NewsReal Sunday: Sorry Sam But Atheism and Agnosticism are Belief Systems Too

NewsReal Blog ^ | August 23, 2009 | David Swindle

[HorowitzianConservative]

For the opening interview on Friday's Real Time, leftist talk show host Bill Maher interviewed fellow secularist Sam Harris, noted author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. Harris was on to promote his new 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation The Reason Project, of which Maher is a member of the advisory board.

I was delighted by this opening interview. In the summer of 2007 I wrote a three-part series on the "New Atheists" for WTHR. I interviewed secularists, believers, and those who find themselves falling somewhere between the two. I end up in the third category, thus I usually find myself agreeing with somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of what Harris and his New Atheist comrades have to say.

Maher began by questioning Harris about his background. He wondered how Harris had stumbled into becoming an advocate of secularism. Harris explained that he was raised in a secular househould where his parents never talked about God.

Maher: As a child you were an atheist?

Harris: Atheism has no content. Being an atheist is like being a non-astrologer. No one gets taught to be a non-astrologer. You just don't get convinced by astrology.

[devere]

Why should I waste my time reading this nonsense?

[HorowitzianConservative]

What’s nonsense about my first post today? And how would you know if it’s nonsense without reading it?

[pyx]

Were these two separated at birth?

Or maybe such a suggestion is a dis-service to slugs.

[muir_redwoods]

Correctly defined, Agnosticism is not a for of belief, it is the absence of any opinion about a deity. To an agnostic, no evidence on the subject, pro or con is compelling.

Atheism is a belief system requiring the greatest degree of faith since it asserts a null hypothesis.

[HorowitzianConservative]

ag·nos·ti·cism (g-nst-szm)
n.
1. The doctrine that certainty about first principles or absolute truth is unattainable and that only perceptual phenomena are objects of exact knowledge.
2. The belief that there can be no proof either that God exists or that God does not exist.

There are many definitions of agnosticism.

I like your 2nd sentence about atheism as a null hypothesis.

[muir_redwoods]

Gnosis is to know. The prefix “A” indicates the antithesis. Any definition that builds upon this is colored by popular use or misuse. Agnostics simply don’t know and no evidence presented is convincing or they would know.

[HorowitzianConservative]

I like your handle. Very fond memories of Muir Woods. Definite spot to visit next time I make it out to CA.