Re: virus: atheism vs. agnosticism

rpc man (rpcman@hotmail.com)
Thu, 04 Dec 1997 12:49:12 PST

> I think that this is fair, they are somewhat similar and difficult
to
>argue due to semantics. I call myself an Atheist, but that is because
we
>can identify the sources of our ideas for God. Perhaps there is
>something entirely outside of our collectinve human experience that
>would qualify, and in that sense "i don't know".

One should probably look at Huxley's definition in context of when and
why he used it. 130 years ago, 'atheist' was a very dirty word. Huxley
was the head or near the head of several respectable scientific
societies which didn't take kindly to people who dubbed themselves
'atheists'.

This is pure speculation on my part, but if Huxley was living in 1997, I
don't think he would have a problem referring to himself as an atheist.

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com