more ramblings

Dear Friends,

Exactly.  You got me pegged.  I strive to be accepted by others.  Being a child that was always left out of games and never invited to birthday parties by the smug little rich kids in my school(are my biases showing?), and struggling inside my own head to be "just as good as anyone else", I was conditioned to Need to Be Wanted and Accepted.  It's a real curse, but that's why I am an Agnostic instead of an Atheist. 

 

Dear Curious Carl, 

I think that I'm an atheist, in that I do not believe that there is a higher
power.  I don't think that I'm rigid about that.  I suspect that people who
define themselves as atheists, may be rigid in response to all the criticism
they receive.  If you say you're an agnostic, that means that you're not
denying that there may be a higher power and it makes you more acceptible to
folks so they're not as judgemental.

Your Friend

 

Note from another friend,

I believe that atheism is, in itself, a religion. The only difference is
those who practice it actually worship not believing in something. And, yes,
like you, Carl, I've known atheists who can be just as rigid in their
thinking as the most rigid conservative Christian. And yet they will tell
you that since they're atheist they're open-minded. I admire true agnostics
like you, Carl, because you have truly eschewed any mind-trapping dogma
from either side.