Category Archives: Secular humanism
I confess I’m an aweist
Most of us are gratified when reading others’ words that express our own view of life or emotional experience better than we have ourselves. I felt that when reading Phil Zuckerman’s short article “Aweism” in the April/May 2009 edition of … Continue reading
Men and #MeToo
In evolutionary biology, significant changes are normally thought of as gradual over incredibly lengthy periods. Yet sometimes major changes—according to some biologists like the late Jay Gould—occur quickly though infrequently, called in theory “punctuated equilibrium.” Political and social phenomena can … Continue reading
Religion and Gays as “the Others”
We often fail to incorporate scientific learning into social improvement. Consider sociology’s concept of the “Other” and our vulnerability to the dynamics it explains. By vulnerability, I mean our tendency in actual instances of dealing with those we don’t understand … Continue reading
Secular humanism goes beyond atheism
Many of my blog posts concern atheism or atheism’s relationship with theism. It would be understandable to think that my major identity is atheist. But it is not. My major identity is secular humanist. Unfortunately, in the United States if … Continue reading
Lust still OK, damaging sentient beings is not
I wrote in a recent post (”Lust,” June 16, 2015) that “Lust and damaging other people in the presence of lust are separable issues.” Naively, that statement seemed to me to be so simple and straightforward as hardly to merit … Continue reading
Morality in secular humanism
When I’d been an atheist for no more than two years, one of my sisters put this question to the 22 year old me: “Even if you believe there’s no God, how can you not believe Christianity offers the highest … Continue reading
Escaping the evil of sin
I am going to bore myself with this topic quite soon, but I’m compelled to go just a bit further due to a comment I received. Whether one agrees with my position not, I would’ve thought my somewhat idiosyncratic differentiation … Continue reading
Sin and evil
The post on sin (the most recent one) has stirred interest. One respondent feels the word is too negative, though surely the Biblical idea of sin is about as negative as it can get. If sin is tantamount to kicking … Continue reading
Thanksgiving
Today in America is Thanksgiving Day (Canada’s was last month), a federal holiday in the U. S. since 1863 during the Civil War. It enjoys widespread acceptance across all economic levels, personal philosophies/religions, geographic regions, and political positions. The iconic scenario … Continue reading
But you must believe in something!
Many times I’ve heard these words from a Christian who thinks disbelief in his or her theology means no beliefs at all! The obverse of that well-intended coaxing is more in the form of an accusation: “You don’t believe in anything!” … Continue reading
Sin
I’ve been pondering sin lately—not sinning, but sin—and how primitive and downright ridiculous the idea of sin is: besides leading to burdensome, unnecessary guilt, it impedes ethical progress of humanity. Sin is a religious notion. It’s part of various religions’ … Continue reading
An atheist with religious loved ones
My rejection of Christianity began when I was 19 or 20 while posted to an Air Force base in Germany. To my knowledge, my family-of-origin had never experienced one of their own abandoning the faith. Theirs, I should note, was … Continue reading
Making atheism useless
I have been an atheist for over a half century. During most of that time I have wished the term weren’t needed. Believe me, I can find something else to do. (Actually I do anyway. I am lucky to have … Continue reading
John just thinking . . . . 