It’s a shame that you feel that way, because it was meant more as a play on words since the origins of pontiff are steeped in Roman Catholic faith, it was a jest not an insult.

 

 

From: Hank Fox

Sent: Friday, May 03,[masked]:32 PM

To: [address removed]

Subject: Re: [atheists-531] Agnostic or Atheist

 

Insulting.

H

On May 3,[masked]:55 PM, "Beth" <[address removed]> wrote:

Yup – I felt it fit.

 

 

From: Hank Fox

Sent: Friday, May 03,[masked]:40 PM

To: [address removed]

Subject: Re: [atheists-531] Agnostic or Atheist

 

Pontificate?

Hank

On May 3,[masked]:21 PM, "Beth" <[address removed]> wrote:

I get what you are saying, truly I do, and for the pure joy of philosophical debate, it would fun to pontificate on the non-existence (or existence) of Batman and his worldwide symbology vs. God’s. But I have to just have to point out, no one has ever (and I could totally be wrong given our country’s current state of derelict insanity) run into a building strapped to the gills with explosives and yelled “Praise Batman.”  <wlEmoticon-smile[1].png>

 

 

Beth

 

From: Hank Fox

Sent: Friday, May 03,[masked]:11 AM

To: [address removed]

Subject: Re: [atheists-531] Agnostic or Atheist

 

I don't like the label "gnostic atheist" but I'm pretty sure I am one. I think you can prove there is no such thing as God, just as you can prove there is no such thing as Batman -- not now, not ever, not anywhere in the universe -- but as I say "The proof only works with rational people."

I recently realized there's a middle-ground description of atheism that sparks fewer misunderstandings and inspires less of the atheist v. agnostic row.

It’s just this: Atheism is a thought experiment.

It’s the experiment of “WHAT IF there is no God?” Or, more broadly, “What if there are no mystical forces at all?”

That thought experiment has been tried in the sciences, and in only about 300 years it’s been incredibly powerful in returning useful answers to just about every other question we’ve had about the universe around us. (As we know, the OTHER thought experiment, "What if there is a God?" has been absolutely useless to science, and has even served as a powerful hindrance.)

I’m convinced it can be just as useful in one’s personal internal life and in larger social matters, but we’re handicapped, most of us, in that the experiment is too new for us to have really worked much out in the way of answers. We’re caught up in a pre-school state, where we continue to rehash all these minor and simplistic arguments.

I have a couple of essays that clarify things I’ve said above. One is the chapter “Batman Almighty” in my book (the proof of the non-existence of Batman), the other is The Brassican Heresy from my A Citizen of Earth blog.

BTW, I made a mistake of jumping on a fellow atheist about some rhetorical issue some years back, a young man planning to become a new member of the local Meetup group, and I scared him away. I'm still shamed when I think of it -- that I squashed the energy and enthusiasm of someone who was where I once was, and lost a member to the group. He might have been a fantastic addition, with rare energy and activism. I still wonder what became of him, and hope he stayed in the field.

With my own ugly example in mind, I'd like to suggest we all keep in mind that we have larger enemies (and I'm not just talking about churches, or idiot evangelists), and that allies, however advanced along the path they are, are better welcomed and nurtured rather than treated as enemies or opponents.

 

Hank

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