Lon, kindly, I think you're missing a point that I, as an agnostic, and Bobby, as a religious person are making. Agnosticism is 'not knowing'. On that we can agree. But when the not knowing morphs into 'knowing' there is no God, then we have the elements of religion. If I'm misinterpreting your statements, let me know.
I'm just saying you get your point across regardless of errors in grammar. If your professor doesn't think that maximal communication is the goal then maybe he should go back to factory work.
If it isn’t a belief system then why do you believe it so fiercely? You believe your stance ergo it is a belief. So far as it being systematic, name me one Atheist who doesn’t defend his or her belief by systematically attempting to break down the tenets of a believer. It is a belief system. Note Lon and whomever: I do not care if you or whomever is an Atheist. I do not care if one is an Agnostic and is still searching for evidence. I really, really do not care if you view your faith based society as a religion or not. To me, this is just search engine stuff and other than replying to ya’ll’s posts, I’ve already written that whether it’s a religion or not is a moot point. I personally believe that in the grand scheme of things, the universe has a purpose and I have a purpose within that universe. Most certainly more so than simply being near the top of the food chain and with no more purpose than an amoeba. But, that’s my belief and just as I do not care about your tenets of faith,(religion) you shouldn’t care about mine. Right? That said, be happy because as Marx wrote, (I do paraphrase) non-believers are happier people because they have no other encumbrances other than to live. hmmmmm......I wonder if Marx ever experienced....Joy. There is a difference.
I see your point concerning the capital letter because in truth, atheist isn’t a proper noun but more of an adjective describing an individual’s core identity. That said though, Atheism is a belief system based on the non-existence of God, Eternal Diety etc and could be considered a proper noun. In today’s day and age, I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I am lowering someone’s status by not giving their belief system a capital letter. Jus’ tryin to be PC.
Should I go knock on Dwight’s door and ask him what his intentions are? Me thinks there’s a twinkle in the gentleman’s eye.
Wow, Bobby. You've spanned an entire gamut of things philosophical and religious. As I can't.help but run my mouth about things I know little about, I'll make some comments about your comments. Does the universe have a purpose? I've regarded man as a super-evolved ape but yet that never satisfied me as a total explanation. We seem to be something more than an intelligent animal. What that is I'm pretty vague about. If there is purpose in the universe it might be to be an environment for the development of moral and intelligent life, to see that life grow into fantastical capability and purpose. Now, did Marx actually say such a thing? If so, he was wrong. I've found people of faith to be much happier than those like myself. As an aside, I've never, ever .proselytized my lack of belief. It actually pleases me when someone finds faith. If that makes me some kind of hypocrite, well, I accept that.
LOL. It's been so many years since my sex drive drove away in its own van that I don't even remember what flirting is. Terrible comment, Bobby.
Yes indeed, Marx did write that and there are indeed outlying reasons for his assertion other than what conditions are people the happiest. And no, liking to see someone who finally finds that which cannot be fully described whilst you are still questioning its existence isn’t hypocritical at all but rather, a bit empathic and also tells me that you’re still asking questions. The problem we find is that some answers are out of reach until the time is right and some of them will never be reachable and that is where the words “hope” and “faith” comes in. As long as you keep asking the question of “why am I here”, I believe you’re headed in the right direction. Edit in regard to your last post Dwight. I hold the contention that we men are all gentlemen here until of course, that is proven incorrect. Thus far, you do indeed fit that suit of clothing.
The title of the article should have been Atheists Are More "Fervent" Than Christians? and not "Religious" to make better sense.
Plastic, thats the whole answer. The one thing the universe needed that it could not produce on its own. PLASTIC Man was created so that he could invent plastic! This was the premise of a George Carlin schtick.