"The agnostic does not simply say "I do not know". He goes another step and he says with great emphasis that YOU do not know.
He insists that you are trading on the ignorance of others and on the fear of others. He is not satisfied with saying that you do not know - he demonstrates that you do not know and he drives you from the field of fact. He drives you from the realm of reason. He drives you from the light, into the darkness of conjecture - into the world of dreams and shadows and he compels you to say, at last, that your faith has no foundation in fact." Robert Ingersoll.
Robert Ingersoll Quotes and Audio from Edison
(This is the Youtube video where I found the quote)
The poet in me is excited at the idea that casting doubt on religion's factual foundations is indeed a beautiful thing. The agnostic in me is thinking it is necessary for my sanity. The lover in me wonders at the timing and where Love fits into the dance. But the child in me is frightened that doing so will be another invitation to abandonment.
It is the whole certainty message that needs to be challenged, but not necessarily the faith aspect. Let anyone believe what they need to believe to navigate this world. Yet let us challenge their fact claims that damage other not-so-certain humans on the journey of life.
I am thankful that I am not the first one to rise up in THE world, for I feel less alone. I just feel like in MY world, I would be the first to rise up, and then I do feel alone. Aye... What a conundrum!
