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Chris OConnor 
Rhodes Scholar
BookTalk.org Owner
Joined: 20 Oct 2000
Posts: 6839
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 Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:27 am Post subject: Meditations on the 'A' word - by Taylor kessinger
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Meditations on the 'A' word
By: Taylor Kessinger
Issue date: 4/4/07 Section: Opinions
Read the entire article here
http://wildcat.arizona.edu/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_ id=1c8c0b02-1974-42ba-9bea-ddbda56b28c4
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Religious tolerance is as strong as it has ever been in this country. But the next step, tolerance of the nonreligious, is a great leap waiting to be taken. Conservative and liberal religious folk alike, as well as some members of the "spiritual, but not religious" (whatever that means) camp, generally frown upon atheism.
The first Muslim member of Congress, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Ill., has appeared relatively without incident, even going so far as to swear in on Thomas Jefferson's Quran, and Christian groups seem to have grudgingly accepted his presence.
The same can't be said for Rep. Pete Stark. D-Calif., who recently emerged as the first openly nontheistic member of Congress, identifying himself as "a Unitarian who does not believe in a supreme being." Groups like the Christian Seniors' Association have banded together to denounce him as a man who wants to destroy religion and "celebrate godlessness."
Let's clear up one thing: I'm not interested in whether or not atheism is a religion, or what distinguishes it from agnosticism. No one should be. Those debates are doomed to devolve into pseudo-intellectualism and semantics. The irreligious all face similar difficulties, no matter what label they choose to describe their lack of faith.
Simply put, discrimination against those of us who doubt God's existence in some form or another is very real - and it often goes unnoticed and unreported.
Don't believe me? Fine. When President Bush Sr. allegedly stated during his campaign that he didn't feel atheists "should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots," where was the uproar? Where is it today? If a president was to denounce any other religious view, members of all faiths would raise hell about it. |
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LanDroid
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Joined: 27 Jul 2002
Posts: 384
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Location: Cincinnati, OH
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| Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 12:07 pm Post subject: Conformity?
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Very well stated. But I wonder if this discrimination is any worse than what is directed towards anything non-mainstream. Attacks on the Mormon faith are much more common now for obvious reasons. Romney has stated he would not allow a Muslim on his cabinet. I.e. this may be merely part of the generic force for conformity?
I don't know what it would take for atheists to gain more acceptance in the U.S. Notions about this being a Christian nation and the immorality of atheism seem too strong. Perhaps folks in Europe can provide insight, I gather this prejudice isn't nearly as strong over there? |
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LanDroid
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Joined: 27 Jul 2002
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Location: Cincinnati, OH
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| Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 12:45 pm Post subject: Two "A" words
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| Quote: |
| Let's clear up one thing: I'm not interested in whether or not atheism is a religion, or what distinguishes it from agnosticism. No one should be. Those debates are doomed to devolve into pseudo-intellectualism and semantics. The irreligious all face similar difficulties, no matter what label they choose to describe their lack of faith. |
I'm sure Kessinger is correct, but I'm interested in this anyway. Part of the reason is I just ran across a new book: The Agnostic Reader, edited by S.T. Joshi.
http://www.amazon.com/Agnostic-Reader-S-T-Joshi/dp/1591025338/ref=pd_b bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198431258&sr=1-1
We discussed his previous complilation Atheism: A Reader. Notice he didn't combine the two into one book, so the difference must be important at least to Joshi.
One of the selections in The Agnostic Reader is What is an Agnostic? by Bertrand Russell.
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What Is an agnostic?
An agnostic thinks it impossible to know the truth in matters such as God and the future life with which Christianity and other religions are concerned. Or, if not impossible, at least impossible at the present time.
Are agnostics atheists?
No. An atheist, like a Christian, holds that we can know whether or not there is a God. The Christian holds that we can know there is a God; the atheist, that we can know there is not. The Agnostic suspends judgment, saying that there are not sufficient grounds either for affirmation or for denial. At the same time, an Agnostic may hold that the existence of God, though not impossible, is very improbable; he may even hold it so improbable that it is not worth considering in practice. In that case, he is not far removed from atheism. His attitude may be that which a careful philosopher would have towards the gods of ancient Greece. If I were asked to prove that Zeus and Poseidon and Hera and the rest of the Olympians do not exist, I should be at a loss to find conclusive arguments. An Agnostic may think the Christian God as improbable as the Olympians; in that case, he is, for practical purposes, at one with the atheists.
http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/humftp/E-text/Russell/agnostic.htm |
Perhaps the last sentence describes the situation for most agnostics, it's a difference without a distinction, so we might as well call a spade a spade? |
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