opinion

This week, there was a debate of Biblical proportions.  Actually the debate wasn't as grandiose as the controversy surrounding the question, “Should Bill Nye participate in a debate with Ken Ham?”  (Also known as the “Ham on Nye” debate.)  Since the debate has already happened, that question is moot.  Read more about A Humanist’s View of the Debate of Ham on Nye »

First, a definition of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) from the NGO.org site:  “A non-governmental organization (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group which is organized on a local, national or international level. Task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to Governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political participation through provision of information. Read more about Humanitarian NGOs are Grassroots Organizations »

Many of us have an image of shamans as people, usually in a pre-literate society, who would have an apparent resource pool of knowledge and/or wisdom to be shared with the rest of the immediate tribe, culture, or society.  These might be the Native American medicine men, or the shamans of Northern Europe before the periods of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.  They might be called on to know the use of certain medicinal herbs and vegetation, or they might be considered the bridge between the regular society and the supernatural world that was not known to the ordinary members Read more about Modern Day Shamans »

Tonight, Tue Jan 28, 2014, the Concord Area Humanists had their Small Discussion Group at the Concord Library.  The goal at the meeting was to rank several issues for future discussions.  Although there was much discussion on many topics, I’m not sure that it led to any ranking. Read more about Industry and Climate Change »

In my last post on Non-Arrogant Humanism, I referred to a statement Roy Speckhardt made to the effect that we can disagree with theists and still be respectful, but we cannot ridicule them and still be respectful.  It was also brought out that in many areas we want to work with groups – even though they are theists. Read more about Secularism is NOT Anti-Religious »

the Latest Humanist Network News, there is a link to an article by Roy Speckhardt entitled “An End to Arrogant Atheism” which was originally published in the Huffington Post, Religion section dated January 23, 2014.  Roy is the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association.  It is an excellent article about how we Humanists, atheists, or whatever do not do ourselves any favors by deni Read more about Non Arrogant Humanism »

This week we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day (third Monday in January) and also his birthday (January 15, 1929).  Seeing that he was a minister, and did a great deal of work within churches, it might be questioned why I might discuss him on a Humanist blog.  Although MLK’s beliefs were centered around a god and religion, his actions were based on his values, ethics and sense of justice.  And his actions were centered on the absolute morality of human rights and the absolute immorality of the Viet Nam War.  So while his beliefs were thei Read more about MLK and Humanism »

Last night the Concord Area Humanists held their monthly meeting with Ellery Schempp giving a presentation on the 50^th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling outlawing Bible reading in the public schools (Abington vs Schempp).  During the Q and A session that followed, the question was raised why so much more money is given to spend by the irrational groups (including Fundamentalists) attempti Read more about PASSION »

As a new member to HUUmanism (Pronounced "HU-U-manism"), I received a welcome packet including two issues of their journal “Religious Humanism”. Read more about Community in UU, Humanism, and HUUmanism »

Isaac Asimov and Humanism

In 1984, Isaac Asimov was named “Humanist of the Year” by the American Humanist Association.  He was one of the world’s most prolific writers by writing over 500 books and over 9,000 letters.  Following are several quotes by him which I gathered from multiple sources.

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka!” but That’s funny …” Read more about Isaac Asimov »