Posted by alexandra_k on January 11, 2005, at 19:02:28
In reply to Hanging out the wash » NikkiT2, posted by rayww on January 9, 2005, at 17:14:02
According to "The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy"
>Agnosticism is a form of scepticism applied to metaphysics, especially theism [theism is the view that god exists]. The position is sometimes attributed to Kant, who held that we cannot have knowledge of God or immortality but must be content with faith. Agnosticism should not be confused with Atheism, the belief that no God exists.
So I guess that the term is fitting in the sense that you are unsure whether god exists or not. But maybe the view goes further than you would want to comitt yourself to by maintaining that we 'cannot have knowledge' and that all that is left is faith.
> I don't know what the definition is, but the first word that came to mind as I read your post was "narcistic".
Hmm. Maybe 'nihilistic' is more fitting? Nihilists believe in 'nothing' or the negation of certain things (eg that there are no objective morals or god or whatever).
Maybe without god all that is left is oneself. Maybe nihilism about god leads to narcissism. But if all one is nihilistic about is god then it seems that we still have the universe and within the universe the rest of the natural world.
One doesn't have to be a narcissist because one is a nihilist about god.
One doesn't have to be religious to have an understanding of faith.
Unless, of course you believe faith in god is different in kind from faith in other things.
I don't think it is but I understand that others here feel differently.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:439694
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20050111/msgs/440803.html