| | '''Agnosticism''' is the belief that [[God]]'s existence or lack of existence can be neither proved nor disproved. Agnostics differ from [[Atheism|atheists]] in that they do not necessarily deny God's existence. | | '''Agnosticism''' is the belief that [[God]]'s existence or lack of existence can be neither proved nor disproved. Agnostics differ from [[Atheism|atheists]] in that they do not necessarily deny God's existence. |
| − | The word "agnostic" was coined by [[T. H. Huxley]], from the Greek roots ''a-'' not, and ''-gnostic,'' knowing; the philosopher [[Herbert Spencer]] was influential in spreading its use. One nineteenth-century saw held that "There is no god but the Unknowable, and Herbert Spencer is his prophet."<ref>London, Jack (1913), ''Martin Eden,'' [http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/MartinEden/chapter13.html Chapter 13]</ref> | + | The word "agnostic" was coined by [[T. H. Huxley]]<ref>T. H. Huxley was also an early and influential supporter of Darwinism</ref> from the Greek roots ''a-'' not, and ''-gnostic,'' knowing; the philosopher [[Herbert Spencer]] was influential in spreading its use. One nineteenth-century saw held that "There is no god but the Unknowable, and Herbert Spencer is his prophet."<ref>London, Jack (1913), ''Martin Eden,'' [http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/MartinEden/chapter13.html Chapter 13]</ref> |