One Grateful Life

. 

Do You Choose LIFE or Death?
 

It's my birthday today, November 18th. It has been that day as long as I can remember and maybe even before I could remember!

It ALSO is my mother-in-law, Katie Noake's birthday and also my grandson Ian's birthday.

 [Grandma Katie Noake with her great-grandsons, Nathanael and Andrew Guinn]

.
 I call Ian, Professor Dougie [Remember Dougie Howser, M.D.? Ian reminds me of him in a non-medical way.]
 

.Ian with baby brother Nathan and reading


[Brian brings up an interview with some nobody clergy guy who says that many clergy don't even believe in God and we never really know.]


My Answer:


Hey Brian

It simply means you are tapping into the dying church, not the living one! 


It's sort of like going to the cemetery and reporting that there are a lot of dead people there (:-) How unusual! 

Where are the living people? In the hospitals, in the houses and schools, in the living churches, and yards, on the fields, in the air and on the water, having fun, enjoying life. If you go where life is, you experience it with them. Are you enjoying your life?

All death causes recycling. Recycling causes new life. There are dead "living" atheists and dead "living" priests and clergy. They are like hybrid cars with no source to renew their power. They have forgotten where the power outlet is. Their minds have taken them to the end of their resources and there is nothing left to resource.

Many of the dead have already been recycled and become part of the living church.

Do you need some more reminders about the LIVING CHURCH?

World's largest church in Seoul Korea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoido_Full_Gospel_Church

This is part of the living church. 

Pastor David

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Yonggi_Cho

Or you might try

http://www.sermoncentral.com/articleb.asp?article=top-100-fastest-growing-churches

Nothing like the church that you or I attended Brian. I have attended a church of about 10,000 in Colorado. A great place where many people and groups are being helped to lead a more productive life. Also this year a church of about 1500 in Nashville.

New Life Community Church - Colorado Springs

http://www.newlifechurch.org/nln.jsp?id=203

Some of the activities to help outsiders:

Local Outreach Opportunities

OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES- What can you do to serve in our city?

ONE(CAN)PAIGN

Local Ministries is collecting non-perishable food items. Check our donation trunks in the foyer for more details on the most needed items that we can give to bless families in our city. Please call Rina at 265-3180 if you have any questions.

NOVEMBER MONTHLY FOCUS
Teens are often times overlooked during donation drives. Let us show these students how much they are cared for this month by donating items that mean a lot to them. All donations will go to the kids at Carmel Middle School south of town at Christmas time. Donation bins are available on either side of the foyer outside the living room. On the donation bins you can find lists of supplies needed. Please call Rina at 265-3180 if you have any questions.

SHOW MILITARY FAMILIES HOW MUCH WE APPRECIATE

THEIR SERVICE - NOVEMBER 7-30

You can donate suggested items or money to create care packages for members of the 4th Infantry Division deployed in Iraq. We also need volunteers to assemble and ship the care packages.  Please drop off your item donations or checks to the church from November 7th through 30th.  For more information about volunteering go to our event listings (www.newlifechurch.org/outreach).  Questions? Call Jill at 719-645-9777.

BUILD CARE PACKAGES FOR OUR SPECIAL NEEDS FRIENDS

Our special needs friends are an integral part of our church family.  They will be so blessed by a practical sign of our support.  Helps us assemble care packages, shop for fun items or donate towards the purchase of items.  For more information call Rina at 719-265-3180

 New Life in Action - what have You been doing to meet the needs of our city?

• Launched a Local Ministries Prayer & Information meeting (including Dream Center updates) on the first Wednesday of every month in the WPC, Room 107, at 7pm.The next meeting is on September 8th.
• 
  
• Served dozens of elderly folks in the Knob Hill area on July 31st by sprucing up their homes and yards.
  
• 
  
• 100 volunteers prepared Queen Palmer Elementary for the new school year.
  
• 
  
• Partnered with Springs Rescue Mission to improve their grounds.
  
• 
  
• Donated school supplies to Northern Churches Care's Back to School program.
  
• 
  
• Donated a couple of hundred pounds of food to Northern Churches Care and Springs Rescue Mission.
  
• 
  
• Celebrated hundreds of military families at a reception on August 29th.
  
• 
  
• Provided 176 deploying soldiers with gift bags to support them during their tour.
  
• 
  
• Started the first children's running club at Queen Palmer Elementary.

Or this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecostalism

But numbers don't mean everything do they?

It is how a group contributes to or advances society.

Atheism or agnosticism is much easier to believe in because there can be NO absolutes of which most atheists are ABSOLUTELY certain. {ok i guess there is ONE absolute}

Just imagine living life only to die. What a wonderful future. Why not die now and avoid the rush? It's like skipping grades in school, you get to the end sooner. Isn' that better? (:-)

You see Brian every week I have an exciting week, Sunday great services, Tuesday practise our pro drama "A Time For Christmas" being put on Dec. 10, 11, 12. Even agnostics and atheists can attend. It comes in a plain brown wrapper and no one will know where it came from. But of course an atheist cannot be part of this season, but an agnostic can!
 (:-)

Thursday, just got through practising the music for Sunday worship choir AND the drama.

That was a fun birthday! 

Friday [now!]

I look forward to helping people with their finances through coordinating a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University in our home. Last time for this year starting again in January.

People are getting out of debt and feeling FREE!

And then professionally I get to help people occasionally buy the right life insurance for them or help them set up a savings plan for retirement ... the younger the better. See Financial Peace Now

In between times I shop for my wife, take my mother-in-law to her appts, have coffee with my friends, of my age and one gentleman from our church who is in his 83rd year and enjoys life to the full, Sander DeGroot. 


He is one of my heroes. I told him so today at Tim's. I told him I want to be as active helping others at 83 as he is.  

Helping people is VERY satisfying. I'm not rich but I have been blessed with 67 years of good health and been able to travel to the most amazing places. Some of which are in Trip-Ways.

I have two great daughters and 5 "GREAT" grandsons [not my grandsons sons]. I have been blessed. But maybe an agnostic would say "chanced". I like blessed better. (:-)

You see Brian I do not believe it is what you indoctrinated yourself with that steers you. It is usually a reason NOT to have the standards that are clearly laid out in the Bible. 


Oh yes you can nitpick but they are the basic standards that most people are happy that others live by! Even if they don't. 

And if you don't believe the Bible you are free to do EVERYTHING YOU WANT. You don't have any standards to live by except what you decide and what if they are faulty standards and lead to a sad life like the 3 most famous atheists of the last 100 years?


 I would think at least ONE of them would be happy but they seem not...

You can also choose NOT to BELIEVE in the laws of physics such as gravity and in your non-belief, step off the CN Tower [guess I will have to find out the name of that larger one in Dubai, is it?]. I think you still might fall, belief or no belief.

But just because you don't choose to believe something DOES NOT make it untrue. 

So enjoy your trip and I hope your life turns out as well as mine!

Feeling gratitude for my past AND future years!

We will talk again.

-Charles

BC's EMAIL


On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 9:38 AM,


Brian asks, "Is your pastor an atheist like me?" He forgot that I taught him he was an agnostic. Oh well. I know my pastor's are not because they are part of the living church. And I have NEVER heard sermons from Brian that even compare in a thousand years to the sermons I hear from Pastor Randy and Pastor Cuke. It is certainly obvious what they believe. Now in the dying church, it may be hard to tell. (:-)

Here is his conribution to that thought.

A Godless Clergy: Faith in God—and holding fast to it despite your fears and doubts—is a central tenet of nearly every religion. But what if the head of your church doesn't believe? Tufts University professor Daniel Dennett joins us to talk about the growing number of priests and clergy who no longer believe in God. Why do they continue to preach? And what does that mean for the people they serve?

http://richarddawkins.net/audio/549045-a-godless-clergy-interview-with-dan-dennett

Editor: The dying church does not have to lie down to die. One can feign life quite well by standing up and still being dead. Of course not physically dead, but dead spiritually. No power source. Sad but true.

BC: Before

[This is My Response to an Email from BCReason]


He says the idea of there being no proof for God "STRUCK" him one day just like ghost stories. In baseball strikes are bad, aren't they?


BC:

When the "idea" struck you it must have landed too hard. Do you not see a difference between ghost stories and God stories?? Come on Brian. You are smarter than that.

So have you been to Rome?

If not, how do you know it exists? It may all be an elaborate conspiracy by world leaders to keep us subjugated.

There are many parts of an atom that no one can see. But there is EVIDENCE that they MUST be there. Just like Pluto, [I forget who but ...] a scientist did the math and said, THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER PLANET OUT THERE. Eventually it was found.

You can look FOR or you can look AGAINST. Whatever you generally look FOR or AGAINST, you usually can find evidence to support it.

Have you ever read Christopher Hitchens?

Have you ever read Peter Hitchens?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/apr/17/rage-against-god-peter-hitchens

I think he may know from personal experience something about being communist AND atheist.

A quote from the review

 "On the whole, it is religion's cultured despisers, not Christian apologists, who now display greater shrillness. As the author argues in his foreword, "the difficulties of the anti-theists begin when they try to engage with anyone who does not agree with them, when their reaction is often a frustrated rage that the rest of us are so stupid.

But what if that is not the problem? Their refusal to accept that others might be as intelligent as they, yet disagree,

leads them into many snares."

Hitchens does not seek to mount a comprehensive defence of Christianity. He is wise to avoid deeper philosophical and theological waters, because his strengths lie elsewhere. His more manageable aim is to expose what he holds to be three major fallacies underlying God Is Not Great: that conflict fought in the name of religion is really always about faith; that "it is ultimately possible to know with confidence what is right and what is wrong without acknowledging the existence of God"; and that atheist states are not actually atheist." 

And Brian I am sure you are smarter than that email below. To say that this Randi guy offers a million dollars for proof of a supernatural is like ME offering ONE MILLION DOLLARS for proof that there is no God! 


They are both impossible but they SOUND impressive! They are empty words.


No one can prove to another what the OTHER does not WANT to believe. That is why I have not tried [much]. You are not interested in evidences for God even tho I have given several.


Your interest is in backing up why you should be free to do as you want with people of like ilk. You have NO interest in evidences FOR God even tho they are all around you every day.

-c

[Note from Editor:
This is the email I was responding to, above.]

BCREASON: [explains how he became an agnostic]

A few years ago I used to believe in a lot of things.


I used to watch these shows where investigators would look for ghosts in haunted houses. I'd get frustrated when they wouldn't find anything. They'd always have [a] psychic who would know learn about the history of the place from the ghost. But no real evidence.


I started researching this stuff on the Internet and found out it was all fake. One of the researchers made up a story about a place they were investigating and told one of the crew.  Later during filming the psychic repeated the fake story thinking it was real. So the crew had been feeding him info not the ghosts.


I started reading James Randi's web site. He offers  a million dollar reward for proof of the supernatural.
From this and others I learned critical thinking and how to analyze paranormal claims. For a long time I didn't put together the biggest paranormal claim there is. Of course God exists. Everyone believes in God. Then One day it struck me to examine God the way I did the rest. I took off my God glasses and examined the world as if God did not exist. What I saw made so much more sense that I left the God glasses off for good.




Sent from my iPhone

--
Sincerely
Charles G. Pedley
905-228-2161


================
Financial Peace Now
http://financial-peace-now.blogspot.com


Saving a Dollar
http://www.saving-a-dollar.com


Saving a Dollar blog
http://saving-a-dollar.blogspot.com


SAVE DOLLARS ON TRIPS!
http://www.trip-ways.com

What's Wrong With Canada?

Oh Canada!
From see to see!
[Keep looking if you don't see!]


Canada is a great country to live in, say I, having always been a resident except for brief periods of travel beyond her borders.


What's Right With Canada?

• we have a generally successful world-recognized country of some 35 million
• we won the "best country of the world to live in" several times by the United Nations [otherwise known as the DUN which is 3/5 of the word "dunce" = Dis-United Nations] 
• we have a Prime Minister who stands for integrity and truth instead of political correctness. PM Harper we salute you.
• 

• we have a health plan so no one is likely to go bankrupt paying medical bills
• we have a country which allows a input from native peoples or aboriginals as I understand they like to be called [Just so you know there is no hidden conflict of interest, I am partly aboriginal. Have not discovered what part yet. Study ongoing.]
• we have the second largest country by land mass in the world, second only to Russia
• 
• we originated hockey and possibly lacrosse
•  
• some of us eat seal meat raw
•   
• we set a record in 2010 for the most gold medals EVER won by any country in the Winter Olympics beating out the former USSR and Norway
• 
• In Winter Olympics 2010, our men's Team Canada beat the U.S. as did our women's Team Canada! [Was this the first time we beat the U.S. since the war of 1812?]
• our education system is generally sound
• we are generally polite unless you get our combined backs up
• we have great transportation systems
• many world-renowned inventions and discoveries were made in Canada [refer to SchoolGenius.com for some of them]
• we discovered or invented insulin, pablum, snowmobiles and the Canadarm
•    
• 
• we have I believe if not THE most beautiful country in the world, at least in the top ten considering our lakes, rivers, coastal areas, forests and plains, old and young cities

There is much more but what is wrong with Canada is supposed to be the current topic.

What IS WRONG with Canada?

[no particular order]

•  our health care system is aging in more ways than one and needs a competitional remake

• our educational system needs to ensure that they idea of a "liberal arts" tradition is kept liberal in the old sense of ALLOWING ALL POINTS OF VIEW TO BE HEARD unlike Carleton University's Student ASS-ociation which does not understand that we have FREE speech in Canada not free speech as long as it agrees WITH YOU!
• we don't teach CRITICAL THINKING or else we would not have so many people who don't know that facts are what are ACTUALLY, demonstrably, evidentially true and NOT a matter of "my" OPINION [present writer excluded of course!]
• our antiquated-patronizing big-brother-helps-little-brother behaviour toward our First Nations peoples keeps them in poverty and ensures that they have a higher rate of incest, drunkenness, drug problems, crime, unemployment, and being cheated by the very leaders that are supposedly elected to "SERVE" them but instead cut themselves large salaries and leave band-owned houses to rot
• we have an unenviable record of allowing "natives" who often are NOT native at all to Canada to run roughshod over our laws and threaten innocent Canadians and allowing the arrest of people who are protesting against illegal takeovers of residential areas that they have not paid for [Can you spell C a l e d o n i a?]
• Why Gary McHale arrested?
• 
• One of the officers got out of the cruiser, walked up to McHale’s open window, and said the purpose of the stop was to advise him that if he attempted to raise a Canadian flag at the rally, he would be arrested.
  Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/tag/gary-mchale/#ixzz15Y2j3tEr
• Occupiers free
•  Is this an Indian burka?
• our wimpy universities allow radical groups to STOP FREE SPEECH which is enshrined in our Charter of Rights [I guess using it to silence political adversaries is okay?]
• 
• FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS.2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
  

  (a) freedom of conscience and religion;

  (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;

  (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and

  (d) freedom of association.



• Christie Blatchford, Anne Coulter, and Mark Steyn are not allowed the privilege of FREE SPEECH in some universities in Canada having been subjected to cancellations and demonstrations for fear that the "students" might get upset by hearing other points of view than that taught by the university




•    




• we often hire people based on their minority status rather than their knowledge or fitness for the job




• equalization payments are a form of state welfare which only serve as a disincentive to entrepreneurs getting better ideas for jobs in our Maritime provinces and Quebec like giving allowances to children whether they kept their room clean and their homework done or not

This is not a comprehensive look based on exhaustive research but on news events and life experience, so ...

Okay so what do you think?

Do you have any "rights" or "wrongs" that I missed?

What needs fixing? What doesn't?

We Honour Those Who Gave Their Lives For Our Freedom

There is nothing we can say or do to comfort anyone who has lost a loved one in the effort to preserve freedom.

Having lost my son-in-law Tedd Woodworth, I can at least understand a small fraction of their loss. They died by offering their lives; Tedd had no such choice as Hodgkins disease took him from my youngest daughter, a widow at 26. She lost her love, her husband, a father to unborn children, her ministry alongside him. She felt like a teenager again. No friend to share her day with, to rejoice in goodness with, to cry in sadness with. Even good friends can never replace a lost beloved.  


But God in his infinite wisdom, providing we actually believe there may be a higher wisdom than ours, took him and within 2 years gave her a new husband and a new life. Once I get my JoyfulMourning.com website back up you can read more about it from my point of view. 


Until then please check out the website of Rebecca and her new husband Scott at www.brokenclay.net to hear about it from their point of view.

I will NEVER know what the spouses of service-men and service-women feel but at least I have a very small glimpse. So what can we do if  I know any of them?

• I can be a friend to them
• I can be there for them
• I can allow them to cry on my shoulder without trivial comments
• I can be a silent friend until they want me to say something even if NEVER is their decision
• I can NOT give them advice unless they specifically ask for it
• I can show my love
• I can make sure I do NOT confuse them by discussing whether I think war is okay or not
• I can pay the love of THEIR loved ones FORWARD to someone else to keep that love flowing
• Let it never stop
• Let freedom ring along the seashores of our 1000's of miles of coast
• Let it ring in the lofty mountains as they reach upward to their creator
• Let it ring all along the flat prairies, our food banks for us and much of the world
• Let it ring in the darkness of the Arctic night
• Let it shine when the northern night finally ends!
• Let it ring in our cities and in the country, on ocean vessels and fishing boats, in foreign fields, in the air and on the water, in our forests and in the depths of space
• Let it ring in every heart that those who died to preserve our freedom would not turn their face in shame and weep to see it being taken from even the youngest AND the oldest among us.

-Charles Pedley
-Remembrance Day 2010
-U.S. Veteran's Day 2010


Two Slideshow Versions With Song "A Soldier Cries"


To my grandsons, Nathanael and Andrew Guinn, remember YOUR Grandfather Guinn who gave his life and God gave it back to him and he came home. 


He came home so he and your Grandmother Guinn could have your Dad, Jonathan Guinn and so that Jon could meet my daughter, Ann, at Elim Bible Institute and would marry him so that ....


YOU WOULD BE BORN!


Be thankful for him! I was honoured to meet and know him a bit. When I first met him, it was like we were old friends. We shared the early-morning muffin run. [Ask your Dad if you do not understand this one (:-) I miss seeing him every time I come to visit you.]


May we be ever thankful to the freedom that allows us to believe as we wish, to worship in freedom or not as we see fit. There will never be a red or yellow tag which discounts the price of those who gave their life to preserve .... FREEDOM!


God gave us the freedom to acknowledge Him or not. Men gave their lives for an absolute. The absolute value of living free! Many countries around our world DO NOT have this freedom. These videos challenge us to remember that sacrifice.  

Barrack Obama beat Sarah Palin in 2008; in 2010 She Won!

Barrack Obama beat Sarah Palin in 2008.
In 2010 She Won!

Regardless of the demeaning tactics used against Sarah Palin in 2008, she kept fighting to the end and probably raised McCain's chances by several points. But she did not win.

Again we have the bloggers, uninformed or ignorant individuals and a blind media casting accusations, innuendoes, and dragging her family into the mix because they cannot fault her in other ways. 

If it was ANY other politician it is an accepted practice to leave the family business out of politics. However Sarah Palin is singled out because she is an anathema. She defies the odds by being a conservative female. That is just not acceptable you know with the political and media elite.

It is the day after the U.S. midterm elections. This time Sarah Palin beat Barrack Obama!


You may wonder how I can make this statement since she was not running anywhere. It was Sarah Palin who appeared at a multitude of tea party rallies by invitation. She spurred them on to stand up for their ideals and the ideals of the founding fathers. 


The United States of America became a country because their rulers [in England] were taxing their tea but gave them no place to voice their desires. If you haven't heard of the Boston Tea Party then you missed the most important catalyst to creating the United States of America.


Mr. Obama and his two packed houses full of Democrats did not heed the voices of the people but went ahead with his radical agenda just like the King of England long ago.


So if the naysayers want to act like spoiled children, let them. I think Sarah has learned to ignore them. You know what they say about sticks and stones in the old children's rhyme, don't you?


Yes, with the number of candidates endorsed by Sarah Palin winning, even tho she lost a few, she beat Barrack Obama at his own game!


So I will make no references to putting lipstick on democrats not changing them into .... sorry I said I would not .....


However perhaps Mr. Obama helped some democrats to go home after supporting his socialistic agenda and meditate on the symbol of his party. I believe it rhymes with "grass."

"You can work for the people or for yourself; if you work for yourself, that won't work for you."  - cp

How Science Has Failed

This is written for BCReason and others like him who may think "science" to be infallible sort of like some think of  the pope.


Science has failed many times and then discovered its failures later.


See Schoolgenius.com.


Look down Navigation on left side. For some reason it comes up slowly. You will see a page which says Failing Science. Then there are also two sub-pages that give further failures of past science.


Science has NEVER tackled the existence of God nor could it. It has enough trouble getting itself right!

BCReason: Finally Somewhat Reasonable

Editor: Thank you BCReason. Even tho you still have somewhat inflammatory remarks, your answering of my two questions deserves a publishing of your last comments with my responses.

BCReason
I think this may be my last comment. I've answered your questions multiple times and I still see you posting that no one has answered them.

Charles: I do not believe you ANSWERED my two main questions before Brian. You responded to them but ANSWERING is what you did THIS TIME.

BCReason:

Either you are not understanding the answers, refuse to understand because of your religious indoctrination or are being deliberately deceitful. In such case it would be pointless to continue.

Charles:

You may have a point. However now that you and I appear to be on the same wavelength altho not on the same wave, we can talk.

• I find it rather humorous that you say I might not understand your answers. My point about that is that many if not most of them were diatribes rather than concise answers to the questions. This time you were brief and to the point. That makes for discussion.
• Using the word "indoctrination" is a word which is used to put down individuals that do not agree with you instead of responding to their points. Perhaps you did not intend this but that is what it is. 
• Let's take the root of "indoctrination" which is really the Latin word docere, doctus which means "to teach".
• So INDOCTRINATION is what you have been taught although it is usually used to put down people.
• BCReason you have also been indoctrinated unless you have never learned a thing.
• Any teaching relating to your personal beliefs are "religious" as that is what the root word means.
• So you have had probably several indoctrinations at various times in your life, your latest one being an agnostic by my definition as have I
• 'Have I been brainwashed' is like asking if you have been brain-dirtied
• And no, I have no intention of EVER being deceitful nor did I.
• Brian, if I were to say that YOU "refuse to understand" would you be complemented or put down? That shows your indoctrination, that you think that those who disagree with you are REFUSING your knowledge. I am sure Mr. Obama thinks that about most Americans who seem ready to take him to task on November 2, 2010.

BCReason:
1. I do not a have 100% of the worlds knowledge. Less than 1%. That's Question number 1 answered.

2. God could exist in the knowledge I do not possess. That's Question number 2 answered. or more simply Yes!

"Are you happy? You now have an atheist that answered your pointless exercise. Now you can post that you have at least one atheist that answered your question."

Charles:
Regardless of your sarcastic "are you happy" and "pointless excercise" comments you at least seem open to discuss rather than argue. Great! That does make me happier although by nature I am generally happy most of the time and I hope YOU are too.

Since you obviously got the POINT, then the "exercise" WAS NOT "pointless".
Again a flaming remark. [Why?]




BCReason
I admit that there are BILLIONS of people that claim to have knowledge of God or gods. [Editor: God only refers to the name of Yahweh, the ONE God. I changed BC's "Gods" to "gods".]

Happy again? [Editor: Pointless sarcasm? (:-)]

So all you have really proven is I may be agnostic instead of an atheist.  

[Editor: Obviously my questions were NOT a pointless exercise because BC obviously finally gets the point!]

Which really means nothing because you can be both and agnostic and an atheist. The terms are not mutually exclusive.

Charles: I tend to disagree with that statement as "atheists" in general DENY the possibility of the existence of a God. Agnostics are just not sure if there is or is not one. I find that an honest answer, admitting that you really do not know.




BCReason:
Agnostic is a statement of knowledge. Without the knowledge of gods.
Atheism is a statement of belief. Not believing in Gods


Charles:
I tend to agree with this description of what an atheist is from the Wikipedia:

"Atheism, in a broad sense, is the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.^[1] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.^[2] Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.^[3] Atheism is contrasted with theism,^[4] which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.^[5][6"

and agnostic:

"Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable.^[1] Agnosticism can be defined in various ways, and is sometimes used to indicate doubt or a skeptical approach to questions. In some senses, agnosticism is a stance about the similarities or differences between belief and knowledge, rather than about any specific claim or belief." from Wikipedia 


Here is what seems to be a rational approach to what an atheist really is.

The following quote is taken from the following website" 









What is an Atheist? From http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/what-is-an-atheist-faq.htm

"Richard Watson states in his 1831 book, A Biblical and Theological Dictionary: “Atheist, in the strict and proper sense of the word, is one who does not believe in the existence of a god, or who owns no being superior to nature.”

Robert Flint, in his 1885 book Anti-Theistic Theories states: “Every man is an atheist who does not believe that there is a God.”

Strong Atheism
The strong atheist, also known as an explicit atheist or a positive atheist, denies the existence of God or any other deities. This person’s views are based solely on what can be found to be true using the scientific method. Since the existence of God cannot be proven using science, the strong atheist concludes that God doesn’t exist.

Weak Atheism
The second type of atheist is the weak atheist, also known as an implicit atheist or a negative atheist. This person does not deny the existence of God outright, but rather claims a religious relativism. That is, she would claim that anyone’s belief can be true for that person, but she doesn’t believe in God herself.

An Atheistic Worldview What are the implications for a religious atheist? Without God, he arrives at the necessary philosophies of moral relativism and naturalism. But does his view line up with objective reality? And is there any evidence for a God?

Learn More About Atheism."

BCReason: Therefore if you have no knowledge of gods and no belief in gods then you are an agnostic atheist.


If you have no knowledge of gods and have belief or unsure in gods then you are an agnostic.

Personally I have knowledge of God. I went to Sunday school, church, Young peoples at B in C on Perry Rd. I was a member of Inter School Christian Fellowship at Crossley. Was a Deacon at my church. I've been to Hindu temple, Sikh temple. Read Case For Christ.

Charles: Having a knowledge "of God" is honest. There is a difference between knowledge, I would say, "about God" and "knowing God". Many have a knowledge about God, fewer have a knowledge of God as a person who exhibits personal traits just as we do. The difference is like YOU knowing your Mother and me knowing your mother. 
YOU KNOW HER. I only KNOW ABOUT HER.

BCReason:




In all that I never found Evidence of God. I had questions that science answered better than religion. So lacking evidence and seeing superior answers in science I stopped believing.

Charles:
Now Brian, this is you. Did you never think that the two are NOT mutually exclusive? Many great scientists including most of those who started the belief in a scientific method were believers and many are today. [More later.]

BCReason:
I haven't stopped looking, that's why I started these arguments with you. However I found rather than reasoned argument, censorship*, deceit, personal attacks, strawmen, prejudice.

Charles: Could it be because of your "atheistic indoctrination" that you thought that? Of course I censor because it is my blog and many of your comments were actually belittling. How can I discuss with you anything if all you do is belittle me and my points?What knowledge is gained by insulting another person. I hope you were not insulted and belittled even tho I disagreed with you. If you were I apologize. It is always the farthest from my thoughts to belittle anyone. "Deceit" is what you sit on! Everyone has at least one! (:-)




BCReason:
If you're not going to be at least honest there's no point in continuing.

Charles:
I was honest from the start. Remember that someone else's idea of honesty may look like dishonesty if you disagree with it. You and I disagree but I knew it was not as much as your arguments indicated. Now I see the real you. I remember your teachers from Winger saying something like "Brian knows more about science than I do and I do not know how to answer him." I personally never felt that way. You were and are very keen when you are not being a "flamer".

As I hope you know BC, I love science and I always have been a very curious, "doubting Thomas" seldom accepting anything at face value. I came to know God not just about him and found that science and God are very compatible.

I look at Judaeo-Christianity as being an expose of "what" and of science as "how".

However these days science has often been taken over by bigots who instead of using the scientific method use insulting, firing, belittling and mocking of those who believe in an intelligent design. Therefore there is NO science when emotions and beliefs rule "proven fact" not theories but demonstrable facts.

BCReason:
*Fox news north can come to Canada I just don't want to be forced to pay for it.

Charles:
So you would rather pay for the CBC like we are? (:-) I personally think we should cut back greatly on the CBC. It has great programs such as the CBC News is generally reliable but has bigotted interviewers from time to time who belittle the likes of Ayaan Hirsi Ali [sp?] who was as a Muslim female "circumcised" which is an obtrusive and cruel invasion of her body. Male circumcision on the other hand is like cutting off a mole, might temporarily hurt but not for long.
  
Most news media in Canada has a leftist bias. So much so that HonestReporting.ca Canada is kept in business reporting on the biassed and unfounded "reporting". When we have "news" I don't want someone's "views"! Just the facts! I think I can make up my own mind, thank you.

Remember if any payment goes on to have another channel aired it is generally payment TO THE GOVERNMENT not FROM the government. However often it is worthwhile for government in some areas to give tax breaks to encourage business to grow and that is okay and useful because jobs are provided for a community.


Charles:
Brian, here is one issue you may not have run across. I have taken it from the scientist who wrote it on Amazon.com in reference to a DVD.

Darwin's Dilemma is the DVD.


Here is the description of contents.

Darwin's Dilemma

Scientists and scholars answer questions about the Cambrian explosion and intelligent design
Virtual museum of Cambrian fossils
Reference library of books on the Cambrian explosion, evolution, and intelligent design
Music from the original score of Darwin's Dilemma
More than 60 minutes of extra features

---

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Darwin's Dilemma examines what many consider to be the most powerful refutation of Darwinian evolution - the Cambrian fossil record.

Charles Darwin realized that the fossil evidence did not support his theory of gradual, step-by-step evolutionary development. He hoped that future generations of scientists would make the discoveries necessary to validate his ideas.

Today, after more than 150 years of exploration fossil evidence of slow, incremental biological change has yet to be excavated. Instead, we find a picture of the rapid appearance of fully developed, complex organisms during the outset of the Cambrian geological era. Organisms that embody the major animal body plans that exist today. This remarkable explosion of life is truly Darwin's Dilemma and is best explained by the existence of a transcendent intelligence.

Now the scientist's review: [Go to bottom of page.]

 

125 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trilobites Meet Theology, April 16, 2010

By	Mark McMenamin "chronophile" (South Hadley, Massachusetts United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Darwin's Dilemma (DVD)

My name is Mark McMenamin. I have completed a PhD on the fossils of the Cambrian Explosion, have published several books on the subject, and am a devout Christian. At the present time I am actively researching the latest fossil discoveries from Cambrian boundary strata.

This video is an outstanding success. It presents the design argument better than anything I have seen before. From the perspective of a scientist informed about the raw data, the main thrust of the film is absolutely correct. Just as Darwin (to his credit) pointed out, a robust Cambrian Explosion destroys the concept of evolution by gradual natural selection. If anything, the Cambrian event seems even more abrupt than it did in Darwin's day.

I wrote to both James Valentine and Simon Conway Morris after, to my astonishment, seeing them appear in this video. Valentine, although no Intelligent Design proponent to be sure, admits that epigenetic transmission of information (i.e., heritable information not transmitted by nuclear DNA) really does happen. This has huge implications for how we understand evolutionary change.

Although Simon Conway Morris admits that we do not fully understand evolution, he claims that the Cambrian event is uncomplicated natural selection at play. How can this be, when the Early Cambrian Chinese fossil chordate Myllokunmingia appears comparable in complexity to a modern catfish? This is sudden appearance of complexity, not ordinary microevolution. Andy Knoll at Harvard has been quoted recently as saying that it is natural selection all the way. Please, gentlemen, it is time to think more broadly, and it is past time to provide a persuasive scientific basis for these opinions about the efficacy of natural selection.

This is not to say that there are no ancestor-descendant connections across the Cambrian boundary. Dolf Seilacher has argued quite a bit with me about the Ediacaran fossil organism called Spriggina. Seilacher sees this fossil as a weird vendobiont creature, whereas I have evidence that it is the trilobite ancestor:

This said, I agree with Seilacher that most Ediacarans are bizarre and not closely related to Cambrian animals.

To conclude, biotic change through time has certainly taken place but this change is not random mutation mediated by gradual natural selection. The scientific community needs to distance itself from the taint of Darwin's defunct, socially corrosive theory. On the other hand, the Intelligent Design community needs to be careful, lest it seem to be dictating to God how He can or cannot create. It would be theologically problematic and silly to presume to allow God to create in one way (instantaneous fiat), but not in another (change through time).

Finally, with the Cambrian event we have a scientific and intellectual challenge of the first order. We need all hands on deck to bring this ship to port. To paraphrase Sherlock Holmes in "Silver Blaze," we need to see the value of imagination, imagine what might have happened, act upon the supposition, and perhaps in the end, find ourselves justified. Let us proceed. I wish to congratulate creationists for (finally) making a substantive contribution to scientific discussion.