Re: God's Numbers

In article <1178520901.529203.282930@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
JTEM <jtem01@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Therion Ware <autodel...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

But presumably an agnostic is an atheist?

Depends on who you ask.

*
Ask me.

Atheism is about gods. Atheism means no belief in any Gods.
Agnosticism is about knowledge. No knowledge about any Gods.

Can you see the difference? (Check the roots of the words for more
info.)

Some agnostics say there is no way to know whether any gods lived or
not. Some agnostics say that it is impossible to know whether there
are any gods or not.

Agnostic I says, "At this point in time, I do not know whether any
gods lived or not."

Agnostic II says, "It is impossible to know whether any gods lived
or not."

As an engineer and scientific researcher, I find a big difference
between the two. I find it difficult to believe that "It is
impossible to know whether any gods exist."

It may be true now, but who knows what systems will come into being
that will cast a light onto the question in the future.

earle
*
Einstein believed that it depended on one's point of view:

"From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course,
and have always been an atheist...I have repeatedly
said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is
a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do
not share the crusading spirit of the professional
atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of
liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination
received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility
corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual
understanding of nature and of our being."

"I have never imputed to Nature a purpose or a goal, or
anything that could be understood as anthropomorphic.
What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that
we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must
fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility.
This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing
to do with mysticism."

--Albert Einstein, quoted in "The Human Side" p. 39
1954 or 1955 Dukas and Hoffman

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dawkins and natural selection contradicts himself
    ... look like an idiot when you continue to ask the same idiotic questions ... Nature isn't subject to the rules of debate, ... Atheism: godless, not believing in the existence of gods. ... one who denies or disbelieves in the existence of gods. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Physics and metaphysics
    ... "Atheism is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of ... Atheist agnostics go beyond absence of belief in the existence of gods to ...
    (sci.physics)
  • Re: making fun of atheists
    ... referring. ... agnostics say it's impossible to know if ... Some atheists go beyond a mere absence of belief in gods: ... I range between weak atheism and moderate atheism, ...
    (misc.writing)
  • Re: Physics and metaphysics
    ... You need to force yourself to re-examine your lame premise that atheism is an ... Atheist agnostics go beyond absence of belief in the existence of gods to ... "That which Agnostics deny and repudiate, as immoral, is the contrary doctrine, ...
    (sci.physics)
  • Re: Umm, legal threats for criticism of a church.
    ... Mike Jones wrote: ... terms, atheism is a binary state thing, you either are or are not an ... atheist, and considering that there is a deity, which agnostics do, ... show conclusively that there are no gods. ...
    (uk.philosophy.atheism)
Loading