Agnosticism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Robert G. Ingersoll==== [[File:RobertGIngersoll.jpg|thumb|[[Robert G. Ingersoll]]]] [[Robert G. Ingersoll]] (1833–1899), an [[Illinois]] lawyer and politician who evolved into a well-known and sought-after orator in 19th-century America, has been referred to as the "Great Agnostic".<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Brandt | first1 = Eric T. |first2=Timothy |last2=Larsen | title = The Old Atheism Revisited: Robert G. Ingersoll and the Bible | journal = Journal of the Historical Society | volume = 11 | issue = 2 | year = 2011 | pages = 211–238 | doi=10.1111/j.1540-5923.2011.00330.x}}</ref> In an 1896 lecture titled ''Why I Am An Agnostic'', Ingersoll related why he was an agnostic:<ref name="infidels1">{{cite web|url=http://infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/why_i_am_agnostic.html |date=1896 |first1=Robert Green |last1=Ingersoll |title=Why I Am Agnostic|publisher=Internet Infidels |access-date=February 2, 2014}}</ref> {{blockquote|Is there a supernatural power—an arbitrary mind—an enthroned God—a supreme will that sways the tides and currents of the world—to which all causes bow? I do not deny. I do not know—but I do not believe. I believe that the natural is supreme—that from the infinite chain no link can be lost or broken—that there is no supernatural power that can answer prayer—no power that worship can persuade or change—no power that cares for man. I believe that with infinite arms Nature embraces the all—that there is no interference—no chance—that behind every event are the necessary and countless causes, and that beyond every event will be and must be the necessary and countless effects. Is there a God? I do not know. Is man immortal? I do not know. One thing I do know, and that is, that neither hope, nor fear, belief, nor denial, can change the fact. It is as it is, and it will be as it must be.}} In the conclusion of the speech he simply sums up the agnostic position as:<ref name="infidels1"/> {{blockquote|We can be as honest as we are ignorant. If we are, when asked what is beyond the horizon of the known, we must say that we do not know.}} In 1885, Ingersoll explained his comparative view of agnosticism and atheism as follows:<ref>{{cite book |last=Jacoby |first=Susan |date=2013 |title=The Great Agnostic |publisher=Yale University Press |page =17 | isbn=978-0-300-13725-5 }}</ref> {{blockquote|The Agnostic is an Atheist. The Atheist is an Agnostic. The Agnostic says, 'I do not know, but I do not believe there is any God.' The Atheist says the same.}}{{See also|Physical determinism}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page