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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Not a Gnostic #165989 02/14/2007 2:42 PM Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 Hydra addict Hydra addict Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 Quote: agnostic noun. a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God. ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from a- 1 [not] + gnostic I am agnostic. But how did this word come about? Etymology-wise, it means I am not a believer in a prominent heretical movement of the 2nd-century. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Not a Gnostic #165990 02/14/2007 2:55 PM Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont from Mr. Huxley: "I ... invented what I conceived to be the appropriate title of 'agnostic,' ... antithetic to the 'Gnostic' of Church history who professed to know so much about the very things of which I was ignorant." [T.H. Huxley, "Science and Christian Tradition," 1889] from no huckster he. formerly known as etaoin... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Not a Gnostic #165991 02/14/2007 2:56 PM Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,526 Virginia, USA TheFallibleFiend veteran TheFallibleFiend veteran Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,526 Virginia, USA Here's some info: http://tinyurl.com/36slqk Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Not a Gnostic #165992 02/17/2007 1:37 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,819 Spam Factory Alex Williams Pooh-Bah Alex Williams Pooh-Bah Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,819 Spam Factory I can't access the above link so pardon if this is redundant. I had always understood the etymology of agnostic to be along the lines of: a- = without as in amoral or atypical, and gnosis = knowledge, as in prognosis (literally, foreknowledge). Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Not a Gnostic #165993 02/17/2007 10:31 PM Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont here it is minus the tinyurl: The Origin of the Word Agnostic formerly known as etaoin... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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