Reply to New Pew Religion survey - America's changing landscape

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[quote=Anonymous]Getting back to the Pew survey, there is an interesting article in the NY Times: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/18/opinion/charles-blow-unaffiliated-and-underrepresented.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region[/url].  Pointing out how underrepresented non-affiliated voters are, the author, Charles Blow, quotes one of our few unaffiliated presidents. Abe Lincoln: "That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or any denomination of Christians in particular."

I love Lincoln's lawyerly wording, he does not deny the truth of the Scriptures, but he does not claim to accept the truth.  As an avowed atheist, I can quite comfortably make the same statement.  So comfortably that my only question about Lincoln is whether he would, if he were around nowadays, consider himself am agnostic or an atheist.

In the same letter that the above quote came from, Lincoln said "I do not think I could myself, be brought to support a man for office, whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion. Leaving the higher matter of eternal consequences, between him and his Maker, I still do not think any man has the right thus to insult the feelings, and injure the morals, or the community in which he may live. If, then, I was guilty of such conduct, I should blame no man who should condemn me for it; but I do blame those, whoever they may be, who falsely put such a charge in circulation against me."  I think some of my fellow atheists on these threads should take to heart the idea that one can respect believers even while not sharing their belief.[/quote]

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