Gore Vidal - That's why I'm an atheist not an agnostic

Interesting debate re belief hosted by Melvyn Bragg with Gore Vidal, The Reverend Keith Ward and Susan Greenfield (LWT one late Sunday evening c1999). Susan Greenfield uses a nice put down phrase "I can't buy into that new physics". Gore Vidal is also in outrageously pompous form and batting for atheism with a twinkle in his eye.

Upon seeing this again I realised three things from it had stuck in my mind.

1 The phrase "That's why I'm an atheist not an agnostic... I'm against this". I try not to ram my opinions down other peoples throats, you know live and let live and all that, but occasionally when provoked I've found myself using this expression.

2 Gore Vidal refers to a point, which I think he had argued earlier (before I started taping) that the reason that atheism historically had so few artistic heavyweights , was due to religious oppression. He then makes an interesting point that with the atheist view of the universe being so much more "poetic", its sad that it's supporters have never really engaged the consciousness of the masses. (Joni Mitchell's - Woodstock "We are stardust" is out there but I wish there were a lot more such works)

3 The "Why burst other peoples bubble argument". This is the point I have the biggest difficulty with as an atheist. The vast majority of "religious" people are happy and pretty much harmless so what's the point of causing them grief. In this case an audience member who is a grief counselor talks, you respect her, I would not want to argue with her however the atheist panelists give a nice example of how to show her the dignity she deserves.

Formerly on thingsihaveseen & thingsihaveseen2