Oops. Guess I should’ve added a smiley to indicate my at least half-sarcasm.

The serious half of my post sort of meant that there are a lot of Agnostics who call themselves that to avoid the negative connotations of the word “Atheist”.

Yeah, probably true.  Not that I’d blame them.  A good point in Brock’s thread about coming out.

cmpangel writes: . . .I am really confused with religion.  I have tried over the years to lead a good christian life, but could never live up to the “perfection�? so to speak.

It does sound like a recipe made for disaster I guess. Demanding perfection (even if only in an understated way) and at the same time going on about how we are all flawed (sinners), how the flesh is weak (we should know when we can rarely even keep our diets or to our exercise regimens) and that the mind isn’t much better… Instant guilt trip.

Being a person with an obsessive-compulsive/perfectionist streak, I know how frustrating that can be. I’m happy that no one ever thaught me to worry about a big judgment at the end as well*.

*Of course that doesn’t mean my decisions have no consequences, moral or actual, for me - but any judgement is between me and the world, not up to some all-seeing and possibly quite pitiless eye.

And on a much less thoughtful note: decrepit, I always meant to ask - WHAT the heck is that in your gravatar? A man with a brain tumor or a guy with a beret?

The serious half of my post sort of meant that there are a lot of Agnostics who call themselves that to avoid the negative connotations of the word “Atheist�?.

That is a point I am constantly seeing. Yet for some reason I have never felt all that much pressure in calling my self an agnostic over an atheist. Although that’s because I do not deny the existance of god so to speak, rather I wait for proof of god before I go whining to him in prayer. I guess I am an agnostic so I should not really feel bad about it.

But still I only know a few people who would be uptight about some one telling them they are an atheist. I have a feeling I live in a really liberal area. I have never had the experiance of some one telling me of for being an agnostic/aetheist. It must be kinda funny to listen to some one present you with the “facts” that “prove” god exists though. If any of you could enlighten me about whats that is like I would very much like to hear it.

Cheers BunBun

And on a much less thoughtful note: decrepit, I always meant to ask - WHAT the heck is that in your gravatar? A man with a brain tumor or a guy with a beret?

Just a stocking cap on a pretzel salesman.

ok, how do I get the gravatar thingy? 

ahh never mind

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/p/paulharveycommentary.htm

Snopes.com lists the attribution of that particular bit if Inbox Glurge as undetermined. There’s been a lot of crap attributed to Paul Harvey which he never wrote.

BunBun writes: . . .I have never had the experiance of some one telling me of for being an agnostic/aetheist. It must be kinda funny to listen to some one present you with the “facts�? that “prove�? god exists though. If any of you could enlighten me about whats that is like I would very much like to hear it.

I live in an area that has its share of bible-thumpers.  I can’t really think of one specific instance to relate to you at the moment - but I *can* tell you that it usually isn’t funny.

These people try to put you on the spot, to make you feel uncomfortable in front of whomever else happens to be standing around, whether you’re in a store, on line at the DMV, talking with neighbors, etc.  One of their tactics is to talk LOUD, to talk over you, because we all know that increased VOLUME *must* mean they’re RIGHT. They try to SHAME and BROWBEAT you into silence.

For many years, I just kept *quiet*, biting my tongue, deciding that the argument that was sure to ensue simply wasn’t worth it.  When I finally admitted out loud that I *was* in fact an atheist - and when I finally decided that I wasn’t going to subject my child to their lunacy - it became easier to challenge the vapid comments, and take a stand. 

Vapid comments like “such a faithful servant of God - he lived to be 95, you know - God really blessed him!” I’d ask if, logically, God blessed the 100+ year old folks that Willard Scott used to parade around on TV more than this “faithful servant” . . . or did He perhaps *hate* another “faithful servant” who recently died of a brain tumor at 45?  Which is it?  I really need to know how God balances this whole thing out, how do we know when he’s “blessing” someone or *smiting* them?

You want more? Overheard on the checkout line at the grocery store: “God brought about that tsunami because those filthy people allow kiddie porn in their country!” A few years ago, I would have bit my tongue - this past year, I turned around and asked this fucking mental maladroit “Then why didn’t God (in his infinite wisdom) just KILL THE KIDDIE PORN PEDDLERS? Why’d he have to kill the INNOCENT PEOPLE, too?”

I’ll probably be able to think of better examples once my morning coffee kicks in . . . I got up late, and my head hurts, and my Fruity Pebbles are getting soggy, and I *hate* when that happens . . . so I’ll check in later.

I guess the world is gonna go to hell because we are atheists/agnostics. Thats all I can see coming from these wack job religious fundies. Maybe thats not really so bad because the world would probably end up better than it already is: with out the fundies who will suppposedly be going to heaven.

Cheers BunBun

Who knows BunBun,
Guess I better have as much fun as I can now since after death is so unknown.