Eugezilla said... I am posting my question here even though it appears to be a comment on the previous question. This is the only place on this site that accepts text entry.
WHY do you both choose to define yourselves (second characteristic) by what you don't believe in? Wouldn't it be just as effective to define yourselves by what you don't drive or where you do not live?
And as a follow up question...
WHY don't you have a,
'ASK QUESTION HERE"
link on your page?
(WOOO-HOOOO! We have a legitimate WHY question! And it's a good one too!)
ReplyDeleteOkay! Let's get down to some "answers":
First: This is a blog. Hopefully a fun one too. Nothing too serious going on here. No need to DEFINE ourselves on this insignificant little online space. These words were descriptors, not definers. Just words to give an overall sense to the readers (all 2 of them - LoL) of where our views may derive.
Second: Adding agnostic to the descriptor is not defining myself by what I don't believe in. Actually, it's quite the opposite. As an agnostic I believe that the existence or non-existence of a deity is just something that can never be proven. I believe that there is a big difference between faith and fact. These are all things that I DO believe in. The fact that most people view the word agnostic in a negative light is an interesting topic to explore all on its own.
Also, we could really ask the same question of you: On your facebook profile you label yourself as a libertarian. Why are you choosing to define yourself by what you don't believe in? I can assume by your label that you don't believe in the republican ideologies, correct? So instead of looking at your "libertarian" label as a mark of what your views are, we should look at it as what your views AREN'T..??
Last: Out of all of the words we used to describe ourselves it's interesting that you latched onto "agnostic" and "atheist". We also described ourselves as College educated, musician, actor, writer, etc. Would love to know why the agnostic/atheist portion spoke to you immediately.
"I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure - that is all that agnosticism means." Clarence Darrow
I will let Parilyn comment on agnosticism.
And yes, we desperately need to update our blog to allow a place for questions. And the format is not real user-friendly yet either. We're new bloggers and are still pretty wet behind the ears on this stuff. We'll get it together... eventually! :o)
(oh, and btw… I don’t drive a Porsche and I don’t live in Guam.)
Very interesting question as it relates to how we all define ourselves, both personally and, as stated here, in our public lives.
ReplyDeleteMy initial thought is that I, and most people, think of (define) themselves by the presence of certain qualities AND the absence of other qualities. Neutrality or indifference would be another way.
I like ice cream. I don't like being kicked.
I COULD say I like not being kicked, but that's a more awkward phrasing.
As to my atheism, I BELIEVE in the non-existence of a god means much the same thing as I DON'T believe in the existence of a god. And, to be truthful, I'm actually indifferent to a god's existence.
Atheist is the word we use to describe that concept. I'm not aware of another way to describe that without sounding long-winded. That's what words are for; to condense concepts into a simple way of expressing it.
I think part of your question has to do with the word "atheist" and your perception of it.
You seem to be ascribing a negative connotation to it. As Basil said, why did you focus on that quality versus the other "definers" we list?
I'm not aware of a word that would state my belief in a god's non-existence in a present (versus absent) way.
On making the blog easier, we're already hard at work on it or, as I like to say, alazy.
Thank you for the well reasoned answer. It was not so much that I did not understand the words, "Atheist" or "Agnostic," as much as I wondered by both of you selected those qualities as your second choice in attempting to describe yourselves. If I were to select words to describe myself, they would be: father, designer, carpenter, lover, manager and perhaps lard-ass. I don't think the existence, or non existence of God as a defining feature of my Eugezillaness.
ReplyDeleteI guess the question should have been:
WHY do you choose to define yourselves based on God when, "I'm actually indifferent to a god's existence."
Aaha... okay, I understand your question better now. Thanks for the follow-up response.
ReplyDeleteI suppose that we put those descriptors in so that our millions and millions of readers would have a better understanding of where our views on things would lie. For example, if you go onto a website where the webhost describes themselves as a christian, you will know that their views will be skewed with a religious slant. Putting descriptors such as "nihilist" and "agnostic" just helps people better understand where we are going to be coming from and will hopefully open up some really interesting conversations... like this one!
The fact that they were listed second was strictly a spacing issue. As you can see, we don't have a lot of space to the right side of the blog and we had to reorder the words so that it would look good.
I do not view those words as definers. I don't define myself by any one word, and I certainly wouldn't go into detail defining myself online. These words were just used to provide a shallow glimpse into our general view of the planet.
This conversation is giving me some very interesting things to think about though. Maybe there's some subconscious reason why I chose to put that in and not leave it out..?? Why should I want people to know my theistic philosophies... maybe it's because I don't want to get into what I consider to be pointless conversations with religious folks..??? Maybe I've had those religious conversations so many times that I want to discourage anyone from broaching the topic here..?? But then wouldn't putting "agnostic" in the post open up a theistic door just from the sole act of the word being there..?? AAAAAHHHH! Too many questions! Head. Going. To. Explode.
Damn you Eugezilla!! Daaammmnnn yooouuuu!!!!
Hmmm, yeah, why did I do that considering my general indifference?
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm proud to be indifferent to something that carries so much meaning to many people, which makes me something of an a-hole looking for a fight.
Or, as Basil said, it gives the reader a bit of insight into who I am so they have an idea of what to expect on this blog, which then makes me obvious. And what's the point of being obvious right off the bat when you're trying to generate some interest in your blog?
Or perhaps I didn't care enough whether it was there or not, which makes me disingenous since I believe there is meaning in everything.
Maybe because it IS such an important subject for most people's lives, making my stance known was important to me.
Eh, take your choice...I'm indifferent.
Or am I?
I like not being kicked.
Seriously, I REALLY do!