--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe we need a new category other than…" description: "\"“Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or agnosticism that takes paradox and unknowing into account.”\" — Frank Schaeffer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/frank-schaeffer-8107_agnosticism_maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than_1378553.png" --- # Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or… ![“Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or agnosticism that takes paradox and unknowing into account.” quote by Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/frank-schaeffer-8107_agnosticism_maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than_1378553.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/frank-schaeffer-8107_agnosticism_maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than_1378553.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/frank-schaeffer-8107_agnosticism_maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than_1378553.png) > ““Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or agnosticism that takes paradox and unknowing into account.”” [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existing belief categories ignore paradox and uncertainty; a new framework is needed. **In simple terms:** Current labels miss paradox. Key Takeaway Consider a paradox‑embracing worldview. Themes belief paradox uncertainty Mood curious analytical Type philosophical exploratory When to use this quote - theological debates - personal belief formation Key Concepts philosophy religion epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile paradox in belief? - What language captures uncertainty? A Different Perspective Creating new categories may oversimplify complex views. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) [Agnosticism Takes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism-takes-4769214/) [Atheism Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism-agnosticism-1208293/) [Category Theism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/category-theism-4769215/) [Paradox Unknowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox-unknowing-4769213/) ## Related quotes > [The Old Testament is responsible for more atheism, agnosticism, disbelief - call it what you will - than any book ever written; it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-old-testament-is-responsible-for-more-atheism-agnosticism-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [From my early 20s on, I would waver between atheism and agnosticism, never coming close to considering that God could be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-between-atheism-and-agnosticism/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [The churches used to win their arguments against atheism, agnosticism, and other burning issues by burning the ismist, which is fine proof that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lindsey/the-churches-used-to-win-their-arguments-against-atheism-agnosticism/) [Ben Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lindsey/) > [Atheism and agnosticism signify the rejection of certain images and concepts of God or of truth, which are historically conditioned and therefore inadequate. Atheism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/atheism-and-agnosticism-signify-the-rejection-of-certain-images-and/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [“...organized religion is no longer good news for most people, but bad news indeed. It set us up for the massive atheism, agnosticism, hedonism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/organized-religion-is-no-longer-good-news-for-most-people-but-bad/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The Old Testament is responsible for more atheism, agnosticism, disbelief - call it what you will - than any book ever written. It has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-milne/the-old-testament-is-responsible-for-more-atheism-agnosticism/) [A. A. Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-milne/) > [The world is continuous flux and is impermanent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-world-is-continuous-flux-and-is-impermanent/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/agnosticism-is-the-natural-attitude-of-the-evolutionist-how-can-a/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## More by Frank Schaeffer > [We don't just change our minds, we change the way we see things. That's one reason I'm a better grandfather than I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/we-don-t-just-change-our-minds-we-change-the-way-we-see-things-that-s/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“The last thing I crave is to be exposed to the sort of grandstanding preachers that so many evangelical churches seem to breed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/the-last-thing-i-crave-is-to-be-exposed-to-the-sort-of-grandstanding/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [The secular humanist, although he would never dream of committing the social faux pas of calling a black man a negro, feels perfectly free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/the-secular-humanist-although-he-would-never-dream-of-committing-the/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [Donald Trump is not a very bright or nice man. Bad combination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/donald-trump-is-not-a-very-bright-or-nice-man-bad-combination/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“I don’t view you as a market segment. I view you as my partner, an individual reader, a friend as complex and maybe even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/i-don-t-view-you-as-a-market-segment-i-view-you-as-my-partner-an/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“We are part of nature yet we have decided to be nicer than nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/we-are-part-of-nature-yet-we-have-decided-to-be-nicer-than-nature/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“Some people who helped lead that movement—including me—were very much like Hunka Munka and Tom Thumb. We lived lives informed by beliefs that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/some-people-who-helped-lead-that-movement-including-me-were-very-much/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [I think that unlike W Bush who was an actual evangelical and sincerely so (my family knew the Bush family), of course Trump will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/i-think-that-unlike-w-bush-who-was-an-actual-evangelical-and/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“who is actually delusional? Who is actually following Jesus: fundamentalist Christians rejecting gay men and lesbians’ right to marry, or atheist humanists treating men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/who-is-actually-delusional-who-is-actually-following-jesus/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“Labels don’t mean anything. Who cares about labels when someone is slapping you in the face? Who cares about labels when someone is saving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/labels-don-t-mean-anything-who-cares-about-labels-when-someone-is/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [We are not evolved but evolving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/we-are-not-evolved-but-evolving/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“Luckily for the people she helped, my mother was gloriously inconsistent. She lived according to the more enlightened parts of the Bible and ignored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/luckily-for-the-people-she-helped-my-mother-was-gloriously/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“education and money. I go to church with the kids for the same reason Genie and I play our grandchildren classical music and litter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/education-and-money-i-go-to-church-with-the-kids-for-the-same-reason/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“If we wait for correct ideas to save us—theological or otherwise—we’ll never be saved, even from ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/if-we-wait-for-correct-ideas-to-save-us-theological-or-otherwise-we/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [Of course as soon as I say something or write it that sounds like I believe it, and really I'm never entirely sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/of-course-as-soon-as-i-say-something-or-write-it-that-sounds-like-i/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) [Explore all 84 Frank Schaeffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) ## More Agnosticism quotes > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/agnosticism-is-the-natural-attitude-of-the-evolutionist-how-can-a/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The world is continuous flux and is impermanent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-world-is-continuous-flux-and-is-impermanent/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“I'm agnostic. By definition, I'm unsure of what to believe in, but I'm also borderline-capable of believing in anything and everything, or nothing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-lola/i-m-agnostic-by-definition-i-m-unsure-of-what-to-believe-in-but-i-m/) [Lauren Lola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-lola/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [I have only a small flickering light to guide me in the darkness of a thick forest. Up comes a theologian and blows it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/i-have-only-a-small-flickering-light-to-guide-me-in-the-darkness-of-a/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“...The Presidential election has given me less anxiety than I myself could have imagined. The next administration will be a troublesome one, to whomsoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-presidential-election-has-given-me-less-anxiety-than-i-myself/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [We are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-are-enabled-to-apprehend-at-all-what-is-sublime-and-noble-only-by/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“We should be agnostic about those things for which there is no evidence. We should not hold beliefs merely because they gratify our desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-should-be-agnostic-about-those-things-for-which-there-is-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 275 Agnosticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or agnosticism that takes paradox and unknowing into account.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Schaeffer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than-theism-atheism-or-agnosticism/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agnosticism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than-theism-atheism-or-agnosticism/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/frank-schaeffer-8107_agnosticism_maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than_1378553.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/frank-schaeffer-8107_agnosticism_maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than_1378553.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/frank-schaeffer-8107_agnosticism_maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than_1378553.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or agnosticism that takes paradox and unknowing into…” — Frank Schaeffer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frank Schaeffer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Maybe we need a new category...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than-theism-atheism-or-agnosticism/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than-theism-atheism-or-agnosticism/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```