Some people have tried to convince me that I should be an agnostic instead of an atheist. I like the word "atheist" - I think it's a more accurate description of what I believe. Of course if you try to some up your beliefs in a single word then you're bound to lose a lot. By "atheist" I mean I believe there are no gods. However I believe this with varying degrees of certainty, depending on what you mean by "god". Some people define "god" in such a vague and abstract way that the question of belief no longer makes much sense. A better question might be whether "god" is a useful metaphor for some deep truth that is hard to put into words. On this question you might call me an agnostic - I think some such metaphors are probably somewhat useful for some people. However most theists also have some more concrete beliefs. For example, did Jesus get up and walk around after he died on the cross? I say no. If you say yes, or you don't know, or you don't think it's a yes or no question, then I think that points to a fairly fundamental difference in how we think the world works. Maybe later I'll talk about these more concrete questions, and how certain I am of the answers, and whether that makes me just as dogmatic as a religious fundamentalist.

This seems like a suitably obscure place for a blog. I want to use this as a way to sort out my thoughts. I don't expect anyone to read it. I don't know why I want to do that here instead of in an old fashioned pen and paper secret diary. Maybe it's the habit of doing everything on the web. Maybe I like the idea that some stranger *might* read this and find it interesting. Maybe I'm a closet exhibitionist. I want to sort out, or clarify a little, my thoughts about religion. I was raised an atheist, and I'll probably always consider myself an atheist. In high school I used to enjoy arguing with Christians about how silly I thought their beliefs were. Nowadays I'm less obnoxious. I hang out with people of various religious beliefs, and nobody tries to convert anyone, and we all get along just fine. Recently, Richard Dawkins and some other prominent atheists have suggested that I should be a bit more like the obnoxious high school student, loudly pointing out how silly religious beliefs are. There is too much at stake, they say. Fundamentalist Muslims are killing innocent people. Fundamentalist Christians are distorting US policy, which is killing even more innocent people. On the other hand, as I get older, I get more interested in people who think differently from me. I'm fascinated by religious people, and what really motivates them, and how much there is of value underneath the more nonsensical or toxic beliefs. So that's what I want to explore. In a future entry. If there is one. Since this is songmeanings, maybe I should mention that at this moment I am listening to The Cure. "The Blood" seems appropriate.