The Bankruptcy of Atheism

Jack: Hey Ben, heard you got religion!
Ben: Well, not really...Jesus saved me and gave me a new life.
Jack: You gotta be kidding, man! There is no God!
Ben: Could I ask you a question?
Jack: Sure, go ahead.
Ben: Do you happen to know everything?
Jack: No dude, and neither do you!
Ben: You're right. But, what percent of TOTAL knowledge do you possess? Ten percent?
Jack: C'mon, man...no one has that much. I just read where scientists believe that we are on the fringe of knowledge. So, I know, like a small percentage of a portion of less than one percent!
Ben: Okay, let's just say you know ONE percent of EVERYTHING there is to know in the universe.
Jack: All right...for arguments sake...
Ben: Well, is it possible that God could exist outside your one percent of total knowledge?
Jack: Yes, theoretically, yes...
Ben: You're a most remarkable atheist then. Two minutes ago, you stated that there was no God, and now you say that it is possible there is one. Why don't you make up your mind?

(two days pass and Jack and Ben meet again - this time Jack has a friend with him)

Jack: Hey Ben, been thinking about our conversation. I think I used the wrong term. I'm not really an atheist. I'm an agnostic!
Ben: Congratulations!
Jack: You like that?
Ben: Yes, that's a lot better. You're in a stronger position because you are telling the truth - you just don't know! By the way, what kind of agnostic are you?
Jack: Are there different kinds of agnostics?
Ben: Yes, among agnostics there are two main denominations, the ordinary agnostic and the ornery agnostic.
Jack: What do you mean by that crack?
Ben: The ordinary agnostic claims, "I don't know there is a God or not!" but the ornery one says, "I don't know, you don't know, nobody knows, and nobody will ever know!" If you say you know that I don't know then I will ask you how you know that I don't know!
Jack: Look man, I quit right there! I'm just a plain, ordinary agnostic. Julian Huxley was a brilliant scholar, and he was an agnostic!
Ben: Granted, Huxley was a brilliant expert in his field, in biology. But, how could any man be brilliant in agnosticism, which means "not knowing"... I just took a course in hermeneutics. Do you know what hermeneutics is? No? Does your friend know what hermeneutics is? No? Neither of you know? Then which of the two of you is more brilliant in not knowing hermeneutics?
Jack: Man, I gotta go. We'll talk more later.
Ben: Sure, later on.