Ernie : Well, maybe. But maybe not. To treat Atheism as an hypothesis, OK, worthwhile enough. Learn a few things. But as metaphysical certainty ? No way, Jose. Just as, IMHO, in the case of any other metaphysical certainly, of which there are none in actuality. But if you are Agnostic, you don't know, then you are free to trust your best judgement and rest your case on morality and aesthetics, viz, what is most beautiful and meaningful in life -and take it on faith that, since it is the best anyone can do in full honesty, any afterlife will work out. You are also, as an Agnostic, able to say, without hypocrisy, "yes, there is truth in the message and example of Jesus, even if details will necessarily sometimes be wrong." And free to say much the same thing about Buddha or Zarathushtra, etc. Heck, I feel free to take Jesus as my savior. Its just that I don't think the account we have in the NT is perfect, or that, as human, Jesus was perfect , either. But I have no "perfection fetish." Excellence is good enough for me, and someone's courage and convictions. The 3 . 0 Atheists seem to be on the right track, but as Atheism is not what I am looking for. Atheists can be great to debate, and I have had Atheist friends, but as far as their sense of certainty, horse poop. They may as well be strict zealous Calvinists, deep-end Hindus, or utterly narrow-minded Haredi Jews. My patron saint is Heisenberg ;-) Billy =================================================== In a message dated 2/19/2010 11:40:20 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
The radical center on religion? :-) -- Ernie P. _http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/atheism_30_finds_a_little_mo re_room_for_belief1/_ (http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/atheism_30_finds_a_little_more_room_for_belief1/) (http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/atheism_30_finds_a_little_more_room_for_belief1/) The old atheists said there was no God. The so-called “New Atheists” said there was no God, and they were vocally vicious about it. Now, the new “ New Atheists”—call it Atheism 3.0—say there’s still no God, but maybe religion isn’t all that bad. Faith provides meaning and purpose for millions of believers, inspires people to tend to each other and build communities, gives them a sense of union with a transcendent power, and provides numerous health benefits, Sheiman says. Moreover, the galvanizing force behind many achievements in Western civilization has been faith, Sheiman argues, while conceding that he limits his analysis, for the most part, to modern Western religion. ... On the flip side, atheists too, can be a “blessing” for believers, said Samir Selmanovic, co-founder and co-leader of New York’s interreligious Faith House Manhattan and author of “It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian.” Atheists are “God’s whistle-blowers,” who keep believers honest and focused on the here-and-now, Selmanovic said. “Atheism at its best grabs us by the collar and throws us to the ground, demanding to see lives well lived, forcing us to dig deeper and live up to the best of our own religions,” he writes. = _______________________________________________ Centroids mailing list: [email protected] http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
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