Your statment on agnosticism and aetheism is very slanted , oversimplified , and flavored with a slight christian zealousness, perhaps?
Once again the republican party wheels out the "One Nation under a Christian God" inflection , with mentions of Ben Franklyn, Thomas Jefferson , and George Washington as if it were their sole purpose to secure this nation under the banners of cristianity.
( and the Texas delegation to the convention instead of outright stampeding in Christian fear, disgust and indignation , when the gay Senator was to speak , bowed their heads and prayed for his soul, LOL)
and who saves us from them , saving us?
*Always loved how Ronald Reagan ( The great Republican) spoke so familiarly, so often of tom Jefferson or ben Franklyn , one would have thought he had just been to dinner with the both of them the night before ....:-)
In the case of Franklyn or Jefferson (the main author of Religious Freedom in the great paper) their concerns were mainly with the deeper philsophic and scientific planes of discovery that would enhance life , thru devotion to open search, observation and experimentation. Expanding the horizons of human endeavor thru reason and stretching the boundries. To each unto his own abilities , as decreed by the bounty and inalienable rights offered by "the Creator" , the pursuit of ------>liberty.....and life.
In Franklyn's case you have a professed non-believer in the
idea that Jesus was the son of god, which IHO , he did not believe was true. Funny how an agnostic such as he , could be so prolific & produce so much to the practical benefit of others and the american/world society , while being so hampered as you say by the Bane of "agnosticism" ! LOL!
( *prolific in many ways , including the 17 illegitimate children he had while ambassador to france)
In Jefferson , you have quintessential Humanist, rennaisance spirit , willing to concede their maybe debates
worth some small consideration in the idaes of religion, but he was supremely more concerned with scientific search, philosophy, ( a little hedonism), personal reflection , direct experience .....to discover the purer perfect harmonies within nature....everman is drawn to find....whether they be agnostic or saint.
By ---->No means were they setting this country up for "domination" by the "holy" , and worshippers of jesu or any other sect. That realm they left wide open and protected sanctuary , open to all , yet seperate forever from matters of state....and under the direction of no particular "God" , be animal, mineral, or vegetable....or goddess!
funny that you should imply somehow that those who are not so caught up in the mass hysteria of religion ...or question the truth of such archaic belief structure, are thus labeled "aetheist" or agnostics and deviants, as freely as there were those that were labeled Communists under MaCarthy era ,cir/50's....
As it turns out , so many of the people who made the discoveries , the brightest lights (including the creation of the light bulb ) , social advances & discovery's beneficial to american life , were born from the minds of such "ineffectual" agnostic aetheistic folks who were more concerned with making real and deeper discoveries to the secrets and mysteries of the "Creator" here on earth, with their unemcombered drive. curiosity and deep reverance, perhaps. ;-)
....That anyone group has the divine right to claim ownership to that creator , and weave it into present day fabric... is the highest form of "American Hypocrisy and Self Ignorance".
When asked recently about the depletion of the Ozone and global warming issue (on the Bill maher "Politically Incorect" show) ....
----> the Honorable (Doh!) Reverand Jerry Falwell proclaimed such a theory to be nothing more than a myth....a wives tale etc. and if their were any truth to this at all , and there were going to be damages to the global environment....well "almighty then"....His God was going to make it all better , LOL!
....The female guest sitting next to him, immediately check his pulse and asked : "Mr Falwell, ARE YOU FEELING WELL?"
.....so onwards christian soldiers, wonder~bread, cable TV, Texas Beauty Pagents, and all that is right.....rah rah rah.
***Their are those that would condemn as immoral and be indignant at the Jefferson sexual alliance and affair with sally hemmings ....as for Clinton's dalliance in the oval office vs continuing to perform the duties of state....it was totally insignificant in a mature society and far greater concerns were always on the table for the country and global community.....rather than the whereabouts of one man's penis on a few occasions . Certainly worth maybe a few days of press at best ...and forgotten.
As for agnostics and aetheist's? These are just more "labels"
to confuse and cloud more important issues and debates, and your time offering your biased and canned "definitions" of such imaginary citizens, is a very nice "sound-bite" ....signifying nothing.
The main issues confronting the nation today are all to do with moving on into the 21rst century...and out of the 18th. |
