Jefferson was a deist, not an atheist. He also had nowhere near the knowledge available that we do now.
On Feb 8, 5:05 am, Pat <[email protected]> wrote: > On 8 Feb, 10:05, Ian Pollard <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Vam and Lee, > > > Sorry for not replying for a few days. It's been in my mind to do so, but > > I've been a little unsure about how much would be appropriate to write. Some > > things are more personal than I'd care to share on a public forum. This is > > the abridged version, then... > > > My formative years were growing up under Thatcher's government here in > > Britain, which saw the absolute worst of unfettered capitalism, awful race > > riots, and the working classes marginalised. Greed and illiberalism was > > everywhere. The result of this was -- by around the age of 13 -- me becoming > > a card carrying Marxist. I was politically very switched on, very active. I > > read the obvious communist pamphlets and books, which was also supplemented > > by Thomas Jefferson, John Stuart Mill, and Frederich Nietzsche. An odd mix, > > I admit. From this period of my life I still retain many views. > > Ah yes, Jefferson. The man who wrote,"We hold these truths to be self- > evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by > their Creator with certain unalienable(sic) rights..." Not exactly an > atheistic statement. > > > > > There have been two other great influences in my worldview. > > > The first was discovering the literature of the beat generation, which > > happened around the age of 15. Kerouac and Burroughs in particular > > influenced my creative side; I found something in the rhythm and freedom of > > their prose and it inspired me to write. Kerouac's writing on Buddhism got > > me interested in spirituality. > > > The second was an unexpected love of science triggered by a fantastic > > teacher at school and which was further fuelled by avidly reading National > > Geographic and the like. Darwin had always been interesting to me, but it > > was microbiology -- and, on a recommendation, Dawkins' Selfish Gene -- that > > really caught me. > > > Somewhere, somehow, all of these things distilled into humanist worldview. > > Equality, love of the one life we have, morality based on shared human > > experience, and secularism all matter deeply to me. > > > Hope that helps you to understand my perspective! > > > Ian > > All sounds reasonable. "Love of the one life we have...", though, is > an interesting statement. What do we know of the one life we have? > And how do we know that there isn't more later in some other form? > More importantly, how do we know that there is not? Personally, I > tend to think you're a great guy, personable and, most likely, the > kind of bloke one could rely upon as a true friend if needed. > But Dawkins is no one to look up to. There's no problem with a > selfish gene, as that would only make sense if one (any creature!!) > were to be instilled with an instinct towards survival, so it's hardly > surprising. 'The God Delusion', though, is a completely different > thing. I expect that Mr. Dawkins has never had a 'extraordinary > spiritual experience'. Well, they ARE rare. Dawkins IS didactic > against God, as he (Dawkins) has a belief that his views are > intellectually superior. They aren't. They are only based on his > own, limited experiences. To me, Dawkins is as dangerous as are the > religious fundamentalists, as he would wage war against God. If there > is no God, his war would be futile and, more importantly, if there is > a God, his war would be futile. If he were as bright as he thinks he > is, he would be able to comprehend that; but, sadly, he's not. Either > he's casting aspersions against nothing or he's casting aspersions > against the one and only thing that could ever help him. How stupid > is THAT? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en.
