ancestorsGod exists or not. To be certain or to have faith that God exists represents
a theistic position, whereas to deny the existence of God is atheism.
Being agnostic does not necessarily mean that a person is not deeply
religious, although it is commonly used to describe someone who is
detached from religious commitments or is unwilling to speculate about
something that cannot be empirically validated.
In the nineteenth century, agnosticism becomes associated with the
scientific perspective by T. H. Huxley (1825–1895), who claims that
Christian doctrine represents unverifiable speculation that cannot with-
stand the scrutiny of the scientific method. During this historical period,
agnosticism finds favor with other scientifically inclined intellectuals
such as Charles Darwin, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, and others.
Within twentieth-century philosophy, agnosticism is adopted by many
logical positivists and postmodernists in the latter half of the century.
Some agnostics claim that the existence of God, for instance, cannot be
proven or disproved. It is thus preferable to be detached from such meta-
physical speculation.ANCESTORS
In many religious cultures throughout history, ancestors are deceased
family members that are intimately related to the living and are regarded
as family leaders and members of the community, even though no longer
alive. Ancestors are imagined to be spiritual superintendents of family
affairs, continuing to hold titles, such as mother or father, after death that
they held when alive. These features are evident in the traditional Chinese
family cult where every home possesses an ancestral altar that hold a
number of wooden spirit tablets with each of them representing a deceased
ancestor. The presence of these spirit tablets indicates that the dead con-
tinue to occupy a place in family activities.
The ancestral cult and reverence presuppose the commemoration of the
departed by name, which suggests worship directed specifically to him or
her. Using an ancestor’s name during ritual action, suggests that the
departed is invested with distinctive attributes similar to any person. This
also means that ancestors are to be distinguished from the high gods. In
traditional Chinese religion, the ancestor cult is composed of two parts:
mortuary rites immediately following death and sacrificial rites that main-
tain a long-term relationship between the living and the dead. The mortu-
ary rites are performed for the benefit and salvation of the soul in China,
whereas the sacrificial rites are performed to stabilize the relationship