On 12/23/2013 10:22 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/23/2013 8:35 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 23 Dec 2013 17:48:25 -0500, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

I detect some sort of slam in your comment about Jews. Perhaps you'd
care to expand on the phrase "...the difference is pretty much
semantic," since I am not sure what you mean. Do you know what you mean?

Not meant as a slam, simply an observation. Most
agnostic/atheist/nihalist type folks I know have come from a mixed
Jewish/Catholic background.
Bill Maher is a classic case in the celebrity world.

The difference between atheists and agnostics is mostly semantics.
An agnostic is just an atheist who is not willing to commit.
You have committed, you ridicule anyone who believes in any kind if
deity or any religious belief so you are not agnostic.



Harry strikes me more as being "irreligious". Being irreligious can
include being agnostic, but it may also include having a degree of
hostility towards religious beliefs as he has often demonstrated in this
newsgroup. To me that's a little arrogant, since he calls himself an
"agnostic" which simply means he doesn't know.

Religion really has it's roots going back to primitive man. Early
humans were individually no match for wild animals or the vigor's of
climate and weather. They found that by banding together in tribes the
chances of survival increased. Over time each tribe developed
traditions or ways of living. The traditions took on a spiritual
nature in time and conflicts with other tribes with different beliefs
and ways developed.

In many ways, things haven't changed much.

We like to think we live in a world where we can choose our level of
autonomy. TV, computers, cars, supermarkets and money give us the
illusion of being capable of complete self-sufficient without much
support or help from our fellow man. That is, until some natural
disaster wipes out all the comfortable cushions or a modern foreign
"tribe" comes along and attempts to wipe you out. Then, like our
primitive ancestors, we will band together again with a common cause and
common "beliefs".

Until then, it's just too convenient, easy and safe to bitch, complain
and criticize those who happen to *have* faith in something.



Harry is a mess.

Harry needs to go back to his beginning and reinvent himself.

This might help.

http://www.primaltherapy.com/SEO/pri...overview.shtml



--
Americans deserve better.