--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From my early 20s on, I would waver…" description: "\"From my early 20s on, I would waver between atheism and agnosticism, never coming close to considering that God could be real.\" — Kirsten Powers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/314/kirsten-powers-9672_agnosticism_from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-betwe_1527394.png" --- # From my early 20s on, I would waver between atheism and… ![“From my early 20s on, I would waver between atheism and agnosticism, never coming close to considering that God could be real.” quote by Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/314/kirsten-powers-9672_agnosticism_from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-betwe_1527394.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/314/kirsten-powers-9672_agnosticism_from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-betwe_1527394.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/314/kirsten-powers-9672_agnosticism_from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-betwe_1527394.png) > “From my early 20s on, I would waver between atheism and agnosticism, never coming close to considering that God could be real.” [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker oscillates between atheism and agnosticism, never fully embracing belief in a deity. **In simple terms:** Uncertain about belief, stuck between non‑belief and doubt. Key Takeaway Explore personal doubts and seek evidence or meaning. Themes faith doubt existential personal belief Mood curious thoughtful Type existential personal When to use this quote - college years - career decisions - ethical dilemmas - life purpose Key Concepts atheism agnosticism spiritual searching Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would shift your view? - Can meaning exist without belief? A Different Perspective Agnosticism may limit commitment to moral frameworks without belief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) [Agnosticism Coming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism-coming-5659403/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheism Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism-agnosticism-1208293/) [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Waver Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waver-atheism-5659404/) ## 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/) > [“Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or agnosticism that takes paradox and unknowing into account.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/maybe-we-need-a-new-category-other-than-theism-atheism-or-agnosticism/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [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 Kirsten Powers > [Illiberal feminists turn simple ideological disagreements, whether about the federal budget or the Second Amendment or anything else, into excuses to engage in character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/illiberal-feminists-turn-simple-ideological-disagreements-whether/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [Within the paradigm of Democratic politics, even though people probably think I'm a centrist, I'm more a liberal, except for abortion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/within-the-paradigm-of-democratic-politics-even-though-people/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [Trump loves free speech only when he or his supporters are speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/trump-loves-free-speech-only-when-he-or-his-supporters-are-speaking/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [Protesters can't violate First Amendment rights. Only the government can do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/protesters-can-t-violate-first-amendment-rights-only-the-government/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [Women are often forced to maintain good relations with men who abuse them precisely because those men have power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/women-are-often-forced-to-maintain-good-relations-with-men-who-abuse/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [If I had a dollar for every time somebody said, 'I don't understand: how can you be a Democrat and be a Christian?' I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-somebody-said-i-don-t-understand-how/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [It's true that Americans are less than thrilled with President Obama and congressional Democrats. Their approval ratings are nothing to celebrate. But electoral politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/it-s-true-that-americans-are-less-than-thrilled-with-president-obama/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [Women likely are rejecting Trump because they know the presidential race isn't just about taxes or ISIL or immigration. It's about their place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/women-likely-are-rejecting-trump-because-they-know-the-presidential/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [Bernie is a problem Hillary can't figure out how to solve, perhaps because he's not the problem. She is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/bernie-is-a-problem-hillary-can-t-figure-out-how-to-solve-perhaps/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [Perhaps all of our anxiety is not caused by broken brains but by working nonstop, missing out on time with our friends and families…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/perhaps-all-of-our-anxiety-is-not-caused-by-broken-brains-but-by/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [I've been harassed or on the receiving end of sexist and inappropriate behavior almost every place I've ever worked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/i-ve-been-harassed-or-on-the-receiving-end-of-sexist-and/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [Trump may not like the fact that 20-plus anonymous sources provided the 'Times' with an unflattering portrait of his campaign, but that doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/trump-may-not-like-the-fact-that-20-plus-anonymous-sources-provided/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [Donald Trump has a curious understanding of what freedom of speech means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/donald-trump-has-a-curious-understanding-of-what-freedom-of-speech/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [I know I deal with it, I'm sure a lot of other people deal with it: you have that little funny dig you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/i-know-i-deal-with-it-i-m-sure-a-lot-of-other-people-deal-with-it-you/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) > [People are really nice at Fox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/people-are-really-nice-at-fox/) [Kirsten Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) [Explore all 71 Kirsten Powers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/) ## 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": "From my early 20s on, I would waver between atheism and agnosticism, never coming close to considering that God could be real.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kirsten Powers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-between-atheism-and-agnosticism/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agnosticism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-between-atheism-and-agnosticism/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/314/kirsten-powers-9672_agnosticism_from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-betwe_1527394.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/314/kirsten-powers-9672_agnosticism_from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-betwe_1527394.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/314/kirsten-powers-9672_agnosticism_from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-betwe_1527394.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From my early 20s on, I would waver between atheism and agnosticism, never coming close to considering that…” — Kirsten Powers", "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": "Kirsten Powers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-powers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "From my early 20s on, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-between-atheism-and-agnosticism/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-powers/from-my-early-20s-on-i-would-waver-between-atheism-and-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 } } ] } ```