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<P>Emlyn said:</P>

<P>> >An Agnostic is someone who says that the only way to know god is via <BR> gnosis (internal insight?), and since that's bunk, there is no way to <BR> know god. The existence of god is unknowable, and thus has no <BR> relevance to anything. >></P>

<P>Emylyn you a confiusing an "Agnostic" with an "Gnostic".</P>

<P>They sound alike but that where the similarity ends.</P>

<P>From the Free Dictionary <A href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/agnostic">http://www.thefreedictionary.com/agnostic</A></P>

<P><STRONG><SPAN class=hw>ag·nos·tic</SPAN>

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<DIV class=pseg><I>n.</I> 

<DIV class=ds-list><B>1. </B>

<DIV class=sds-list><B>a. </B>One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.</DIV>

<DIV class=sds-list><B>b. </B>One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.</DIV></DIV>

<DIV class=ds-list><B>2. </B>One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something.</DIV></DIV>

<DIV class=pseg><I>adj.</I></DIV>

<P>As opposed to </P>

<P><SPAN class=infl-inline><B>Gnostic</B> (<I>plural</I> <B><A title=Gnostics href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Gnostics">Gnostics</A></B>)</SPAN></P>

<OL>

<LI>A <A title=believer href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/believer">believer</A> in <A title=Gnosticism href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Gnosticism">Gnosticism</A> </LI></OL>

<P><A href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gnosticism">http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gnosticism</A></P>

<P><A class=extiw title=w:Gnosticism href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism"><STRONG>Gnosticism</STRONG></A> (from <A class=extiw title=w:Greek_(language) href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_%28language%29">Greek</A> <I>gnosis</I>, knowledge) is a term created by modern scholars to describe a diverse, syncretistic religious movement, especially in the first centuries <A class=extiw title=w:common_era href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/common_era">C.E.</A> Gnostics believed in <A class=extiw title=w:gnosis href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gnosis">gnosis</A>, the knowledge of <A title=God href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/God">God</A> enabled by secret teachings. Some Gnostics considered themselves <A title=Christian href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christian">Christian</A>, identifying <A title=Jesus href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesus">Jesus</A> as the divine spirit <A class=extiw title=w:incarnation href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/incarnation">incarnated</

A> to bring gnosis to humanity. However, Gnostic <A class=new title=Dualism href="http://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Dualism&action=edit">dualism</A> placed it in stark contrast to Orthodox Christian non-dualistic teaching, and Gnostics were labelled heretics. Other Gnostics were not even nominally Christian, and several Gnostic texts appear to have no Christian element at all. Still others were certainly devout mystic ascetics who worshipped Jesus and lived in their own unique ways according to His teachings. <A class=new title="Simon Magus" href="http://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Simon_Magus&action=edit">Simon Magus</A> is believed by some Christians as being the founder of Gnosticism.</P></BLOCKQUOTE></body></html>