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Liberal
Religion, beliefs and interests of an Agnostic,
Unitarian, Pantheist, Humanist Freethinker.
I attended Unitarian-Universalist theological
school for one year and this has been my
predominant religious identification. Since
coming to the Philippines and trying to find a
religious group here and on the internet, I have
found the Apathetic Agnostic Church and received
my ordination as a minister and a Master of
Agnosticism degree from it, so I am trying to
organize a local group for the Bicol region.
There is no conflict between the beliefs of these
liberal religions. Perhaps the Ethical Culture
Society, with its emphasis on ethical and
responsible behavior, would suit me best, but
there is no group in the Philippines as far as I
can tell. I certainly feel little similarity with
Atheists who follow the teachings of Ayn Rand or
Friedrich Nietzsche despite their sharing the
rejection of traditional religious authorities
and their belief in thinking for themselves,
since they do not share the moral and social
sense of responsibility of liberal religion. Here
is my statement of belief for the Apathetic
Agnostic Church of Bicol.
Apathetic Agnostics try to live up to our credo,
"We don't know and we don't care". This
refers to belief in the existence of a personal
deity (a person or persons in the psychological
sense, a god or gods created in the image of
humans). While many of us would go beyond this to
denying the possibility of a god who is the
omnipotent creator of the universe who also
allows the suffering in this world, or an
infinite divinity who is petty and jealous and
will only save those who subscribe to one of many
belief systems, condemning all others to eternal
punishment, we are not quite ready to deny the
possibility of any spiritual or psychic being
greater than ourselves. Apathetic Agnosticism
come from the Greek, 'a pathos' (without concern
or feeling) and 'a gnosis' (without knowledge).
Of course there are millions of apathetic
agnostics in the world, but the very nature of
our beliefs causes most of us not to feel
impelled to take a stand on the issue or join a
group. Some of us who find ourselves bombarded
with Theistic entreaties or evangelism feel a
need to have a position to fall back on and a
support group of kindred spirits. Such is our
Church, a place for renewal and support for
Agnostics, Unitarians, Pantheists, Freethinkers,
Ethical Culturists, Universalists, Humanists,
Nontheists, Atheists, and other rational free
spirits. |
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| Anubis, the
Egyptian god of death. He is represented either
as a jackal or a jackal headed man. This statue
in the National Museum in Cairo is my favorite
religious icon. Of course, that is probably
because I am very attracted to all wild canids,
especially dholes, wolves, fennec foxes, maned
wolves, dingos and jackals. |
Religion Sites
Apathetic
Agnostic Church of Bicol A
church for all Agnostics, Unitarians,
Freethinkers, Pantheists, Humanists,
Universalists, Nontheists, Atheists and other
free spirits in the Bicol Region of the
Philippines.
Bicol
Agnostics Discussion Group A
bulletin board and discussion group for all
Agnostics, Unitarians, Freethinkers, Pantheists,
Humanists, Universalists, Nontheists, Atheists
and other free spirits in the Bicol Region of the
Philippines.
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| The logo of the Apathetic Agnostic
Church in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, headed by John Tyrrell. |
Universal
Church Triumphant of the Apathetic Agnostic. The International Headquarters of the
Apathetic Agnostic movement. "We don't know
[if there is a god] and we don't care" is
the slogan of this group.
Unitarian
Universalist Association The
Unitarian-Universalist Church is a liberal
religious organization committed to individual
religious freedom. It is found in many countries,
including the Philippines, where there are active
congrgations on Negros, Panay and Mindanao.
American Ethical
Union. The Ethical Culture
Society movement stresses moral, responsible
behavior, caring for others, without making it
dependent on an anthropomorphic deity.
International
Humanist and Ethical Union. International
organization supporting the ideal of ethical,
responsible behavior based on rational thought.
American Humanist Association.
A leading voice in the stuggle for
freedom of religion and conscience in America.
World
Pantheist Movement. Scientific
Pantheism is the belief that God is the totality
of existence, the Universe and its order, Nature
itself.
Freethought
Ring A Webring with 521 sites
for Freethinkers, those who wish to think for
themselves, not accept authority as infallible.
Religion
Without Revelation - Julian Huxley An argument that Humanism is a religion,
based on the writings of Julian Huxley.
Tribute
to Corliss B LaMont. This site
includes a link to download the entire text of
"Philosophy of Humanism".
Bertrand
Russell's Writings. This
includes his famous 1927 book, Why I Am Not A
Christian.
Philippine
Freethinkers Forum. A
Philippine group which is part of the Freethought
movement.
Philippine
Nontheists Group. A
Philippine group for all who reject the traditional personal god of Theists.
Philippine
Pantheism. The website
of a Philippine group for all who believe that the Universe, Nature or a
universal spiritual force (Laon or Mana) are worthy of reverence. God is not
the creator of the universe, the Universe is God.
Philippine
Pantheism Group.
A Philippine group for all who believe that the Universe, Nature or a
universal spiritual force (Laon or Mana) are worthy of reverence. God is not
the creator of the universe, the Universe is God.
Open
Directory Agnostic Links.
Links to many sites on Agnosticism.
Open
Directory Pantheist Links.
Links to many sites on Pantheism.
Personal Religious
Identifications.
Under constant questioning from "jailhouse preachers" (drug dealing pimps, mostly)
while I was the librarian in a county jail, I finally wrote out a list of religions
which I admire and identify with, at least in some aspects. The irony of their
trying to save my soul escaped them, but they did greatly reinforce my rejection
of their salvation by faith belief.
Salvation by Faith.
Bible based refutation of salvation by faith alone.
The Voice in the
Wilderness.
All four Gospels state that John the Baptist was 'The Voice in the Wilderness'
foretold by Isaiah. What did Isaiah really say?
The Divinity of
Jesus.
Was Jesus really "God the Son?"
Denominations
Differ in Ascertaining Truth.
Description of some denominations, mostly Christian or Liberal faiths, classifying
them by the means they use to decide what to believe.
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