So are you.
We’re all Humanists really.
These days it seems the atheist community has more labels than members. Atheists, rationalists, secularists, Humanists, secular humanists, naturalists, Darwinists, nontheists, agnostics, week atheists, strong atheists, secular believers, free-thinkers, skeptics. I agree a lot of these are very different terms but they are all terms in which someone showing up to an A-Soc meeting may well describe themselves as.
Watching the Life of Brian to check everything is in order before the upcoming screening this term it got me thinking.
“People, don’t fight! We are all here together! We must join up against the common enemy!”
“The Judean’s People Front?!”
“The Romans!”
I’ve been wondering recently if we spent too much time worrying about the semantics, squabbling over names and labels when we should actually be doing some productive. Is it really that bad if someone mistakenly calls us a Humanist? I could think of a lot worse labels.
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January 2nd, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Humanism is not atheism or theism. It is not about gods at all, as they are. Humanism is about people.
Atheism and its denial are metaphysical positions. Humanism is about ethics, noy anout metaphysics.
Humanism asserts that pursuit of knowledge of right and wrong is important and essential. It is a purely human activity, not requiring any supernatural involvement.
Many religious positions imply human inherent defectiveness. In Christianity, this is expressed as “original sin.” Humanists perceive each baby born as posessing not inherent guilt but extraordinary individual potential.
Like traditional religions, Humanism exercises faith. Those project their faith outward onto sipposed authorities alleged to be superior to them. Humanists say “the proper study of mankind is man.” Life is a do-it-yourself job, no deity will save us, we must save ourselves. We humans are responsible for what we are and what we shall be.
Pelagius told that to Christianity in the fifth century. They didn’t listen. Instead, they listened to Augustine. He misled them. Christianity took a wrong turn, and lost its opportunity to be what Humanism is today - an expression not of despair or helplessness but of confidence in humanity.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Why does this happen to every belief!!!! People segregate into smaller groups causing the belief (or lack of in this case… but you know what i mean) as a whole to lose credability and strength of unison.
Thinking about it…Thats the point of free will I suppose!