Clipmarks | Humanism Clips

Humanism Grows in Scotland

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:42:57 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: A large growth int he number of humanist weddings in Scotland could be another indicator of people's turning away from superstition and myth and towards a philosophy embrassing life.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Wedding couples turn to humanism

The number of humanist weddings in Scotland is on the rise, according to General Registrar Office figures.

It is now the fourth most popular type of wedding to be officially classed as religious - although humanism itself is not a religion.

The Humanist Society of Scotland conducted 710 marriages last year - compared with 82 in the first year they were allowed.

There was also a fall in the number of weddings carried out by both the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church.

The society has predicted that if current trends continue, there will be more humanist weddings than Catholic weddings in Scotland by 2010.

Although classified by the Registrar General of Scotland as a form of religious marriage, humanism is not a religion, but a secular philosophy or belief system.

This was despite a drop in the total number of weddings in Scotland.

Tags: humanism, wedding, trends, scotland

Fry on Not Needing Religion

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:07:29 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Succinct, intelligent comments about humanism.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

Stephen Fry's beautiful comments on a world without God.

[Video]

Tags: philosophy, religion, humanism

False Premises

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:24:13 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: I often come across people attempting to argue that atheism is some sort of a creed or even a religion. This clip touches on why this simply isn't the case. The article itself goes into much greater detail.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

Atheism Has to be a Creed. It Just Has to Be!

One of the more popular myths about atheism is the idea that it's some sort of ideology, philosophy, religion, or creed. Some religious theists just can't understand how atheism can be anything less than that; in fact, some are so much in denial about what atheism is that they will go to great lengths to insist that it must involve some set of beliefs, assertions, and ideas about the world which is analogous to their own.

It is not true that "atheism requires additional beliefs in order to be a livable creed" because atheism is not any sort of creed and the only people who try to treat it as such are religious apologists like Alan Roebuck who refuse to engage actual atheistic belief systems like humanism, Objectivism, existentialism, Buddhism, etc. Instead, they only choose to attack "atheism," which I put in quotes because instead of attacking atheism as it really exists, they attack a Straw Man

Tags: atheism, atheist, religion, theists

Belief System Selector

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:22:04 GMT

clipped by: overunity
clipper's remarks: According to the results of the survey, i should be Adventist. - Well... I am.

Clip Source: www.selectsmart.com

BELIEF SYSTEM SELECTOR RESULTS

Seventh Day Adventist (100%)

Orthodox Quaker (97%)

Mainline - Conservative Christian Protestant (86%)

Eastern Orthodox (80%)

Roman Catholic (80%)

Hinduism (56%)

Mainline - Liberal Christian Protestants (51%)

Jainism (49%)

Jehovah's Witness (44%)

Orthodox Judaism (43%)

Islam (41%)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (38%)

Bahai (37%)

Liberal Quakers (36%)

Theravada Buddhism (35%)

Mahayana Buddhism (35%)

Unitarian Universalism (27%)

Sikhism (24%)

New Age (21%)

Neo-Pagan (20%)

Taoism (19%)

Non-theist (18%)

Secular Humanism (18%)

Reform Judaism (16%)

Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (15%)

New Thought (14%)

Scientology (13%)

Tags: adventist, god, belief, religion

allaboutphilosophy.org

Mon, 12 May 2008 12:15:22 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: interesting site...

Clip Source: www.allaboutphilosophy.org

Philosophy: The Big Questions

Do you want a rational investigation of the truth? Philosophy poses many questions. Where did I come from and why am I here? Why is there suffering? Is there a God? What is my purpose in life? Get started on your trek to find answers to life's most important questions

Systems of Thought

Deism Dualism Existentialism^* Nihilism Postmodernism Agnostic Atheism Communism Cultural Materialism Cultural Relativism Humanism Materialism Moral Relativism Naturalism Secular Humanism

Matters of Thought

Cosmological Argument^* Absolute Truth Creation Vs. Evolution Does God Exist? Evolutionism God God's Love Is God Real? Is There A God? Morality Situational Ethics Why Am I Here?

Great Thinkers

Abd-ar-Rahman III^* Antony Flew Aristotle Blaise Pascal Accomplishments C.S. Lewis Quotes Gilgamesh Great Philosophers Greek Philosopher Plato Life of Confucius Life of King David Life of St. Augustine Nebuchadnezzar Philosophy Quotes Thomas Aquinas

Tags: philosophy, thought, thinkers

I am a transhumanist, thanks

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:21:56 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: I say, fear not. If you have clearly transhumanist beliefs, like the notion that human enhancement is coming in the next few decades and will be a big deal, then don’t be afraid to call yourself one.

As Dr. Wittgenstein, one of my favorite philosophers ever, used to argue, words are just labels we fill with our own content. To think that a word has any inherent meaning aside from its use in language is absurd.

Clip Source: www.acceleratingfuture.com

I have a suitcase. Inside of it is concern for the future, an Enlightenment approach to technology, an embrace of humanism with a qualifier to aim higher, fascination for cyborgs and cybernetics, interest in Artificial Intelligence and Intelligence Augmentation, technoprogressive bioethics (yes Dale, your term has been hijacked), a desire to freeze myself if necessary, interest in molecular manufacturing, self-replicating machines, Big Picture, long-term thinking, and a sense of self-depreciating humor.

What should I name that suitcase?

To anyone confident about their own ideas, and unafraid of naysayers, the answer is a no-brainer: transhumanism. Transhumanism is the philosophy that we adhere to, the suitcase word we use to describe our fascinating interests, which are often relevant to the future of humanity, and often even sanctioned by mainstream news outlets. (During the last ten years.)

Tags: transhumanism, ai

Congratulations California

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:45:04 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Good news for human rights. At least in California they've recognized that bigotry and hate are not compatible with freedom and liberty and human rights.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Gay Couples Celebrate California Ruling

SAN FRANCISCO — Gay and lesbian couples in San Francisco rejoiced Thursday over a California Supreme Court decision affirming their right to marry

“What a day for San Francisco, what a day for California, what a day for America, what a day for equality,” Mr. Newsom said before a crowd of several hundred jubilant supporters at San Francisco City Hall.

Mr. Newsom said his office would begin preparing for new gay marriages as soon as the court decision was effective in 30 days. But unlike in 2004, Thursday’s decision would effect marriages statewide, something that the mayor seemed both relieved and vindicated by. “This is not just San Francisco now,” he said shortly after the decision was released. “Its Redding. Its Auburn. It’s Long Beach, its the southern part of the state. It’s Riverside. Its Fresno, that this is now appropriate and legal.”

“I respect the court’s decision and as governor I will uphold its ruling,” the Mr. Schwarzenegger said.

Tags: humanism, law, gay

African American Religiosity, Humanism and Politics

Fri, 09 May 2008 20:05:59 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: Go to site to listen

Clip Source: www.pointofinquiry.org

In this wide-ranging discussion with D.J. Grothe, Norm Allen explores some of the challenges advancing science and secularism within the African American community. He examines the pressure to conform to the religious ideal among various black skeptics and atheists, including many historical African American figures such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Nella Larsen, and Faye Wattleton, former president of Planned Parenthood of America. He debates whether religion is a liberating or oppressive force for African Americans. He also details many anti-science trends in the Black community, including those coming from Black entertainment outlets promoting anti-science such as psychic 900 lines, televangelists and belief in prophecy. He ties all of this discussion to an exploration of religion and secularism as they relate to political activism, including the influence of such high-profile Black preachers such as Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Senator Barack Obama's spiritual advisor.

Human Tragedy

Tue, 06 May 2008 03:21:16 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Granted, Myanmar has a terrible track record of human abuse. Their government is cuel and dictatorial. Yet for the US to offer a paultry $250,000 is an insult and shows a deep lack of humanity. The people of Myanmar are not the corrupt military dictatorship. Yet, it seems as though we are making them pay to score political points. Something is not right here.

Clip Source: www.bloomberg.com

Myanmar Cyclone Death Toll Reaches 10,000, Junta Says (Update1)

May 6 (Bloomberg) -- The death toll from the tropical cyclone that slammed into Myanmar three days ago rose to 10,000, according to the military government, making the storm Southeast Asia's deadliest natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

About 3,000 people are missing in the Irrawaddy delta region alone, Myanmar government ministers told international diplomats yesterday, the United Nations news agency IRIN said.

The U.S. yesterday offered an initial $250,000 in aid to the country, which is among the world's least-developed, while castigating its military leadership for failing to alert citizens to the approaching cyclone.

Tags: politics, foreign policy, humanism, bush

Atheists Need to Chill

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 04:05:26 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Michael Shermer makes a point that needs to be made. Atheists need to remember what they stand for, not merely what they are against. Ridicule and contempt have no place in science, and haters should not tarnish its reputation by association.

In the words of the greatest consciousness raiser of the 20th century, Martin Luther King, Jr., in his epic "I Have a Dream" speech: "In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline."

If atheists do not want theists to prejudge them in a negative light, then they must not do unto theists the same.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Anti-something movements by themselves will fail.

Atheists cannot simply define themselves by what they do not believe.

Positive assertions are necessary.

Champion science and reason, as Charles Darwin suggested: “It appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against Christianity & theism produce hardly any effect on the public

Rational is as rational does.

It is irrational to take a hostile or condescending attitude toward religion because by doing so we virtually guarantee that religious people will respond in kind.

The golden rule is symmetrical.

If atheists do not want theists to prejudge them in a negative light, then they must not do unto theists the same.

Promote freedom of belief and disbelief.

As long as religion does not threaten science and freedom, we should be respectful and tolerant because our freedom to disbelieve is inextricably bound to the freedom of others to believe.

Tags: atheists, atheism, secular, humanism, science, religion, civility, extremism, freedom, belief

Khaled Abou El Fadl: Jihad Gone Wrong

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:29:06 GMT

clipped by: Johanna_G
clipper's remarks: Khaled Abou el Fadl is a professor at the School of Law at the University of California. He is a prominent Islamic scholar and intellectual. In this interview, El Fadl talks about suicide bombings, misinterpretations of 'jihad' and the humanist tradition of Islam.

Deutsche Fassung:
Interview Khaled Abou El Fadl - Der missverstandene Dschihad

Der Begriff des Dschihad geistert seit Jahren durch die Presse. Dass seine wahre Bedeutung weder etwas mit Selbstmordattentaten noch mit "heiligem Krieg" zu tun hat, erklärt Khaled Abou El Fadl im Gespräch.
Das, was Selbstmordattentäter als Dschihad verkaufen, ist nichts anderes als eine Strategie offensiver Bombenanschläge, die von der revolutionären Ideologie der 60er Jahre beeinflusst ist, meint Khaled Abou El Fadl.

Prof. Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl ist Professor für islamisches Recht an der Universität von Los Angeles (UCLA)

Clip Source: qantara.de

| Bild:
Khaled Abou El Fadl |

The concept of Jihad is very much different to today's suicide bombings. Jihad also differs from the holy war in the Crusade period, which developed from the doctrine of self-purification through bloodsheds.

Jihad always relies on the power of da'wah (missionary endeavour) and the absence of vengeance feeling. In Jihad, you should not assume yourself to be a killer, nor should you sacrifice the enemy because it is God's will. In the concept of Jihad, war is always regarded as something bad ('syarr), an inevitable evil ('syarrun dlarûrî), and we have to avoid it ('kurhun). War is only permitted to liberate Muslims from tyranny or to defend them from attacks. That is the concept of Jihad.

| Bild:
To El Fadl, suicide bombers are "lazy" as they shun the difficult task of using the intellectual power of reason |

My critique is that the bombers' concept of Jihad has neglected Quranic pre-requirements about the detailed preparation of war.

Tags: el fadl, islam, humanism, jihad, suicide bombing

The Delusion of Human Progress

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:33:20 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: A great book. Iconoclastic, scathing, pessimistic, and funnily enough loved by some theologians.

Clip Source: blogs.salon.com

Our only real religion is a shallow faith in the future...[

modern religions that drive us to aspire to self-mastery and self-improvement (including many oriental religions, the teachings of Gurdjieff, Marx and the Bolsheviks, the Gnostics, the believers in higher consciousness from drugs, virtual reality, 'lucid dreaming' or post-humanism, and, presumably, the even more recent new age leaders like Wilber).

To believe in progress is

groundless.

-- a secular version of Christianity's most dubious promise that salvation is open to all.

Climate change may be a mechanism through which the planet eases its human burden...[or] new patterns of disease

power conferred on 'humanity' by new technologies will be used to commit atrocious crimes against it

Science cannot be used to reshape humankind in a more rational mould. The upshot of scientific inquiry is that humans cannot be other than irrational.

Man must accept that his/her existence is entirely accidental

John Gray's Straw Dogs.

Tags: john gray, straw dogs

The Italian Renaissance Brought The World Out Of The Middle Ages

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:27:59 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The Italian Renaissance, which began in the city of Florence in the late fourteenth century and peaked during the reign of a local ruler named Lorenzo the Magnificent, was a period of tremendous political, religious, and artistic change. The term comes from an Italian word for rebirth, and for intellectuals, the Renaissance, indeed, felt like a rediscovery of the arts. It followed what some regarded as a thousand-year period of cultural stagnation in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Clip Source: www.prevention.com

The Renaissance marked a historical turning point, when the Middle Ages ended and the modern era began. The Renaissance spread from the Florence of the Medicis to other parts of Italy, and then northward to the rest of Europe. Aided by the invention in Germany of a new kind of mass-production printing press, the ideas of the Renaissance changed the culture of Europe profoundly.

The basic creed of the Renaissance was humanism, an intellectual movement that replaced blind obedience to religious teachings with a return to classical thinking. The willingness to cast aside tradition led to new forms of architecture, painting, and scholarship. The Renaissance was, above all else, a shift in mentality away from hidebound medieval traditions to a more inquisitive, modern outlook on the world.

Artists and intellectuals flocked to Lorenzo’s court at the city on the Arno. Famous painters, including Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo, worked in Florence. Lorenzo himself wrote poetry

Tags: italian renaissance, late fourteenth century, political, religious, artistic change, lorenzo the magnificent

Are You Washed In The Blood?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:32:10 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "A campaign had emerged to promote the idea that the Bible was entirely without error, even in matters of history and science. Some feared that more liberal theological positions were being taught in the convention's seminaries.
n August, he visited the White House. In "Our Endangered Values," Carter recalls Smith saying, at the close of their meeting, "We are praying, Mr. President, that you will abandon secular humanism as your religion."

HMMMMM . . . where have I heard that before? I thinky maybe here on CM, yes I do. I think I have had that charge leveled on me that I MUST be a secular humanist. God FORBID that I promote peace, I MUST be a pacifist -(even though Jesus was the ultimate pacifist). God FORBID I must be a voice against violence, homophobia, patriarchy, sexism, and racism. I MUST be secular. God wouldn't want those values; the only values God wants are crotch based.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

He spoke about Christ's insistence that people love their enemies.

"It is one of the most difficult things for human beings to do," Carter said. "But Jesus said this because he meant it."

"It really grieved me to see my own depository of religious faith . . . being ripped apart," Carter said. "It was very deeply troubling. And I have felt, maybe unjustifiably, a personal obligation to try to do something about it."

Carter remembers that culture as being tolerant of divergent viewpoints. But when he left the White House in 1981, a conservative faction within the convention had begun to take over, and liberals like him felt spurned

.His latest attempt at a rapprochement resulted in an ambitious meeting of Baptists of all stripes this week in Atlanta.

But the Southern Baptist Convention leadership refused to attend. In May, President Frank Page, whom Carter personally invited, denounced the meeting's "smoke-screen left-wing liberal agenda."

Tags: you, get, it, jimmy

Liberals Co-opted

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:58:43 GMT

clipped by: willhelm
clipper's remarks: Liberals are not really Liberal anymore and Conservatives are not really Conservative !

Additional excerpt:
"In a modified version of the Stoic conception of the earth as a living organism possessed of its own soul, neo-pantheist dialectical materialism declares that earth is “one entire organism…its organs the various races and nations of men.” Not only is the earth alive and evolving upward on evolution’s magical escalator, but so too are history and society, for they also are living entities in a continuous state of motion. And man? In a modified conception of Atomism’s extremely dehumanizing view of man, dialectical materialism states that man is nothing but “a colonial aggregation of cells,” and to “consider him an individual would be an error.” Man---the aggregate of cells--- is nothing but an extension of society, history, and earth. "(Russian Textbook on Psychopolitics, Chapter II: The Constitution of Man as a Political Organism)

Ouyangwulong, If you see this, What happe

Clip Source: www.theconservativevoice.com

During the century to follow, Charles Darwin (1809-82) would help spread materialism to the masses. As Stephen Jay Gould argues, “Darwin applied a consistent philosophy of materialism to his interpretation of nature, “and “the ground of all existence; mind, spirit, and God (are reduced to) neural complexity.” (ibid, p. 41)

It was during this time that Social Darwinism, Progressivism, Socialism, Communism (Cultural Marxism, New Left), Nazism, and Secular Humanism were developed out of metaphysical materialism. Classical Liberalism on the other hand, was subverted and corrupted by the materialist faith into what is now known as modern Liberalism. Of these, Communism (Marx and Engel’s dialectical materialism), is considered to be the most highly developed philosophy of materialism. It rests on three fundamental metaphysical presuppositions:

1. Deified Matter:

2. Evolution:

3. Spontaneous Generation: