My first reaction is a sense of caution around extrapolating from our feelings to how g0ds came to exist. I have no real expertise in this area though, it's just a feeling. I'm also thinking of Jung, for some reason.

There are plenty of agnostics who are at the atheist end of the scale, and that's fine. I call myself an “open agnostic”, by which I mean I'm open to the idea that either might be true – no spiritual reality, or vice versa. From discussions I've participated, agnostics can have vehement disagreements among themselves, just like any other religion ;)

I'm agnostic about aliens for example, but think they probably haven't visited earth. if I had reasonable evidence that we've met some I'd have to change my mind. If it was important to me, I'd probably be on the search for ET right now.

Then I went and got all thinky and decided if I ever did have any kind of fully fledged spiritual experience that I'd probably be OK with that, and that having had that (hypothetical) experience, I could hardly claim to have no knowledge of it could I?

In regard to this post, I'd hoped to distinguish “I don't know” from “We can't know” (generalized version of agnosticism, for those playing at home) – Sorry if that didn't come through clearly.

Lately, I've been toying with the theory that the assorted deities we've inherited were originally anthropomorphic expressions of things we did know about ourselves, and the way that we 'work' – still playing with the concept, but would love to hear what you think on the origins of common deities.

Jonathan

Oh, and before I forget: FIRST!!!!!!!! :D keep it up!