Word choice's and misc.

Im new to "the debates" but I have become very interested in it all. The problem is there is so much to learn I don't know where to start.
So if you would please help me on some vocab/word choices/misc it would be helpful.

---

I have come across a few words on this site that I would like to be explained.I have found these from various posts...Words:
- Agnostic
- Atheist
- Anti-Theist
Figures/Misc:
- Christian God <-- now what is the other god? there a difference between christian god and jewish or any monistic religion?
- b.c
- a.d
- ce <--- again, im sure are more to these, please add.

---

Those are the ones that were lingering in my mind. If you can add to the list or even can think of key things that are important please add them aswell.[This message has been edited by Boston, 03-14-2004]

Hi Boston, welcome to EvC.I'm not an expert, but I think I can give you a somewhat working definition of most of these terms.a-gnostic = no-knowledge...one who realizes that we can have no knowledge of a god or lack of onea-theist = no-belief...one who has no belief in a godanti-theist = I haven't really heard this one much, but I would think that it would mean "against belief"creationist = generally refers those who believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis 1 and 2, including a 6000 year old Earth.evolutionist = one who accepts the evidence for evolutionfundamentalist = this is harder for me to define, and would definately be defined differently by those that call themselves this and those that call others this....The American Heritage Dictionary defines it thus = A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.Christian God = this is generally not a term Christians use, they obviously believe that their god is the only god and needs no preceeding adjective - this term has been used by agnostics to differentiate between various belief systems.B.C. = before Christ - prior to the supposed birth of Christ, before the year 1A.D. = anno Domini - latin for year of the lord, after the supposed birth of Christ - after the year -1C.E. = current era - generally the same as A.D. but without the obvious connotations.

---

Asgara
"Embrace the pain, spank your inner moppet, whatever....but get over it"

Hi Asgara,CE and BCE stand for 'Common Era' and 'Before Common Era'.Brian.

Thanks alot, that helped me out alot. I guess I was wrong saying I was anti-theist them. I am athiest however I do not shun those who believe.Any other key word phrases you can add to this list would be helpful thanks.

DOH...I knew that...why didn't I type it? sheesh

---

Asgara
"Embrace the pain, spank your inner moppet, whatever....but get over it"

The problem with common language is that words can take on a range of meanings, and so may mean different things to different people.I consider myself an atheist. When I use the word atheist, I mean that I believe that no gods exist - a bit stronger that simply saying that I don't believe in God (which can imply a bit of uncertainty). I am fairly certain that there is no god. In fact, there are religions that do not include the belief in a deity, so to be precise when I use the word atheist I mean that I believe that the material world is all that exists.Of course, other people use the word to mean something slightly different. This does tend, sometimes, to cause a bit of confusion in conversations. That's why I sometimes get a little pedantic about asking for precise definitions of words. (That, and my mathematical instincts.)