Editor's Note: I liked this article a lot that was the lead on Virtual Synapses blog. Agnostics fit somewhere in between deists and atheists. Deists believe in God but aren't big on organized religion. Many of the Founding Fathers such as Jefferson, Adams and Franklin were deists.
I like Buddhism and other Eastern religions because they don't have the mysticism that permeates Western religions. You don't have to believe in angels or other divinities to be Buddhist. Most religions arose in the Bronze Age to explain the world before science existed.
The faith argument suggests you should believe in a priori values that cannot be proven. I am a man of little faith. I remember what happened when we had a man of faith in the White House for the past eight years.
I was born into a family of believers (Catholic). My parents, grandparents, wife, in-laws, brothers, cousins, aunts, and uncles are all faithful people and I have not the slightest doubt that they believe in God. Sometimes I ask myself, “Am I some sort of mutation in the gene pool?” Everyone around me goes to church, say their prayers, have faith in God, and live good lives. There’s probably something wrong with me.
Maybe I’m just a noninterventionist dumbass, but I think the only significant difference I found between me and my folks, regarding this issue, is that I asked “the question” and took it seriously. Everybody asks that question, right? What’s the question? Oh, geez, you know what I’m talking about. Here, answer this by filling in the blank:
Is there a _________?
Hint: It starts with the letter G and ends with a D.
Question: What reason do you have for being agnostic?
Answer: There are two sides of the coin. I just want to stay in between, if that's possible.
Good vs Evil
I think good and evil are created illusions. When you do something positive to other people, then that is considered good. When you do something negative, then you’re a bad ass person. But what if you don’t do anything at all? Let’s say that you go to a mountain to find a cave and spend the rest of your life just being there. There is no social interaction of whatsoever. Is that good or is that evil?
Religion vs Science
Roman Catholic, Anglican, Independent Catholic, Old Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Baptist, Methodist, Adventist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian, and so on and so forth. These are just some of the denominations of the Christian religion. Wait till I enumerate the ones under Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and the rest of the main religions on earth. Isn’t it absurd for us to tag ourselves as a “human race” when we can’t even find a unified belief system that can bring us all together?
On the other hand, some people put their faith in science. They say that as long as any phenomenon can be explained with empirical evidence, that’s good enough for them. Are you telling me that you want to put your faith in the hands of scientists who, as much as any other person in the planet, have their own biases and inadequacies in perceiving reality? How clever.
Mysticism vs Skepticism
Mysticism adds its own different shade of color to people’s thought processes. The archenemies of mystics are skeptics. The former is trying to go beyond the five senses to explain reality, while the latter wants to remain conventional. If you’re going to take sides, I suggest that you try Michael Jackson’s medicine.
Will you be interested to know about your karma? Would you like to know how many reincarnations you’ve been through? Do you want to get out of your body and possess Brad Pitt’s so you can play with Ms. Tomb Raider? The skeptics are saying, “STOP *lucid* DREAMING!!”
Materialism vs Idealism
Quantum physicists have concluded that matter is literally an empty vacuum. Experts are justified in regarding the atom as 99.9999999% empty. I nearly ruptured a vein in my head trying to answer this question, “If matter is empty and nothing really exists physically, what are quantum physicists? Are these people some sort of illusion?
An idealist walks over to a materialist and asks, “Hey, I know you’re made of atoms and all, but does it really m-m-m-matter? The materialist responds, “Ideally, yes. We don’t m-m-m-mind at all.”
Atheism vs Theism
There is no God! There is a God! There is no God! There is a God! Blah3x… Yada3x...
Jesus H. Christ! Would you self-absorbed and power-hungry mass butchers stop confusing people? There’s already enough suffering in the world. Stop playing with their minds. Stop claiming that you know that truth when you clearly have no idea at all about what it is, where it is, and how to find it. Nobody really knows the truth, damn it. I don’t even know if what I’m saying is true.
Determinism vs Indeterminism
Imagine the chain of events that happened starting from the big bang (creation of the universe) until the point when you reach the end of this sentence. Ok, STOP. Think for a moment. Do you realize how everything almost seems to cause everything? Just look at the sun. Everything that the planet earth has gone through is undoubtedly caused by this massive ball of light. The sun was formed, then the solar system, then the planets, the life on earth emerged, your parents met, and then voila! Nice to meet you.
When there is a cause, there is an effect. When there’s a beginning, there’s an end. Everything happens for a reason and I am here because I was intended to be here. And, after all of this, my end will come. So what is my end? If everything in my life is determined by “you know who” then do I really have a choice? Does choice even exist?
Wahoo! I’m glad I reached the end of this article without experiencing symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage. Anyway, agnosticism is still a belief. It’s a belief about not believing in anything. If I believe that I don’t believe in anything, then I believe I’m probably screwed for the rest of my life? Noooooooooooooo…
Maybe I’m just a noninterventionist dumbass, but I think the only significant difference I found between me and my folks, regarding this issue, is that I asked “the question” and took it seriously. Everybody asks that question, right? What’s the question? Oh, geez, you know what I’m talking about. Here, answer this by filling in the blank:
Is there a _________?
Hint: It starts with the letter G and ends with a D.
Question: What reason do you have for being agnostic?
Answer: There are two sides of the coin. I just want to stay in between, if that's possible.
Good vs Evil
I think good and evil are created illusions. When you do something positive to other people, then that is considered good. When you do something negative, then you’re a bad ass person. But what if you don’t do anything at all? Let’s say that you go to a mountain to find a cave and spend the rest of your life just being there. There is no social interaction of whatsoever. Is that good or is that evil?
Religion vs Science
Roman Catholic, Anglican, Independent Catholic, Old Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Baptist, Methodist, Adventist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian, and so on and so forth. These are just some of the denominations of the Christian religion. Wait till I enumerate the ones under Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and the rest of the main religions on earth. Isn’t it absurd for us to tag ourselves as a “human race” when we can’t even find a unified belief system that can bring us all together?
On the other hand, some people put their faith in science. They say that as long as any phenomenon can be explained with empirical evidence, that’s good enough for them. Are you telling me that you want to put your faith in the hands of scientists who, as much as any other person in the planet, have their own biases and inadequacies in perceiving reality? How clever.
Mysticism vs Skepticism
Mysticism adds its own different shade of color to people’s thought processes. The archenemies of mystics are skeptics. The former is trying to go beyond the five senses to explain reality, while the latter wants to remain conventional. If you’re going to take sides, I suggest that you try Michael Jackson’s medicine.
Will you be interested to know about your karma? Would you like to know how many reincarnations you’ve been through? Do you want to get out of your body and possess Brad Pitt’s so you can play with Ms. Tomb Raider? The skeptics are saying, “STOP *lucid* DREAMING!!”
Materialism vs Idealism
Quantum physicists have concluded that matter is literally an empty vacuum. Experts are justified in regarding the atom as 99.9999999% empty. I nearly ruptured a vein in my head trying to answer this question, “If matter is empty and nothing really exists physically, what are quantum physicists? Are these people some sort of illusion?
An idealist walks over to a materialist and asks, “Hey, I know you’re made of atoms and all, but does it really m-m-m-matter? The materialist responds, “Ideally, yes. We don’t m-m-m-mind at all.”
Atheism vs Theism
There is no God! There is a God! There is no God! There is a God! Blah3x… Yada3x...
Jesus H. Christ! Would you self-absorbed and power-hungry mass butchers stop confusing people? There’s already enough suffering in the world. Stop playing with their minds. Stop claiming that you know that truth when you clearly have no idea at all about what it is, where it is, and how to find it. Nobody really knows the truth, damn it. I don’t even know if what I’m saying is true.
Determinism vs Indeterminism
Imagine the chain of events that happened starting from the big bang (creation of the universe) until the point when you reach the end of this sentence. Ok, STOP. Think for a moment. Do you realize how everything almost seems to cause everything? Just look at the sun. Everything that the planet earth has gone through is undoubtedly caused by this massive ball of light. The sun was formed, then the solar system, then the planets, the life on earth emerged, your parents met, and then voila! Nice to meet you.
When there is a cause, there is an effect. When there’s a beginning, there’s an end. Everything happens for a reason and I am here because I was intended to be here. And, after all of this, my end will come. So what is my end? If everything in my life is determined by “you know who” then do I really have a choice? Does choice even exist?
Wahoo! I’m glad I reached the end of this article without experiencing symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage. Anyway, agnosticism is still a belief. It’s a belief about not believing in anything. If I believe that I don’t believe in anything, then I believe I’m probably screwed for the rest of my life? Noooooooooooooo…
source: Virtual Synapses
http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/self-help-mind-control-free-life-virtual-synapses
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