Definitions
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Definitions
Secular
From the Latin saeculum, meaning one generation or century. Used in medieval times to denote things which were worldly, vs. those which were religious or outside of time.
Common usage is of those beliefs which are not religious or spiritual.
Secular government follows civil laws. Secular authority derives from legal or military basis.
From the Latin saeculum, meaning one generation or century. Used in medieval times to denote things which were worldly, vs. those which were religious or outside of time.
Common usage is of those beliefs which are not religious or spiritual.
Secular government follows civil laws. Secular authority derives from legal or military basis.
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Bertrand Russell on 'What is an agnostic?':
http://www.control-z.com/pages/agnosticism.html
http://www.control-z.com/pages/agnosticism.html
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Agnosticism:
Clarence Darrow on 'Why I am an agnostic':
http://www.infidels.org/library/hist..._agnostic.html
Clarence Darrow on 'Why I am an agnostic':
http://www.infidels.org/library/hist..._agnostic.html
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Nihilist;
someone who rejects all theories of morality or religious belief
anarchist: an advocate of anarchism
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
The Nihilist movement was an 1860s Russian cultural movement marked by the questioning of the validity of all forms of preconceived ideas and social norms. The Nihilists championed the independence of the individual and shocked the Russian establishment. Those ideas had a political impact, as they opposed servitude and demanded democratic reforms. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilist
Shalom!
someone who rejects all theories of morality or religious belief
anarchist: an advocate of anarchism
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
The Nihilist movement was an 1860s Russian cultural movement marked by the questioning of the validity of all forms of preconceived ideas and social norms. The Nihilists championed the independence of the individual and shocked the Russian establishment. Those ideas had a political impact, as they opposed servitude and demanded democratic reforms. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilist
Shalom!
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Humanism in the Renaissance:
"The great intellectual movement of Renaissance Italy was humanism. The humanists believed that the Greek and Latin classics contained both all the lessons one needed to lead a moral and effective life and the best models for a powerful Latin style. They developed a new, rigorous kind of classical scholarship, with which they corrected and tried to understand the works of the Greeks and Romans, which seemed so vital to them. Both the republican elites of Florence and Venice and the ruling families of Milan, Ferrara, and Urbino hired humanists to teach their children classical morality and to write elegant, classical letters, histories, and propaganda.
In the course of the fifteenth century, the humanists also convinced most of the popes that the papacy needed their skills. Sophisticated classical scholars were hired to write official correspondence and propaganda; to create an image of the popes as powerful, enlightened, modern rulers of the Church; and to apply their scholarly tools to the church's needs, including writing a more classical form of the Mass.
The relation between popes and scholars was never simple, for the humanists evolved their own views on theology. Some argued that pagan philosophers like Plato basically agreed with Christian revelation. Others criticized important Church doctrines or institutions that lacked biblical or historical support. Some even seemed in danger of becoming pagans. The real confrontation came in the later sixteenth century, as the church faced the radical challenge of Protestantism."
http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/vatican..../Humanism.html
"The great intellectual movement of Renaissance Italy was humanism. The humanists believed that the Greek and Latin classics contained both all the lessons one needed to lead a moral and effective life and the best models for a powerful Latin style. They developed a new, rigorous kind of classical scholarship, with which they corrected and tried to understand the works of the Greeks and Romans, which seemed so vital to them. Both the republican elites of Florence and Venice and the ruling families of Milan, Ferrara, and Urbino hired humanists to teach their children classical morality and to write elegant, classical letters, histories, and propaganda.
In the course of the fifteenth century, the humanists also convinced most of the popes that the papacy needed their skills. Sophisticated classical scholars were hired to write official correspondence and propaganda; to create an image of the popes as powerful, enlightened, modern rulers of the Church; and to apply their scholarly tools to the church's needs, including writing a more classical form of the Mass.
The relation between popes and scholars was never simple, for the humanists evolved their own views on theology. Some argued that pagan philosophers like Plato basically agreed with Christian revelation. Others criticized important Church doctrines or institutions that lacked biblical or historical support. Some even seemed in danger of becoming pagans. The real confrontation came in the later sixteenth century, as the church faced the radical challenge of Protestantism."
http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/vatican..../Humanism.html
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Humanism today:
Types of Humanism:
In the religious arena, many words have a number of different meanings. Some examples are: Christian, cults, Humanist, pagan, Satanist, Witch and Witchcraft. The terms Humanism and Humanist are essentially meaningless when used by themselves; their meaning only becomes clear when preceded by an adjective, as in:
Christian Humanism: a philosophy based on Christian beliefs about the nature of God, and which advocate people's fulfillment by personal effort.
Cultural Humanism: A concept that knowledge can be obtained through rational thought and experimentation. It has its roots in ancient Greece and Rome. It developed into the scientific method and is the major underpinning of all sciences today.
Literary Humanism: pursuit of the humanities (languages, literature, philosophy, history, etc.)
Modern Humanism: a generic term encompassing both Religious and Secular Humanism.
Philosophical Humanism is a philosophy centered upon the needs and interests of people.
Renaissance Humanism: A movement starting at the end of the Middle Ages which renewed an interest in classical studies and promoted the concept that truth could be discovered by human effort.
Religious Humanism is similar to secular humanism, except that it is practiced in a religious setting with fellowship and rituals, as in Ethical Culture Societies, congregations associated with the Society for Humanistic Judaism and some groups affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Secular Humanism is a non-religiously based philosophy promoting humanity as the measure of all things. It had its roots in the rationalism of the 18th Century and the free thought movement of the 19th Century.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/humanism1.htm
Types of Humanism:
In the religious arena, many words have a number of different meanings. Some examples are: Christian, cults, Humanist, pagan, Satanist, Witch and Witchcraft. The terms Humanism and Humanist are essentially meaningless when used by themselves; their meaning only becomes clear when preceded by an adjective, as in:
Christian Humanism: a philosophy based on Christian beliefs about the nature of God, and which advocate people's fulfillment by personal effort.
Cultural Humanism: A concept that knowledge can be obtained through rational thought and experimentation. It has its roots in ancient Greece and Rome. It developed into the scientific method and is the major underpinning of all sciences today.
Literary Humanism: pursuit of the humanities (languages, literature, philosophy, history, etc.)
Modern Humanism: a generic term encompassing both Religious and Secular Humanism.
Philosophical Humanism is a philosophy centered upon the needs and interests of people.
Renaissance Humanism: A movement starting at the end of the Middle Ages which renewed an interest in classical studies and promoted the concept that truth could be discovered by human effort.
Religious Humanism is similar to secular humanism, except that it is practiced in a religious setting with fellowship and rituals, as in Ethical Culture Societies, congregations associated with the Society for Humanistic Judaism and some groups affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Secular Humanism is a non-religiously based philosophy promoting humanity as the measure of all things. It had its roots in the rationalism of the 18th Century and the free thought movement of the 19th Century.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/humanism1.htm
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Naturalism
Naturalism, in essence, is simply the idea that human beings are completely included in the natural world: there’s nothing supernatural about us. Naturalism is based on science .... a human being comes from and is completely connected to the natural world, and is understandable in terms of those connections.
....
[N]aturalism is premised on taking science as our way of knowing about the world, not tradition, intuition, sacred texts or pronouncements. By illuminating the causal connections between phenomena, science inevitably unifies what it discovers into a single, natural, multifaceted whole. If we take science seriously with regard to ourselves and our behavior, we are led to the conclusion that human beings are fully included in the natural world, and that we are completely physical creatures. More and more, biology and neuroscience show that the brain and body do everything that the soul was supposed to do. Even consciousness and our higher level capacities for rationality and choice are fully embodied, causal processes.
Some might conclude from this that naturalism reduces human beings to mere mechanisms, mere automatons, but this doesn’t follow. What follows is that the physical universe has produced, in us, marvelously complex and adaptive organisms, with the capacity for self-reflection, wonder, suffering, and joy.
....
By acknowledging our origins in evolution, the naturalist perspective also enhances our feeling of kinship with the other species with which we share this planet, and our desire to sustain and nurture the planet itself. All sentient beings, including humanity, owe their existence to conditions that extend far beyond us in space and time. Seeing this, we find ourselves completely at home in the universe, full-fledged participants in the unfolding natural order.
http://www.naturalism.org/descriptions.htm#introduction
Naturalism, in essence, is simply the idea that human beings are completely included in the natural world: there’s nothing supernatural about us. Naturalism is based on science .... a human being comes from and is completely connected to the natural world, and is understandable in terms of those connections.
....
[N]aturalism is premised on taking science as our way of knowing about the world, not tradition, intuition, sacred texts or pronouncements. By illuminating the causal connections between phenomena, science inevitably unifies what it discovers into a single, natural, multifaceted whole. If we take science seriously with regard to ourselves and our behavior, we are led to the conclusion that human beings are fully included in the natural world, and that we are completely physical creatures. More and more, biology and neuroscience show that the brain and body do everything that the soul was supposed to do. Even consciousness and our higher level capacities for rationality and choice are fully embodied, causal processes.
Some might conclude from this that naturalism reduces human beings to mere mechanisms, mere automatons, but this doesn’t follow. What follows is that the physical universe has produced, in us, marvelously complex and adaptive organisms, with the capacity for self-reflection, wonder, suffering, and joy.
....
By acknowledging our origins in evolution, the naturalist perspective also enhances our feeling of kinship with the other species with which we share this planet, and our desire to sustain and nurture the planet itself. All sentient beings, including humanity, owe their existence to conditions that extend far beyond us in space and time. Seeing this, we find ourselves completely at home in the universe, full-fledged participants in the unfolding natural order.
http://www.naturalism.org/descriptions.htm#introduction
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Meeeeep!!! I read those definitions (agnostic and aitheist) and just couldn't relate to them at all. I don't believe in a god but other than that I don't feel any need to further define myself in those terms. The lack of religion gives me chance to define myself (if I wanted to) in my own individual way, I woudn't give that up even for a bacon butty!!
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Deism
Deism is defined in Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1941, as: "[From Latin Deus, God.Deity] The doctrine or creed of a Deist." And Deist is defined in the same dictionary as: "One who believes in the existence of a God or supreme being but denies revealed religion, basing his belief on the light of nature and reason."
(from: http://www.deism.com/deism_defined.htm)
Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Paine, Voltaire, and Einstein are usually described as deists.
Deism is defined in Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1941, as: "[From Latin Deus, God.Deity] The doctrine or creed of a Deist." And Deist is defined in the same dictionary as: "One who believes in the existence of a God or supreme being but denies revealed religion, basing his belief on the light of nature and reason."
(from: http://www.deism.com/deism_defined.htm)
Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Paine, Voltaire, and Einstein are usually described as deists.
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Originally Posted by equus
Meeeeep!!! I read those definitions (agnostic and aitheist) and just couldn't relate to them at all. I don't believe in a god but other than that I don't feel any need to further define myself in those terms. The lack of religion gives me chance to define myself (if I wanted to) in my own individual way, I woudn't give that up even for a bacon butty!!
“Definition of Agnostic:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/agnostic.htm
Agnosticism is a concept, not a religion. It is a belief related to the existence or non-existence of God.
An agnostic is a person who feels that God's existence can neither be proved nor disproved, on the basis of current evidence. Agnostics note that some theologians and philosophers have tried to to prove, for millennia, that God exists. Others have attempted to prove that God does not exist. Agnostics feel that neither side has convincingly succeeded at their task.
Are they Theists? No, because Agnostics do not believe in a God, or a Goddess, or in multiple Gods, or multiple Goddesses or in a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses.
However, some Agnostics consider themselves to be Atheists. That is because the term "Atheist" has two slightly different meanings:
1. A person who positively believes that no God(s) or Goddess(es) exists. … This is the definition of Atheism used by most Christians, other Theists, and dictionaries of the English language.
2. A person who has no belief in a God or Goddess. Just as a newborn has no concept of a deity, some adults also have no such belief. The term "Atheist" is derived from the Greek words "a" which means "without" and "Theos" which means "God." A person can be a non-Theist by simply lacking a belief in God without actively denying God's existence. This is the definition of Atheism used by many Atheists. They use the term "strong Atheist" to refer to a person who denies the existence of one or more deities.
Some Agnostics feel that their beliefs match the second definition, and thus consider themselves to be both Atheist and an Agnostic. ….
An agnostic usually holds the question of the existence of God open, pending the arrival of more evidence. They are willing to change their belief if some solid evidence or logical proof is found in the future. However, some have taken the position that there is no logical way in which the existence or the non-existence of a deity can be proven.”
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One of the very last arguments (ok it turned into a fight) I had with my ex husband was about just this:
LOL turns out I was wrong and he was right!
J
2. A person who has no belief in a God or Goddess. Just as a newborn has no concept of a deity, some adults also have no such belief. The term "Atheist" is derived from the Greek words "a" which means "without" and "Theos" which means "God." A person can be a non-Theist by simply lacking a belief in God without actively denying God's existence. This is the definition of Atheism used by many Atheists. They use the term "strong Atheist" to refer to a person who denies the existence of one or more deities.
J
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Existentialist.
One who believes...oh, heck, I don't understand it, and it doesn't matter anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism
One who believes...oh, heck, I don't understand it, and it doesn't matter anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism
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To simplify a bit.....
Existentialism:
A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/existentialist
Existentialism:
A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/existentialist
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Originally Posted by Don S
Existentialist.
One who believes...oh, heck, I don't understand it, and it doesn't matter anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism
One who believes...oh, heck, I don't understand it, and it doesn't matter anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism
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Secular defined:
of or relating to the worldly or temporal;
not overtly or specifically religious
not bound by monastic vows or rules
of or pertaining to thing profane in juxtraposition to things sacred
Since there has been no official definition given, I am posting this for the membership. A "common usage" is not the same thing as a definition.
Shalom!
of or relating to the worldly or temporal;
not overtly or specifically religious
not bound by monastic vows or rules
of or pertaining to thing profane in juxtraposition to things sacred
Since there has been no official definition given, I am posting this for the membership. A "common usage" is not the same thing as a definition.
Shalom!
Last edited by historyteach; 08-22-2006 at 05:22 PM.
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Common usage is of those beliefs which are not religious or spiritual.
adj.
1. Worldly rather than spiritual.
2. Not specifically relating to religion or to a religious body: secular music.
secular
adj
Definition: not spiritual; material
Antonyms: godly, holy, religious, spiritual
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Secularist
One who rejects every form of religious faith and worship, and undertakes to live accordingly; also, one who believes that education and other civil matters should be without religious element.
One who rejects every form of religious faith and worship, and undertakes to live accordingly; also, one who believes that education and other civil matters should be without religious element.
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