What Has a Coin Toss Got to Do With Agnosticism?

Ajith Balakrishnan Nair
On God
Published in
3 min readOct 10, 2023

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Photo by Andy Henderson on Unsplash

Let’s say you toss an unbiased coin a billion times, and it turns up heads every single time. Quite improbable but definitely possible.

If the coin was to be tossed again, would you bet on heads or tails?

The key here is the coin is unbiased. The law of probability says the chances of the coin turning up heads or tails the next time are still 50–50.

Now what does that have to do with agnosticism?

I am 39 and have never experienced God. In a way that I can prove to anyone with 100% surety that God exists. I have never met anyone who can prove beyond doubt that God exists. And I have never met anyone who can prove beyond doubt that God doesn’t exist.

So IMO, the chances that God exists are 50–50.

Now, I could think I have lived 39 years, and during all that time, I haven’t found solid proof that God does exist. So most probably God doesn’t. But I’d be wrong.

I could also think in all my years, I have never found solid proof that God doesn’t exist. So most probably God does exist. But I’d still be wrong.

That’s where the coin toss analogy comes in. The chances are 50–50. In every tiniest fraction of time in the future, there are three possibilities, out of which only one can happen.

  1. We may find proof that God exists.
  2. We may find proof that God doesn’t exist.
  3. We may find neither.

Taking Faith into the Equation

One of the definitions of faith as per Merriam-Webster is “firm belief in something for which there is no proof”

Atheists diss believers saying they are illogical and irrational. How can believers say God exists without 100% proof?

But I think atheists also have faith. They too believe God doesn’t exist without 100% proof.

Agnosticism Makes Sense to Me

Some say an agnostic is a weak atheist. I say attacking a person instead of their logic is not something a logical person would do.

By being an agnostic, you keep your mind open to both possibilities.

And let’s face it, we don’t really know yet.

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Ajith Balakrishnan Nair
On God
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