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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (78333)	10/25/2003 4:55:20 PM
From: Solon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

I'm still seeking the practical distinction between atheism and agnosticism. I think agnosticism is too weak if one does not find any reasonable basis on which to credit any of these mythologies. There is no logical reason why the idea of an unselfish God should merit more consideration than a selfish, self serving (and even cruel) God--a Satan type, for instance. Now pretend we are on a jury and society once again taps into myths of demons, evil spirits, witches, and such. Now there has never been any evidence of any kind of "spirit". It was a fancy developed by primitives for that unseen stuff we breathe and which they saw was connected to life. Sneezing was thought to expel the spirit, thus, "God bless you" was hoped to potect the person until the soul was drawn back in. Then centuries later, we discovered that spirit was Oxygen...but it was already too late. But back to the jury: Two teen-age girls are being accused of working with Satan (who took the form of a black goat). They are accused on the basis of myth and superstition. There is not one shred of evidence that God, spirit, Satan, Pan, Zeus, or Athena exists. I know that I will not take an agnostic position as to whether or not these young kids conspired with Lucifer. I will say to the others in the jury: "Satan is a myth. These children are real. It is not a question of maybe on either point. The goat is only a damn goat!" That is what I would say--even though I recognize the "technical" possibility that the goat is Satan, mental illness is caused by demons, all of you are working for Satan...and only I am pure! When theism turns evil (or presents its evil aspects) agnosticism presents no effective opposition to it, and offers no insistent enthusiasm to curb excesses of injustice or cruelty. Thus, I think that atheism is a more moral and practical stance than agnosticsm. If I will not say to a jury (where truth and justice is at stake), that I am agnostic as to God or Satan ...then I ought not to say it anywhere. In the superstitious world in which I live (the outer, not the inner!), any private thoughts of outside possibilities of underlying universal forces are best kept private. But that is only me...