nathanchase.com
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Quotes on Religion
2 Aug 2006
Thought-provoking quotes on religion from Isaac Asimov, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and other well-known figures. Example:
“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” – Stephen Roberts
I found the list to be an interesting read. I still contend that the main reason I don’t consider myself a believer in the existence of God is because I can’t believe that all other gods other than the Christian god are the wrong god. The Bible cannot be the only “holy scripture” when the Koran, the Torah, etc. all have their own spiritual views. Maybe there’s something out there, maybe there’s not.
My name is Nathan, and I’m an agnostic.
Tags: agnostic, agnosticism, albert einstein, atheism, bible, digg, existence, existence of God, god, holy scripture, Isaac Asimov, Koran, quotes, religion, scripture, spiritual, spirtual views, Stephen Hawking, Stephen Roberts, torahAdditional comments powered by BackType
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One Response for "Quotes on Religion"
Ayn Rand and Ryan Fuller — among many others — believe that agnosticism is the same as sitting on the fence, afraid to make a firm commitment. They’re wrong.
Atheism is as presumptuous as theism, in that neither one has a convincing case built on empirical evidence. They both boil down to nothing more than different metaphysical theories. (Atheism has a leg up on any specific religion because, like you say, it’s REALLY unlikely that one faith would get all of its details right about God. But general atheism vs. general theism is an even match.)
Agnosticism isn’t about unwillingness to commit — “commitment” implies a weighing of various factors, and choosing the weightier side in the end. In fact, “agnostic” means literally that we just “don’t know.” The constraints of our human senses keep us from attaining transcendent insights with certainty.
Ryan thinks (or thought) that agnosticism means we’ve decided that God is unknowable, and that we have made up our minds to never seek the answer. Not at all; God is not unknowable, but simply unknown. “Agnostic” is a factual description of us, and it’s one that, should God ever reveal himself, will factually no longer apply.
It’s not that agnostics refuse to admit to the knowledge we have; it’s that non-agnostics refuse to admit to the knowledge they lack. I would venture to say that everyone is religiously agnostic, by definition; and in religion, as in all other things, a pretense of knowledge you don’t have can lead to disastrous actions.
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