During World War I, Bertrand Russell's outspoken pacifism resulted in his being committed to jail. When he entered the prison, he was met by the warden who showed himself to be quite ecumenical in his religious beliefs, as indicated by this anecdote: ‘I was much cheered on my arrival by the warder at the gate, who had to take particluars about me. He asked my religion and I replied “agnostic”. He asked how to spell it, and remarked with a sigh: (...) “Well, there are many religions, but I suppose they all worship the same God”. This remark kept me cheerful about a week.’. (shrink)

In his recent comment on my brief essay on concepts of God in this journal Peter Slater raises some pivotal questions that I feel obligated to answer.