A Miscellany 128
Press Release: Agnosticity
by Raymond A. Hult*
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Retired FBI Agent and Former Christian and Mormon Advocate
Defends Agnosticism in Probing New Series
What happens when an FBI agent investigates the case for God?
Bountiful, UT – Some hesitate to confront troublesome religious and philosophical questions. Others can’t stop asking questions. Using his investigative and reasoning skills, developed over the course of 27 years as an FBI agent, former Mormon church official Ray Hult explores these questions in depth, but from the point of view of an objective Agnostic.
"Most religious aisles of the major book stores are flooded with titles that extol the virtues of one denomination or another while all failing to address an objective analysis of the existence of their God. Agnostic writers need to step up to the plate and share the message that it makes good sense to admit that we just don’t know," says Hult.
Hult contends that religious dogma is often based on a level of logic that a person would never accept in most other aspects of that same person’s normally common sense approach to life. He believes that constant association with and repetition of such doctrine often blocks the benefit of a clear-minded evaluation of faith induced conviction.
Hult feels that a majority of literature on religious doctrine primarily concentrates on two viewpoints:
1) priests, clergymen, and the devoutly religious assert fiercely that there’s no basis for doubt, and that doubt leads to moral degradation; and
2) that of staunch atheists, who fiercely deny the possibility of god, without even suggesting an alternative that suggests a possible creator.
Hult emphasizes the middle ground as the most logical course of belief. Using the term Agnosticity to highlight his approach, he asserts it is perfectly acceptable to admit that not all human beings can be completely confident in God’s existence. “Being an Agnostic doesn’t have to mean an individual will veer from the core moral values many religious persons hold-such as helping others in need and maintaining a strong and respectable family unit.”
So far, Hult has completed the first two books of his series, Agnosticity, An Agnostic View of Bothersome Christian Doctrine; and his second volume, Agnosticity, An Agnostic View of Bothersome Mormon Doctrine.
Rather than attacking the positive aspects of both Christianity and Mormonism in these volumes, Hult seeks to explain the reasonableness of the agnostic view by clarifying specific reasons for doubt.
According to Hult, he began this series because he “wants the members of all major organized religions to, at least, respect the agnostic point of view even if they can’t accept it.” Also, he reminds us, “Saying one isn’t sure if there is a God shouldn’t be considered all that unusual and there are credible reasons for taking that position.”
Hult's first two volumes can be purchased directly from the publisher at Trafford.com where readers can review several pages of each book. Both books are also available at a number of internet book sites including both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
*ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Raymond A. Hult, 63 years old, has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Masters of Public Administration in Criminal Justice to go along with his career in the FBI. He was once an official of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) where he was called to be a bishop. A converted Agnostic, his knowledge of both Christianity and Mormonism is based on a lifetime of service and study in both.