h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

RC Pope to publish "..interpretation of the figure of Jesus of the New Testament" in order "to refute modern interpretations of Jesus as nothing more than a revolutionary and moral teacher. These interpretations are confusing to the faithful"

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2006/11/22/pope-book.html

“Anything that we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done and may in the end be our greatest contribution to civilization.”

-- Free-for-All on Science and Religion http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/21/science/21belief.html?em&ex=1164344400&en=72c4421f06b21e1b&ei=5087%0A

The Pope is going to visit Turkey...what will he say there? Knowing the history of Islam and how they were finally turned away in Austria in 1683. What comes next for us agnostics stuck in the middle?

How are you agnostic if you believe there's a god?

Definitions*:

Theists assert the existence of at least one god, whereas atheists do not**
Agnostics do not think it is possible to know, one way or another.

Basically, agnosticism is the position that we should suspend judgment on the existence or non-existence of gods.

There can be agnostic theists, and agnostic atheists
The agnostic theist asserts the existence of god, but maintains it is not possible to prove the assertion, therefore the non-existence of god is possible.
The agnostic atheist dismisses the idea of a god, but also does not believe it is possible to disprove such ideas, therefore the existence of god is possible.

Thus defined, agnosticism seems incoherent:
If one presupposes that no knowledge about “god” is possible, (including semantic knowledge), then one cannot give any objective meaning to “god”. Therefore the propositions -- “the existence of gods is possible”, and "the non-existence of god is possible", both of which are part of agnosticism, also both become meaningless, and so is agnosticism made meaningless.

*You may consider these definitions simplistic. I prefer to regard them as terse
**Most theists, particularly mono-theists, are also atheists insofar as they do not believe in the deities of other religions.

I still think that none of those pretentious definitions can apply to somebody who makes a statement like this:

"God exists..and he/she takes care of us all, and is a benign God, not fearsome at all..."

Ah well, God people have always been

Pick one: http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/GodProof.htm

And, the strangely sad, or sadly strange thing is, not all 'God people' are

Some, perhaps most, are good, kind, reasonably intelligent humans.

It's just they seem to have this persistent delusion they are unwilling or unable to even contemplate abandoning

It's depressing..