Subject:
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Atheism (was: Santorum Fails In His Effort To Pervert The Constitution)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Mon, 26 Jul 2004 13:05:54 GMT
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Viewed:
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2316 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, David Laswell wrote:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks wrote:
> > Anyway, let me ask something. I don't believe there are any gods (or ghosts
> > or tooth fairies or invisible ceiling-dwelling monsters...). But there's
> > no "zeal or conscientious devotion" involved,
>
> I think your dedication to this arguement suggests otherwise.
Gosh, you haven't even begun to see me zealous. :-)
> > I just can't imagine what would lead one to believe in such unsupported
> > notions (well, actually I blame it on child abuse, but that's irrelevant for
> > our purposes). So I'm an atheist. I even agree with Newdow (and so do the
> > courts).
>
> Correction: The 9th District Court agreed with Newdow, but the fact that their
> rulings, including that one have been overturned more than those of any other
> discrict bears witness to the fact that they're not very indicative of the US in
> general.
And the SC had the opportunity to make a ruling supporting the common man's
stance on the wording of the pledge and chose to stick to the limited legal
point. While I agree with their choice, I think the fact that they took that
road does provide some evidence that they agree with the 9th district. If they
flatly disagreed, they would have been tempted (and able) to make a more
sweeping indictment of Newdow's claims.
> > But it's not a religion. So is it, or isn't it?
>
> You say you don't believe in a god? Do you also say that you do
> believe in the utter absence of a god? That's what makes atheism
> a religion, even though it's unorganized. If you don't believe
> either way, then you're non-religious.
There is absolutely no evidence that my toes have all turned purple (I'm wearing
shoes right now, so I'm not certain). But it seems so distinctly improbable
that I'm willing to go on record as believing that it has not happened. Do I
now belong to the church of beige toes?
It is just so with a god. I can't claim certainty of knowledge. But I do
believe, because of the complete lack of evidence where it seems that some would
be quite likely, in the "utter absence of a god." Atheism seems to most
accurately capture truth, so that's what I consider myself.
If I took my shoes off and found purple toes, I'd change my mind. If a god
presented himself, I like to think that I'd remain open to changing my mind.
But there's no zeal to my toe-color fixation.
Chris
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