Some may remember my thread about religion a few weeks back, basically I couldnt see the point, I repsect others beleifs as long as I am not expected to join in, I find 'Yes' Car credit adverts more plausible than some of the stuff we are expected to swallow along with the good moral messages.

Anyway, although I am not the joining type and dont feel the need to be on a team so to speak, I happened upon this website which fits almost exactly with my own ideas on life the universe and everything (Apologies to the late Douglas Adams). If nothing else this gives me something to fill in on forms when asked about religion, I was chrsitened C of E but dont want to put that as its not what I consider myself, they also provide ceromonies for important life events that dont include religion.

http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/

 

We had a Humanist wedding ceremony. My wife's a Muslim and I haven't been to church in a long time, so we thought it was a good compromise. The "celebrant" (equivalent to a vicar, I guess) wrote a speech and we helped out, suggesting changes, etc. Afterwards, lots of people commented on how nice the ceremony was (even some devout Catholics). We'll probably use them again for the Humanist equivalent of a Christening.

 

Another unknowing Humanist here.

I'd vaguely heard of Humanists, but assumed they were some sort of weird cult. Even though it appears they are not, I doubt I'll be joining my local Humanists group any time soon.

 

I was going to join my local Apathy Awareness Help Group but couldn't be arsed.

 

All religion is tripe.
It was used to keep the peasants down and keep the rich wealthy.
The bible is nothing more than a collection of stories akin to Grimm's Fairytales.

FFS if Jesus could rise from the dead I'm sure it wouldn't have taken too much effort to stop hanging around on a cross.

 

You can be a humanist and a christian, in fact some may claim that christianity is a humanist religion - Love thy neighbour etc. Humanism is secular in that it does not relate to any religion in particular, just that you put people first. I suspect most humanists are also atheist or at least agnostic.

 

I ''loved'' my neighbour and her f*cking husband found out!
There was no god to protect me from the beating I got.

 

God abandonned you for breaking the 11th commandment

John.

 

No you can't. Humanism is an atheist "religion" i.e. the belief that there is no God. Christianity is the belief that Jesus is the son of God. The two are mutually exculsive although they do share many moral concepts.

Gary (a humanist)

 

Can't remember who said it but........

I used to be an Atheist, then I realised I was GOD.

 

Atheism is NOT a religion, it is the lack of a belief in a god or gods, that's it.

Ooops - think you better do a bit more reading about your adopted philosophy!

 

The founding principals of solipsism

 

Google........... "Solipsism", learn something new every day

 

Anyone who believes 'there is a god' is clearly insane, end of story. They've either been brainwashed by a relative and or friend from an early age or are 'born again' later in life (which usually means a mental low point and looking for solace).

There is nothing wrong with living by morals but believing a god exists in some form for people to still worship is crazy.

The other thing that gets my goat is when you hear the 'did we evolve or were we made by god?' Lets imagine for a fairytale moment that a god did create man, what was there before god then?, what was the space (and I don't mean space in the universe sence) where god was when he done this.

 

Looks like non religious fundamentalism is at least as rabid as the original kind.

Les

 

Unfortunately this argument is too simplistic. You can apply the same to evolution. If you assume the universe was created in the Big Bang (basic cosmology) you can also say "this is stupid -- what was before the big bang". As Hawking says, asking this question is as nonsensical as asking what's North of the North Pole. Time is a product of the universe, as is space. Maybe God created the universe at the instant of the big bang?

 

That's why I put the word in quotes, "religion" meaning a belief system rather than a set of doctrines that people follow.

I don't think so. From the page you referenced -

Christian Humanism is defined by Webster's Third New International Dictionary as "a philosophy advocating the self- fulfillment of man within the framework of Christian principles."

Christian principles - i.e. the moral teachings of Christ. Self-fulfillment - i.e. outside theist control. As I said, there are many common moral priciples between Humanism, Christianity, Islam etc etc.

 

Yes but that is sort of my point, there is no such thing as god creating us because it's the same argument as what was before the big bang. There is no understanding of the area we call beyond the edge of the universe (the same area that was there before the big bang). There is no label we can put on what was before. As we don't understand pre big bang and can't even comprehend what it could be then it's hard to imagine how the big bang happened. But lets assume there was no mystical magician who created life , where would he/she have even been floating to think up these ideas?

Whats more believeable..

There was some light particals and some form of space filled with particals which collided, or a misty allwise god appearing from nowhere?, hmmm let me think about that

I find it totally nonsencical that a rational intelligent thinking person can go "oh yes god created life" In a fleeting sentence. It defies any logic and makes me want to bang my head aginst a wall.

 

I personally don't agree with it, but I respect people's decision to believe it. I also think it's incredibly arrogant to believe that we can understand everything with science and logic, so it's not possible that there's some force/entity/god that is beyond our comprehension.

 

I find the whole Adam and Eve thing completely nonsensical but I know people who take it literally, beleive every word yet seem otherwise to be rational.

 

both the Joint Committee on Human Rights and the Education Committee have agreed with the BHA that it is unlawful (as about 1 in 3 local education authorities do) to provide school transport for children going to relatively distant church schools for reasons of religious belief but not for children going to similarly distant community schools for conscientious reasons of non-religious belief. The Education Department has made this clear in guidance to its present School Transport Bill. The obligation not to discriminate would be removed by the Equality Bill.

Andy