seraph9k said:
His "not all skeptics are atheists" comment was especialy welcome. (I tried to corner him several times throughout the rest of the conference to thank him for it, and was unable to do so--so, I'll take this opportunity to say "Thanks for that, Bidlock. Some of us were feeling rather alienated until that moment, and the comment opened a much needed dialog. I, for one, thank you--and I'm sure several others do as well.)
A Yew-per (had to do it phoenetically)???? Where they have 3 seasons - winter, spring and deer?
My dad was assigned to KI Sawyer from '79-'81. Except for the 3-20 feet of snow (yes, I've seen the markers in the Kewenaw Penninsula) each winter, I loved it up there. So eat a pastie on St. Urho's day in remembrance of your fellow skeptics, eh.
The point about skeptism = atheism has been a serious bone of contention for me. I am an atheist, but even if I weren't I'd be skeptical of UFOs, Cryptozoology, theraputic touch, revisionist history, Atlantis and supposed lost "halls of records," spirit mediums, psi, etc.
I feel that the skeptic movement does a disservice if it considers that one must be an atheist to be a "true skeptic." If for no other reason than it smacks the very same "religious" intollerance that atheists are supposedly so disdainful of.
The majority of people in America are religious. The majority are not woo woo young earth creationists who think Bob Tilton can give them riches and Benny Hinn can cure their cancer. The majority are just folks, trying to live their lives and - just like all of us - can really use a healthy does of skepticism or adivce and lessons in how to be more so about the myriad of things we
both agree don't exist. There's no reason to let the whole "God thing" get in the way.
