The challenge with this scenario for many is that the baby was never recognized in the bathwater until much later if at all. I'm still trying to figure out how much baby is actually in the bathwater of my birth religion. That the term 'God' can even point to something meaningful has become apparent to me in the last few years. Beyond that, God, the universe, consciousness and what it all has to do with my little life presents a big puzzle to me.
The problem in even having a conversation about God, I believe, has a lot to do with semantics. I believe a lot of atheists and agnostics have some understanding of God except that they're just not calling it that. The difficulty is in pointing it out because it can be so insanely difficult if not impossible to point to.
Divinity as I understand it is more likely to be found in the quiet still places and unexpected places too. It has more to do with the mysteries of life pointed to through the metaphors of myth, ritual and poetry. Curiosity and the continual awe and wonder of life can draw one nearer to this transcendental reality than a set of obedience tricks we're supposed to turn for ole papa grump pants
It is said that everything rests within divinity and divinity is within everything and divinity is everything.
It is in a teacup
a sneeze
a child's grin
a clock radio
and smelly arm pits too.
If you haven't noticed this, that's OK. Perhaps someday you will. In the meantime...
Atheism and agnosticism are not really problems at all if they are not adopted rigidly as exclusive lenses by which to view the world; but instead as potentially temporary way-stations which allow for the changes of one's views when and if new data or experiences are realized.
I think the crux of the matter comes down to 'description' versus 'prescription' of a world view. If one describes themselves as agnostic, objectivist or whatever, this is just an honest assessment of where one is at in their understanding at that moment in time.
Things become non-useful when this way of seeing things is then prescribed for others as the "correct" view. It assumes that no-one else could possibly be working from a different set of experiences or reasoning that would nullify the "correct" worldview or turn it on it's head.
How many "correct" views have been held in the past with a high degree of certainty only to be found wrong? How many more times will this have to happen before we realize just how puzzling things really are. The universe is a mystery in all of its aspects.
My brother-in-law, Randy, posted this George Carlin quote on facebook the other day.
"I'm not an atheist and I'm not an agnostic. I'm an acrostic. The whole thing puzzles me."
Yeah. I get that. Totally.
BTW - A wonderful post on this subject by Father Stratford+ can be found here.
