(November 6, 2013 at 10:45 pm)Vincenzo "Vinny" G. Wrote:Your right, hence push any of us and most of us will agree you cannot know there is no god. I why don;t you apply this sort of criticism and thought to theists, that do calim to know.(November 6, 2013 at 10:32 pm)Esquilax Wrote: Not according to the real world, Vin. Look at the root word for agnosticism: it means knowledge, not belief. Take a long hard look at what it means in terms of religion, too.
Is this seriously your strategy, here? Just take an end run around actually demonstrating anything by forcibly attempting to change the definitions of words?
The etymological origins of the word agnostic don't inform it's role as a belief vs knowledge. It defines what agnostic means.
A + Gnosis is a negation of knowledge, namely the claim that "It is impossible to know whether God exists or does not exist."
Applying the label agnostic to oneself, it makes no difference whether you "believe" or "know" that "it is impossible to know whether God does or does not exist". But ultimately, these labels serve as ideological labels, so instead of postulating contradictory knowledge (Ie, one group knows God exists, another group knows God doesn't exist- contradiction alert), we just state it in terms of beliefs.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
