The Sermon Part 2 (Agnosticism)

by dhw, Sunday, July 27, 2008, 16:25 (5961 days ago) @ David Turell

David reasons that there has to be a greater power, but quite rightly points out that this is different from "accepting that there is a greater power". Acceptance requires a "leap of faith". - If I have understood panentheism correctly, it = belief in a greater power without the attribution to it of any personal qualities. That is why I suggested it was the furthest that reason could go towards theism. Thank you for clarifying your position, but your analysis of my own is slightly inaccurate. You say that I am "not willing to take the leap". I don't think it's a matter of will. I find the evidence of intelligent design too convincing to allow for faith in chance (which I equate with atheism). But as I've tried to explain in my postings, I find the evidence of indifference/impersonality too convincing to allow for faith that a designer is actually out there, let alone maintaining a loving interest in me and my fellow creatures. I can't pray to a force whose nature is so indeterminate. I use the word "can't", not "won't". A leap of faith would not be confined to acceptance of design (which I think is the limit of reason's reach) but would require a personal trust. You "have faith in Him" and "can relate to Him in prayer", and yet you are "not sure how 'personal' God is". You have probably hit on the ideal balance between reason and hope, and I find it very appealing. But the suffering of the world is real, and it provides a constant barrage of evidence which suggests that whether designed or not, the universe doesn't care. And so I'm faced with the following possibilities: 1) a loving God; 2) a malevolent God; 3) an indifferent God; 4) a God with a dichotomized, human-type nature; 5) no God at all. 
 
From a purely personal point of view, of course No 1 is ideal, No 2 is the worst possible scenario, I can live with Nos. 3 and 5, which amount to the same thing, and No 4 fills me with mixed reactions. A "leap of faith" would require a decision between these five possibilities (including No. 5) that I am not able to take.