledge, although I believe it improbable that a higher being is a satisfying explanation.

There's an annoying trend where gnostic atheists believe that everything is figured out. The universe was created by the Big Bang, life evolved by chance, there's no meaning in life, that's the end of it. The problem is that it cuts off so much of the wonder and mystery of the world, something that atheism and agnosticism should champion. Atheist culture is drifting towards nihilism, and that's warping what it should be about.

The whole point is that we don't know what's out there. The universe is too complex for dogma and superstition, and we need to dig deeper and ask more questions and be humbled by the fact that we really have no idea what's going on. We still don't know why or how the universe was created, and "Why?" is my favorite question.

It confuses a lot of gnostic theists, because they think that because I reject religion that I must have a scientific answer. That's not what agnostic atheism is. I admit that we don't have answers for everything. Science isn't a religion; it doesn't have all the answers and asks a good deal more questions than anything else. Science isn't a belief system; it's a way of understanding the world. Science seeks to explain things, but if we knew everything there would be no point in science. So I am perfectly comfortable saying that I have no idea why the universe happened without going to religion. People don't like not knowing something; they like having the answers, but unfortunately we never will have all the answers.

That's the reason I reject religion and argument from design. Gnostic theism insists argument from design is the only answer, but we really can't even begin to know what is possible or if everything necessarily has a creator or not. We start from this position of not knowing, and religion hasn't offered sufficient evidence or proof of it being an answer. Here is exactly where gnostic atheists slip up.

Instead of realizing that we are back to not knowing all the answers, gnostic atheists abandon this wonder and mystery of "why" in favor of a rather arrogant view that we have everything solved, that there's no meaning, and that anyone who thinks differently is stupid. And, unbeknownst to them, it's the same problem that gnostic religion has. Gnostic religion insists that we know what happens and everything is decided by a higher being, so it's okay to not ask because we couldn't comprehend it anyway. Gnostic atheism insists we know what happens and everything is decided by chance, so it's okay to not ask because there's no reason for it anyway.

Moral nihilists often fall into this thinking, and moral nihilists annoy me to no end. A nihilist is someone who believes the universe is devoid of meaning, and a moral nihilist believes that there is no morality, nothing is right or wrong, nothing matters, etc. It's an attitude that stems from the idea that we know everything and that the answer is there isn't anything.

That isn't what atheism and agnosticism are. It's supposed to be wondering and loving the universe. It's supposed to champion science and question claims that are without evidence. But gnostic atheism misrepresents science, and I think this contributes to religious people's warped view of science, in that they often view it as a sort of religion despite it being nothing of the sort.

Science acknowledges that we don't know. Science tests and examines things. Something doesn't become a theory until it can be proven. If it is challenged, it can no longer be a theory, because science questions everything. Scientists don't keep to a false idea for "careers" or "beliefs" because the very idea of science is explaining the truth; not clinging to preconceived notions. Science is wonder and mystery and beauty and "Why?" It's not "We know everything that happened" or "Everything is pointless."

And that is why I reject nihilism. Nihilism is boring and arrogant. The universe is WAY too crazy and beautiful for any kind of gnosticism. It's weird and it's wild and we're only one tiny piece of it, here on this little planet in the middle of infinite space.

It makes my heart sink to see gnostic atheists being smug.  Gnostic atheism isn't as harmful as gnostic theism when it's turned toxic because it doesn't demand strict doctrines and it doesn't hold organized power, but arrogant gnostic atheists and nihilists drive people away from a viewpoint that's actually very beautiful and appreciative of life.

In my mind, the gnostic vs. agnostic question is perhaps more important than the theist vs. atheist question. Simply saying the words, "I don't know for sure," is huge. We don't really know. I don't believe gods are out there, but I don't know for sure. Others may believe gods are out there, but they don't know for sure. The most honest and truthful thing we can say is that we don't know for sure, and that's a huge step forward.

Human nature gets people to think that one group represents the whole, so when an arrogant nihilist spews out that life has no meaning, people think all atheists are like that. In reality, atheism can be a beautiful worldview. Atheism can be an appreciation of life and beauty, chance and time, a view that our existence is precious and limited so we need to make it the best it can be. It is the idea that you should never stop asking "Why?" It's something we shouldn't lose to toxicity and arrogance directed at those who are religious.