FREETHOUGHT AND AGNOSTICISM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12445, 30 August 1902, Page 10

FREETHOUGHT AND AGNOSTICISM.

TO THE KDITOE. Sib, —Apropos of tlio controversy between " Agnostio " and " Civie," the fol- ■ i lowing quotatioji from the introduction to a j large , edition of_ the Bible of tho year 1813 i may not bo without iuterest:—"No man ! who is an unbiased Ircothinker'can soberly ; listen to the dictates of his natural reason , and seriously ponder the absurd and con- ! tradictory principles and practices which have been or are prevalent among mankind , without percciving that tho light, or even ; tho law of nature, is altogether insufficient to i direct us, etc. ' I From this it will appear that, the-Free-i thinker of a hundred years ago was, as tho word logically indicates, ono who was open to conviction, whereas.in tho present . day at is used by "Agnostic" and others to i denote one who in tho domain of religion j is not open to conviction, or, if he is, ! .would like to see the man tliat could con' i nnce him."

"Rith respeot to tiiS word "agnostic," the absurdity of its being used to denote ono yno does not accept Christian teaching ought to bo recognised, An agnostio is merely one who does not knowj and the Christian t-nurch not only does not profess a clear knowledge of thoso matters with which she is chiefly concerned: she holds that such knowledge is impowjblo to'man in his prc-i. sent state Her formulas contaiu the expression I bolieve," simply because B he f,Ti°L 3a f,i I I T°y j ' . She that the full knowledge of God is beyond the c'apetoiti&vol litis iimto life when oho accepts the statement of her Founder that such know. ledge is life eternal. In other words, she is confessedly agnostic. Between "I believe" and I don't know " there is obviously no contradiction. If "Agnostio" would coin a word that would properly connote his taunted condition of un-faith he would do a service to the cause of truth.—l am, etc., Of it- u „ Kd °AK Wakd! St. .Michael a \ioarage, Anderson's Bay, August 26. •"