• zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    7 days ago

    Oh, I see. “Gnostic” has more than one meaning. It can mean “A believer in Gnosticism”, but it can also mean “Of, relating to, or possessing intellectual or spiritual knowledge.” I’m using the American Heritage Dictionary, but you can find similar definitions in other dictionaries.

    In this case, I’m sure that most people can figure out that a gnostic atheist isn’t an atheist who believes in Gnosticism.

    • jdr@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      7 days ago

      Totally right. Worse again though, there is a lesser known term “gnostic atheist”, but it doesn’t quite mean “a spiritual believer in the absence of a god”, nor any other straightforward guess.