Archive for HUMANISM
YouTube if you want to: QualiaSoup
Posted by: | CommentsI have been watching some videos on a YouTube channel called “QualiaSoup”, and I found them to be very relevant to my helping define my world views and rejection of religion. I originally discovered the videos several months ago now and wanted to help raise awareness of them due to the fact they so clearly and articulately express the non-religious world view. I find many of the videos personally relevant as they describe quite precisely the thought processes I went through whenever I tried to convince myself there was a god.
I would like to comment on how well put together these videos are. This isn’t someone sitting in front of a camera ranting away like Pat Condell, or some very quick and dirty PowerPoint slides set to cheesy music. These videos have high quality images, which very clearly and explicitly tie into the narrative. The narrative has a very calm and relaxed style, with no sways of emotional tonality, however this does not detract from the engaging and enlightening content.
It affected me in quite a positive way because I could identify with the topics being discussed and have experienced very similar thought processes in my exploration of the various religions which exist in the world. I felt a sense of connection with the narrator because like him I felt no strong animosity when I finally reached the conclusion that religion and superstition was irrational nonsense. I had simply examined the evidence and came to the conclusion that the evidence was insufficient.
The content of videos varies, but carries the same general themes. I particularly liked the first one I ever watched, which was on the subject of open mindedness. The narration describes how being open minded is not the automatic acceptance of what someone tells you and that you need to explore and test all the evidence before leaping to any conclusions (as I did with religion).
It also points out the obvious paradox that an inexplicable phenomenon can be explained by something supernatural. I felt a particular resonance with the view the saying you don’t believe something is not the same thing as saying it is untrue. I find that this is an argument I which presents itself not just in religious discussions, but all the time in everyday life.
The last and most poignant thing I picked up from this video is that some people hold the view that being open minded means agreeing with them even if they don’t present you with sufficient evidence to support the case they are presenting. As Carl Sagan once said “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”, and this video articulates the concepts of critical thinking so simply and clearly that I think everyone should watch it.
If you’re religious you may find these videos challenging your beliefs, if you’re non-religious you may find these videos help you understand yourself and your thinking better. If all these videos do is get you to challenge your own thinking, then they have served a positive purpose and helped move you one more step in developing your critical thinking.
I have now watched most of the videos in QualiaSoup channel, and found them to be extremely informative and helpful. They resonate with my own world view, and I would encourage you to visit YouTube and take a look for yourself. I have embedded the “Open Mindedness” video in this article, but there are many others which are of equal excellence.
BBC Thought for the Day
Posted by: | Comments
I have just been reading an interesting piece in the Telegraph, about secularists wanting a voice on Radio 4’s, “Thought for the Day” slot. Personally I find the Today programme quite a good bit of news reporting, especially as they have a really agressive style of interrogating their guests, in a very un-Paxman like way.
So for the un-initaited ”Thought for the Day” comes on during the Today programme around about 7:45am and a pre-selected religious buff gives us a 3 minute monolgue about what he thinks about current affairs. There are a mix of religious commentators from the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and many other faiths. Needless to say, its almost like a daily sermon in a 3 minute slot.
Now the evil secularists, atheists and humanists want to get in on the action and have a slice of the action, boring people to death with their endless drivel in the 7:45am slot. Sorry to be harsh, but you can’t tell me it will be any better just because they don’t believe in God. I’d don’t agree that non-believers should be banned from the slot, but equally I don’t really give a crap. There are a lot more important issues to address than “Thought for the Day”. How about, so called “honour killings”, or forced marriage, what about the 26 C of E Bishops who sit unelected in the House of Lords.
I just can’t get up the energy to argue about “Thought for the Day” as it all just smacks of, me-too-isms. The only reason the slot has 4.5 million listeners is because they’re already tuned into the Today programme and can’t be bothered the change the radio station. I bet if you took it off air, and made it available only on iPlayer very few people would bother to go look for it.
Oh and if you’re one of those religious types, don’t go thinking I’m on your side either. You get plenty of programmes on TV, like all the channels that pump out worship on Sky. They even have it listed specifically in the planner! Let us also not forget “Songs of Praise” and “Around the World in 80 faiths”. So don’t tell me that the religious are hard done by.
So what to do with the 3 minute boredom slot? either make it more interesting, or bin it is my view. I have no interest in it and it seems completely out of place in the programme content.
Love in your heart
Posted by: | CommentsAs Christmas time approaches for the Christians in our society many people join in with the celebrations. Some people even re-brand the holiday to “Winterval” which in my opinion is a contradiction, because you either celebrate Christmas as a Christian or you don’t. All this “me too” approach to humanism irritates me a little because as humanists we don’t need to hang on the coat tails of the religious.
However the idea behind Christmas of loving your fellow human beings isn’t lost on me by any stretch of the imagination. In fact I was thinking about what kind of song humanists could sing instead of something overly religious. Then it sprang into my head from the dim and distant past, a song I’d heard in the movie “Scrooged” entitled “Put a little love in your heart”. I looked up the song on iTunes and sure enough there it was! Not a biblical phrase in sight but a very humanist message of love and kindness for our fellow man.
I do not celebrate the Christian festival of Christmas, but I certainly do use the new year as a time of reflection and celebration. So when midnight rolls around on 31st December 2008, I will be thinking of friends, family and the others who are not as fortunate as me. I will reflect on my attitude to myself and others, and think how can I do better in 2009? Maybe in my own small way I can help inspire and change the lives of others.
I’m not big on the spending, the eating and the getting drunk, but the idea of challenging myself to do better is something that I can relate to.
Atheism and Humanism
Posted by: | Comments![j0433180[1]](http://www.edeonline.me.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/j04331801.jpg)
I haven’t written in my blog for a little while now, as I haven’t been very well and life has generally been quite hectic on top of that. However I do subscribe to news alerts on Google which have the word atheist and humanist.
The reason I do this is so that I can keep tabs on what the media was saying about humanists and atheists, for example if Richard Dawkins says something profound which the media picks up on. The only thing that was profound as the amount of pro-Christian articles which simply went on an atheist/humanist bashing rampage.
For example, one article tried to claim that atheists don’t give to charity, a fact I strongly dispute because not only do I regularly give to charity, but I have been swimming for charity, running for charity, and sponsored friends and relatives for charity. I even stood in the pouring rain cheering on a friend running for he Alzheimer’s society having sponsored her. It is not my policy to give to religious charities, because I don’t trust them not to discriminate, however I have given a significant sum to charities I choose to support, such as cancer research.
I’ll admit that I have written articles against religious involvement in public life, and even about my philosophical differences with religion. However I don’t generally hit out at religious individuals with negative personal comments. The atheist authors like Hitchens, Dawkins and Grayling come in for intense bashing by the American media in particular. I myself have suffered insults and condemnation from several people who claim they are Christian.
It is so disappointing that the media can’t find anything to do but attack humanists, and there seem to be no shortage of religious representatives who want to be interviewed. There are a few good journalists out there who report objectively, and I have no problem with being challenged on ethical or philosophical issues at all. In fact I love debating this sort of thing, especially as I’m generally more well versed in religious scriptures that many so called religious people.
However where do we draw the line between honest debate and hate mongering? I don’t object to their right to say what they like in a free society, however it comes down to what is polite and civil. You can call yourself religious, but it is you actions and behaviour on which people will judge you.
Berkshire Humanists BBQ
Posted by: | Comments
Yesterday I took the family to the annual BBQ for the Berkshire Humanists. The weather stayed fine, and there were quite a few people who came along. It was amazing to see all the kids playing together even though they varied quite a bit in age.
I got to meet some new people and make some new friends, which was exactly what I’d hoped. Julie was keeping quiet during a conversation I had with a “Bright“, about superstition. However we humanists like to be inclusive and Julie was made to feel very welcome amongst us.
The food was great and everyone brought plenty of food to eat. Its not that often we get that many of the group together in one place, so it seems my arguments about being more of a social group were quite correct. Offer up some food and drink and they all come in droves.
There was a fair bit of discussion around the BHA’s AGM which took place on the previous day, but it was all very informal chit-chat. A few of the other parents there also talked through some of the issues like faith schools, worship in schools, and the Scouts discrimination against humanists.
One of the group brought along a really great bubble set which made huge bubbles, that floated around the garden. The kids thought this was fab and had great fun chasing them around the garden.
I am looking forward to the Annual dinner now!
BHA Annual General Meeting
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday I attended the Annual General Meeting of the British Humanist Association, a charitable organisation which promotes the interests of Humanism. As a member of the BHA I have to be honest, I was expecting a very dry meeting with a lot of old people reading in a monotone way the activities of the association for the last year, and how wrong I was.
To start with I registered for the AGM, and wandered around looking at some of the leaflets and re-looking at the annual accounts. very dry reading indeed. The Conway Hall itself is quite a dated venue and was built in 1929. Above the stage area in the main hall was the saying, “To Thine Own Self Be True” and never truer words from a humanist perspective. Shakespeare has always been inspiring to me personally, and I love his work, so to see him quoted in such a way really set the scene for me.
I hadn’t intended to sit through all the forums because I had this pre-conception that they’d all be very boring accounts. However I was very much mistaken, as I discovered when I went into the campaign forum. Andrew Copson, led the discussion and it was a really passionate presentation about how far we’d come in campaigning against faith schools, and the census question.
The questioning in the forum was very bullish, and forthright. People had no problem standing up and speaking out, giving specific examples where religious privilege was rife in their communities. It was clear that other Humanists at the meeting feel very passionate about equality the environment and there was a very clear sense of personal accountability. There were so many people standing up and saying, “This is what I am doing”, or “Where I live here are the issues”. Equally as positive the BHA were taking up some of the issues raised, to explore them further and offer assistance.
The AGM itself was quite lively, and Hanne Stinson gave a very good account of the activities in the last year. People we not shy about questioning her either, and she was challenged on a number of issues. There was a particular question about the national anthem, and if we should campaign to get it changed, so we had a show of hands to see if members thought this was worth investing any resource in.
One rather grumpy old member wanted to press on and cover the accounts, which was slightly dry, and to be fair they kept it quite short. Many questions were raised, and well responded to around this topic. Hanne is also trying to raise an extra £100,000 for which she has agreed to have the BHA logo tattooed on her shoulder. Depending on how much money is raised depends on how big the tattoo will be. As the collection box came around I almost felt like I was in church, but everyone put some cash in the box as it was passed long.
The final part of the AGM was an address by Poly Toynbee, which was greeted with rapturous applause. Poly was an extremely engaging speaker and I sat and wondered why this wasn’t being videoed for publication. She covered all the issues from Scouts, to Lords reform, and ended by highlighting the very important work done in promoting a humanist lifestyle through ceremonies work.
I even got to meet Poly after the meeting, and it felt a bit like I was meeting a celebrity, but she was relaxed to talk to, and equally as engaging on an individual level. I spoke to other key players in the BHA such as Andrew Copson, and Hanne Stinson, and they were equally glad to chat and hear about not only my work with Berkshire Humanists, but also my personal experiences. What amazed me the most is that people knew my name. Of the thousands of members, they recognised my name from postings in the forum, from facebook, and from my work with the local group.
I came away from the meeting feeling really excited and positive about the BHA and the work they do and am more determined to renew my membership year on year.
Ben Elton’s Latest
Posted by: | CommentsI have just finished listening to Ben Elton’s latest book, called “Blind Faith“, when I read the description on iTunes I hadn’t quite got the whole picture of what it was about.
The book describes a world of the future in which the polar ice caps have melted and everyone lives in cramped conditions, with no privacy. In fact privacy and secrets are a perversion. Citizens are expected to display the most intimate details of their lives on their blogs and “tubes”. The country is run by a religious group which reveres God, Jesus and Diana (assumedly princess Diana). They worship “The Love”, even when children die every day. Open display of raw emotion are the norm, people sharing sex and grief using web cams in their homes. The heat is so unbearable the populous of this place walk around barely clothed and people openly engage in sexual activity, and perving on others is expected as a societal norm.
The main Character in the story Trafford, is an ordinary unassuming guy who just likes to keep one or two little secrets to himself. He gets involved with a group of subversives after having his daughter vaccinated (which is illegal), and finds himself becoming the voice of Humanism in a world blinded to reason by religion. Stupidity is expected, and intelligence condemned.
With everything monitored and watched on the net, and people punished for belief in evolution, Trafford soon gets carried away with revolutionary ideas.
The names of the characters were quite amusing, such as Katelyn Happy Meal, and Tinkerbell.
There are parts of this story that make me chuckle, but I didn’t really get if the tone was supposed to be funny, or a commentary on society as it is today. Of course it represents the best and the worst in humans as all good stories do, and it also paints a picture of what society could be like if religious zealots took over. It describes what would happen if reason were replaced with mythology and superstition, then combine that with the “Big Brother” type of voyeurism, but far more graphic and sexual.
I couldn’t possibly spoil the plot line or the ending, as it was a very compelling story (audio book). I would recommend it highly, as it paints a very stark vision of the future, in which sanity and reason are lost, and the only light is the humanists keeping their dirty little secrets.
This is sometimes how I feel being in a Christian country, that I should keep my peace, and just try to blend in, pretending to be Christian. However am I lucky because I don’t have to, and wouldn’t want to.
Why do I call myself humanist?
Posted by: | CommentsA couple of people who’ve read my profile (and blog) wonder why I call myself a humanist, and so openly. Well the reason is I find it a more positive description of my beliefs and values.
I could easily say, I’m an atheist, or a secularist, or even non-religious. I feel its important to describe myself in a way that doesn’t judge someone elses way of life or values. I’d rather say what I am, than what I am not.
I suppose to someone who isn’t familiar with the term, it sounds like something from the 70’s, associated with hippies and the like. To be honest all sorts of people consider themselves humanists, and it far predates the 1970’s. Just have a read on Wikipedia.
When I talk about being humanist I’m talking about living my life in a positive way, helping people, contributing to society and taking responsibility for my choices and actions.
Humanism isn’t a religion, and I don’t worship the fairies at the bottom of the garden, or Zogg the mighty from Garzax 7. There is no ritual, no doctrine, and no scripture. I suppose some people do take issues with my values is when I express the desire to be free from religion.
Let me clear this up, because I’m a live and let live kind of guy. I have no problem with religion, and I would even die to defend someones right to believe what they want. Being a pacifist I’m not going to kill anyone for you though. All I ask is to be afforded the same right, which is to not have religion influence my chosen way of life.
As I humanist I can work with people of religion when I agree their aims, e.g. curing cancer, saving the rainforests, helping people with HIV. However, if I disagree with religions aims, then expect open criticism too.
So, I’m a happy humanist.
