where do i fit in in the spiritual scheme of things?

[rone]

Instead of merely posting the results of that quiz that's making the rounds (which was 40% scientific, 40% reasoning, which classifies me as an Agnostic), i'd rather talk about about why i'm an agnostic.

I moved to agnosticism from atheism because i realized that atheism is an affirmation of the non-existence of something that i can't prove doesn't exist.  Atheism also essentially derides the faith of others (which is something it shares with most religions), and i've spent the last 10 or so years trying to be less of a jerk.

That's a lie.  I love being a jerk, and i clutch my head every day at some of the shit people will believe for the most idiotic reasons, excuses, pretenses, whatever.

No, no, see, that's completely unempathetic.  I can't put myself in the shoes of others; i can only work with my own experiences.  I shouldn't even have any contempt for the faith of others because that would make me contemptuous of my own past as a Catholic.

Wait now, i might have been a Catholic once in name, but (unless i've already rewritten my memories with my own idealized childhood) i can't recall ever truly believing in God, Jesus, etc.  Eucharist was just a wafer.  Confession never made me feel better.  Attending Mass never gave me a fuzzy warm feeling inside.  When i turned away from religion within a year of my Confirmation, i wasn't really rejecting anything i held.  I was on the field, but i never played ball.

OK, now, i was going to talk about why i'm an agnostic.  I don't think i've addressed that at all so far.  Well, maybe i won't.  Fuck it.  What do you care, anyway?  It doesn't make a difference in your life, eh?  I'm not going to tell you that the only way to be saved is to let go of your puny faith and embrace the nothingness in every moment of every day, thus hugging yourself and keeping yourself warm.

Never mind that.  I'm obsessed with the fact that religion and spirituality is a huge shadowplay.  It's inane.  God doesn't matter.  The spiritual world doesn't matter.  They're just metaphors.  As that great humanist Ren Höek once said, "THEY'RE NOT REAL, NOT FLESH AND BLOOD LIKE WEEEEEE!"  The only thing that truly matters is people, how we get along, how we move along into the future.

God matters.  The spiritual world matters.  They are woven into human nature and to dismiss them out of hand is folly.  We cannot progress as a race, we cannot ascend, without détente between religions, between believers and non-believers.

Why are we wasting time on cultivating a lasting and rewarding relationship with God while we barely understand ourselves and each other?  Wouldn't the latter be easier and more practical?  Is that precisely why it doesn't happen?  What the hell is so interesting about God, anyway?  The cosmos is interesting.  Life is interesting.  The human race isn't ready to tackle a real relationship with God, were he to exist.  Let's solve our real problems first.

Let's keep our eyes on the goal, though.

Comments

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

I guess I'd just link to this old post about why I call myself an atheist (http://www.livejournal.com/users/mmcirvin/114481.html), even though I do not claim 100% certain knowledge of the nonexistence of God or go around mocking (most) people's religion.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Upon re-reading that, i must add that i subscribe to the technical definition of agnostic you note. I also think that your nitpicky reason depends on heavy hypotheticals and as such you should be ashamed, ASHAMED I SAY, to cling to it, and it makes you Dr. Wishy-Washy. #2 and #3, well, you're just shying away from the label based on what other people think. Forsooth, sir! You should be above such cheap peer pressure.

But certainly not above my high-quality peer pressure! SUCCUMB. DO IT.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

See, I'm agnostic about God in about the same sense that I'm agnostic about whether I'm really a disembodied brain in a vat. I consider it a logical possibility that the world was created by a sentient being that it makes sense to refer to as a person, but it's not a possibility that is so evident to me in the structure of the world that it makes sense to structure my life around it, or emphasize it in a summary of my own beliefs.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Touché!

[nothings.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm down with this stance. I can't disprove anything 100%, including God, but that doesn't make me any more agnostic about God than it makes me agnostic about unicorns. (Although I can see how that comparison might lead one to think it's meant to be derisive.)

I moved to agnosticism from atheism because i realized that atheism is an affirmation of the non-existence of something that i can't prove doesn't exist.

For me, atheism is an affirmation of my belief in Occam's Razor.