BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Atheist Random Thoughts

The decision is in! In doing much Internet research about the Pew
US Religious Knowledge survey I discovered that much of the information was generalistic in nature and was repetitive, repetitive, repetitive, redundant, redundant, redundant, copycat, copycat,copycat, same, same, same...

So, I would like to attempt to (ok, at least kind of!) break new ground about that subject and focus in on just why perhaps did agnostics and atheists score the highest on the survey questions.

No other article exclusively did so and after all isn't this the Agnostic/Atheist site er ah I mean the Atheist/Agnostic site so why not thoughtfully delve deeply into the subject by discussing on a constructive and positive note what factors (and there a few) may have contributed to their relative success on the questions.

So, in the article I will try my absolute best to remain positive and attempt not to conclude with "hence, blind faith can lead to ignorance about self and others." ok, I won't say that, I won't say that, I won't say that...

What factors/reasons do you think I will or should put in the article? One hint about one of them- What do the three highest scorers, A/A's, Jews, and Mormons have in common?

Les said (I hope speaking in the first person is not symptomatic of a personality disorder): So, in the article I will try my absolute best to remain positive and attempt not to conclude with "hence, blind faith can lead to ignorance about self and others." ok, I won't say that, I won't say that, I won't say that...


Well, if you click onto the following link you can see if I lived up to my word or not.

Please tell me what you think of the Twain quote in the conclusion of the article, Religious Knowledge of Agnostics and Atheists.

Atheist/Agnostic site

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge;
it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.

The man who said this oftentimes is erroneously labeled an atheist rather than what he was, an agnostic.

Who do you believe said this?

He will be the topic of a new article in the very near future.
This man really believed that there would be an ever-changing future.

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge; it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."

The same person who was quoted above and who conflictedly wrestled with some form of faith throughout his life said in reference to the icheumon wasp "I cannot persuade myself that a beneficient and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars."

Who was responsible for the above quotes?

This person evolved from being a theist who believed in a personal God, to a theist who did not believe in a personal God or perhaps to being a Deist, and finally to becoming an (atheistic?) agnostic who believed that "as for future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting vague probabilities."


Can you think of any other examples in nature that could lead one to think that at the very least that there is no "beneficient and omnipotent God"?

What I am currently wrestling with is whether to write the article about this person who should never be considered to be the "champion of atheism" tomorrow or the following day.

Kierkegaard comes to mind but I know it's not him.

You should go ahead and write the article, Les. Although I do not agree with Darwin on his belief system, he was an interesting person -- and I would like to learn more about him.

Good try Monica as the person I will be writing about was born just 4 years before Kierkegaard and was also a European.

Muy, muy bien, Phyliss!
But alas it is my fate to anquish so! In all probability I will write about Darwin at 2AM tomorrow morning as it is bursting to come out of its germinal stage of (creative?) development. I know that I won't convert you to be a Darwinian groupie (nor would I ever want to) but I can aim for informing and or entertaining you.

Awesome! I always enjoy reading your articles. And - you are very knowledgeable: you will never convert me in my belief system -- only in adding me to your (creative) reader list.

Hi,

Due primarly to lifestyle considerations, I have decided that I will no longer be editor at the Atheist/Agnostic site- however, I will be continuing at the Mexico site as editor. The article that went out today will be my last as editor at the site.

However, I do plan to be a visitor and contributor at the A/A forum and hope to be in communication with you in that manner.

As one of those CD guys said, "the mystery of all things is unsoluble by us and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic."