Re: Why atheism beats agnosticism (Was: Re: Contacting God)

Lee Daniel Crocker (lcrocker@mercury.colossus.net)
Thu, 23 Apr 1998 10:24:49 -0700 (PDT)


> I used to think myself an atheist--until I decided that even denying the
> existence of gods gives too much credit to theology. I now cheerfully admit
> ignorance about whether gods exist . . . though that does not prevent me from
> theorizing about what I might make possible.

I don't think "athiest" is that strong a positive claim of non-existence,
just a commitment to (1) that blind speculation is a waste of time and
energy, and most theories of God are blind speculation, and (2) most of
the theologically-defined properties attributed to God are inconsistent
with themselves (like "omnipotence") and therefore impossible. I do
not deny that there might possibly exist some entity that might satisfy
some more reasonable speculations about God, but that doesn't prevent me
from being a militant atheist. I use "atheist" as one who believes that
belief in God is wrong, not that disbelief is necessary.

--
Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html>
"All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past,
are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified
for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC