Re: USAGE: 2nd pers. pron. for God

Padraic wrote:
> >
> > >With the
> > >increasing marginalisation of religion in the First
> > >World a word
> > >defining the school of thought that mythopoeic
> > >being(s) exist,
> > >particularly as a focus of worldview, could be
> > >useful.
> >
> > What about _theist_?  Is that somehow unconvenient?
>
>In general, I'd agree (mostly cos I'm not aware of a
>better alternative); but "theism" is fairly specific.
>It's fine, so long as your mythic beings are Gods.
>Shift over into angels or jinns or any other sort of
>nondeific power, and all of a sudden you're not really
>"theistic" any more.
I've always taken atheism to be the opposite of theism; ie the non-belief in
God/Gods. Thus, you could believe in jinns or other supernatural beings of
non-divine power and still be an atheist. (FWIW, my "Lexicon of Religion"
says that Buddhism, in its original form, is an atheistic religion)

I don't think I have word for somebody who don't believe insupernatural
beings or forces, as opposed on the one hand to atheists who merely
disbelieve in Gods and on the other materialsts in the sense of people who
deny the existence of anything non-material.

                                                    Andreas

_________________________________________________________________
Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
http://www.hotmail.com