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| The beginning of a 2000 pc puzzle. |
...What then are the aims by reference to which an atheist presumption might be justified? One key word in the answer, if not the key word, must be 'knowledge'. The context for which such a policy is proposed is that of inquiry about the existence of God; and the object of the exercise is, presumably, to discover whether it is possible to establish that the word 'God' does in fact have application. Now to establish must here be either to show that you know or to come to know. But knowledge is crucially different from mere true belief. All knowledge involves true belief; not all true belief constitutes knowledge. To have a true belief is simply and solely to believe that something is so, and to be in fact right. But someone may believe that this or that is so, and his belief may in fact be true, without its thereby and necessarily constituting knowledge. If a true belief is to achieve this more elevated status, then the believer has to be properly warranted so to believe. He must, that is, be in a position to know. "
Antony Flew
Currently, I have two time consuming interests - Puzzles and Philosophy. I am by no means an expert in either one. I like dabbling in both, but also enjoy listening to others who are much more invested and skilled in both.
I have found a lot of commonalities in both the jigsaw puzzles I spend hours assembling and the philosophical thoughts that look a lot more like pieces in my mind than finished pictures. In fact, when I am doing a puzzle, it's not hard to see the process of thinking through the questions of life. Neither one is easy or quick. Both are time consuming, but still beautiful and rewarding.
I get some puzzles that never find total completion. But I try to make them beautiful anyway. Missing pieces get coloured in and stubborn time wasters find a home on my shelf. Creativity moves in when conventional methods of completion are not going to happen. I find the same with philosophy.
I wish I could understand everything I hear and read, but I don't. But it doesn't stop me from reading or listening. Most of today's reading seemed redundant. I felt like Flew could have said what he wanted to say in one paragraph, instead of three pages, but I understand writers like this. I am one of them. Words are our friends and we want to hang out with a lot of them.
Bart Ehrman was the one who turned me onto the difference in meaning between agnostic and atheist. They are not two degrees of the same thing, they are very different things. Knowledge and Belief are two different camps. Understanding this has helped me greatly in the area of grace with myself and with others.
Some things we can know, and some things we get to believe. It is not my job to identify what others know or believe, only for me to understand that both are at play in our day to day lives and sometimes they might cross paths. I know that I am writing a blog post right now; because I believe that what I have to say matters. If I don't believe in what I write, I won't write but I don't have to know in the moment that what I'm writing will make any difference. I just get to believe it and that keeps me writing.
I have to admit, it is easier to call myself an agnostic than an atheist, even through I may literally be both. When it comes to labels, The agnostic label is a lot softer than atheist and requires less explaining. It's why I don't like labels because they rarely define me or my journey. I don't know what lies beyond my senses, and I often don't know what lies within them. I also can't navigate my life without believing in something beyond myself... I just don't call it "God" and definitely don't call it the "God" I embraced for most of my life ... thus applying the atheist label, I guess.
Back to the puzzles and philosophy. There is one difference between the two in my world. Most of my family and friends can, in some way, share my passion of puzzles. Whether that is doing a jigsaw together or simply admiring the completed picture. Jigsaw puzzles are universally enjoyable. But that isn't the case with my interest in philosophy. I am very much alone in that pursuit. Maybe some can track with me for a while out of tolerance, but most don't care. Life goes on and most would rather just look at the picture on the box than spend time assembling the pieces of the puzzle.
What person doesn't want others to be interested in what they are doing? - Especially family and close friends. But for those who aren't into the philosophy... we have puzzles.
