[Dragaera] agnosticism (no flame) (was, long ago: (no spoilers) The 17 [Great Weapons])

[Howard Brazee]

Ken Koester wrote:
> Belief is belief, special or no.  And the question of an afterlife is of 
> an entirely different order than that of a rednosed reindeer:  there are 
> plenty of reindeer on display, but no credible reports of an afterlife 
> (there may be some tantalizing hints in near-death experiences, but it 
> is not clear that they aren't simply a natural artefact of the way the 
> brain starts to die).  Repeat:  there is *no* evidence either way.  So 
> any assertion about it amounts to belief.  Similarly, an assertion about 
> a super-natural entity, in the original sense of the word.  (And yes, a 
> denial is an assertion in this context.)
>
>   
There's lots of evidence that Santa Clause exists.

I've seen no evidence either way whether there is a red statue of myself 
in the middle of the street in front of city hall in Timbuktu.   I  
don't believe one exists though.