That's a good blog over there. No pretense, no BS, just one woman's honest take on the events of the day. It also doesn't hurt that I agree with a lot of what she says.
At any rate, I got thinking about your Point #1 for atheism, and eventually concluded that it had to be slightly amended for agnostics:
"I like to be in the know" changes to "I like to be able to demarcate what I can know and what I can't, and not worry about stuff which is across that line from me, which is squarely where religion belongs"
In quasi-related news, I laid another beat-down on astrology in one of my classes this afternoon.
Student: "Well, maybe astrology only works if you believe in it, and if you don't believe, it doesn't work."
Me: "If astrology really did work, why should it matter if I believe in it or not?"
(Then again, it's not too hard to win an argument with a 14-year old.)
I think there's an entire spectrum between atheism and fundamentalism that's worth exploring. Belief in a higher power can be a spiritual rather than religious experience.
Perhaps this is because I grew up being exposed to United Church (a.k.a. Hippy Church), but I find it's enough to keep my faith in some pretty broad concepts ("There is a higher power", "There is some kind of meaning and purpose to life", etc.) while leaving the specifics ("Was the world really created in seven days?", "Can I eat fish on a Friday?") up for exploration and debate.
There's no denying that a lot of nasty, horrible things have been done over the years in the name of religion - and that said nasty things will probably continue for a long, long time to come. That said, I feel that my belief in a higher power has made me a better and happier person, while the odds that I will lay seige to a castle of non-believers remains relatively low.
I think there's an entire spectrum between atheism and fundamentalism that's worth exploring. Belief in a higher power can be a spiritual rather than religious experience.
Perhaps this is because I grew up being exposed to United Church (a.k.a. Hippy Church), but I find it's enough to keep my faith in some pretty broad concepts ("There is a higher power", "There is some kind of meaning and purpose to life", etc.) while leaving the specifics ("Was the world really created in seven days?", "Can I eat fish on a Friday?") up for exploration and debate.
There's no denying that a lot of nasty, horrible things have been done over the years in the name of religion - and that said nasty things will probably continue for a long, long time to come. That said, I feel that my belief in a higher power has made me a better and happier person, while the odds that I will lay seige to a castle of non-believers remains relatively low.
3 comments:
That's a good blog over there. No pretense, no BS, just one woman's honest take on the events of the day. It also doesn't hurt that I agree with a lot of what she says.
At any rate, I got thinking about your Point #1 for atheism, and eventually concluded that it had to be slightly amended for agnostics:
"I like to be in the know"
changes to
"I like to be able to demarcate what I can know and what I can't, and not worry about stuff which is across that line from me, which is squarely where religion belongs"
In quasi-related news, I laid another beat-down on astrology in one of my classes this afternoon.
Student: "Well, maybe astrology only works if you believe in it, and if you don't believe, it doesn't work."
Me: "If astrology really did work, why should it matter if I believe in it or not?"
(Then again, it's not too hard to win an argument with a 14-year old.)
I think there's an entire spectrum between atheism and fundamentalism that's worth exploring. Belief in a higher power can be a spiritual rather than religious experience.
Perhaps this is because I grew up being exposed to United Church (a.k.a. Hippy Church), but I find it's enough to keep my faith in some pretty broad concepts ("There is a higher power", "There is some kind of meaning and purpose to life", etc.) while leaving the specifics ("Was the world really created in seven days?", "Can I eat fish on a Friday?") up for exploration and debate.
There's no denying that a lot of nasty, horrible things have been done over the years in the name of religion - and that said nasty things will probably continue for a long, long time to come. That said, I feel that my belief in a higher power has made me a better and happier person, while the odds that I will lay seige to a castle of non-believers remains relatively low.
I think there's an entire spectrum between atheism and fundamentalism that's worth exploring. Belief in a higher power can be a spiritual rather than religious experience.
Perhaps this is because I grew up being exposed to United Church (a.k.a. Hippy Church), but I find it's enough to keep my faith in some pretty broad concepts ("There is a higher power", "There is some kind of meaning and purpose to life", etc.) while leaving the specifics ("Was the world really created in seven days?", "Can I eat fish on a Friday?") up for exploration and debate.
There's no denying that a lot of nasty, horrible things have been done over the years in the name of religion - and that said nasty things will probably continue for a long, long time to come. That said, I feel that my belief in a higher power has made me a better and happier person, while the odds that I will lay seige to a castle of non-believers remains relatively low.
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