Came across this great video from the British Humanist Association and narrated by Stephen Fry:
It looks like the British Humanist Association has some great videos on their youtube channel including other ones like this one which are narrated by Stephen Fry. Check out their youtube channel here. They also have a Facebook page which looks like it’s worth following. And here is the link for their main website.
Enjoy!
I mentioned in an earlier post that I was reading an autobiography of Isaac Asimov’s called It’s Been a Good Life. I don’t know that I have the patience or skill to attempt a decent review of the book, but I did want to mention to my readers that I absolutely loved it.
I’ve never had any interest in reading science fiction (which Asimov authored prolifically) but I read a review of this book and something must have caught my attention because I knew I wanted to read it. Turns out the man’s life fascinated me, and more than that, the book is full of so many of his thoughts which are profound and wise and often funny as well. I highlighted so much of this e-book and I think if you have any interest in autobiographies or humanism or science (he was a professor of biochemistry) or science fiction or writing or philosophy …. (you get the idea) … I think you’ll love this book.
It does jump around a bit but I actually found this made the book more enjoyable to read – the progression wasn’t predictable. I loved not knowing what interesting topic or period of his life he’d cover next.
If any of you read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I came across this great article/book review and thought it was worth sharing:
Religion vs Humanism: Isaac Asimov on Science and Spirituality
I think I’ll get the book and let you know my thoughts about it. I’m looking forward to reading it!
Not surprisingly, I love this excerpt:
He said, “Dr. Asimov, do you believe in God?”
And I said, “Whose?”
He said, a little impatiently, “Come, come, Dr. Asimov, you know very well whose. Do you believe in the Western God, the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition?”
Still playing for time, I said, “I haven’t given it much thought.”
Frost said, “I can’t believe that, Dr. Asimov.” He then nailed me to the wall by saying, “Surely a man of your diverse intellectual interests and wide-ranging curiosity must have tried to find God?”
(Eureka! I had it! The very nails had given me my opening!) I said, smiling pleasantly, “God is much more intelligent than I am — let him try to find me.”
via Philosophy Monkey on Facebook
see also Philosophy Monkey
I really enjoyed this speech by Todd Stiefel at the Reason Rally. It’s worth 11 minutes of your time and you may even get inspired!
via io9
Rediscovering a love for the music of Tracy Chapman. Beautiful …
Heaven’s Here on Earth
You can look to the stars in search of the answers
Look for God and life on distant planets
Have your faith in the ever after
While each of us holds inside the map to the labyrinth
And heaven’s here on earth
We are the spirit the collective conscience
We create the pain and the suffering and the beauty in this world
Heaven’s here on earth
In our faith in humankind
In our respect for what is earthly
In our unfaltering belief in peace and love and understanding
I’ve seen and met angels wearing the disguise
Of ordinary people leading ordinary lives
Filled with love, compassion, forgiveness and sacrifice
Heaven’s in our hearts
In our faith in humankind
In our respect for what is earthly
In our unfaltering belief in peace and love and understanding
Look around
Believe in what you see
The kingdom is at hand
The promised land is at your feet
We can and will become what we aspire to be
If Heaven’s here on earth
If we have faith in humankind
And respect for what is earthly
And an unfaltering belief that truth is divinity
And heaven’s here on earth
I’ve seen spirits
I’ve met angels
Touched creations beautiful and wondrous
I’ve been places where I question all I think I know
But I believe, I believe, I believe this could be heaven
We are born inside the gates with the power to create life
And to take it away
The world is our temple
The world is our church
Heaven’s here on earth
If we have faith in human kind
And respect for what is earthly
And an unfaltering belief
In peace and love and understanding
This could be heaven here on earth
I’ve been pondering something lately.
I remember when I was a Christian how the world was presented as very black and white. Rules were supposed to be very clear and we were in a spiritual battle so every decision was part of that ongoing war.
Right and wrong, black and white. Kind of sounds comforting in a way. It’s nice to know you’re on the right side of a huge cosmic battle and it’s supposed to make living your everyday life easier too. If you know all the rules then all you have to do is follow them, right?
But it’s not that simple. Because we can’t see or hear god – we have to rely on the bible and other Christians and what we think god is saying to us in our head to figure out how to make those decisions. That in itself creates a lot of frustrating grey. Whose opinon? Whose rules? Whose interpretation? Add in the fact that every mistake is now a sin, and I think Christians spend a lot more time in the grey than in the black and white.
My life feels much more simple now than when I was a Christian. And it’s not because I never doubt my actions or decisions or because it’s just easier not having any rules to follow. It’s because I’m ok with being human now.
Christianity tells us that we all deserve to spend eternity in a toruture chamber. Why? For being human. If there is a god – he made us human … and then punishes us for that? The further I get from Christianity the more implausable the whole story sounds. So now as an atheist, if I screw up – I just accept that I screwed up – and move on. This isn’t easy for me and never will be – I’m just that type of personality – but it’s much easier now than it was as a Christian. I just have this acceptance for my humanness that I didn’t have before.
Christopher Hitchens talks about how Christianity brings in the idea of thought crime. Think about that. As a Christian there is Someone monitoring your every thought and will judge you on them. Really think about that. Well – over time – as that faded – I was able to just look at the world for what it was and accept my place as an imperfect human in it. And now my thoughts belong only to me.
Ahhhh! Sweet peace.
Got this from a friend on facebook. Don’t know the title.
To look out upon the astounding universe
with eye unblinking and a face unblanched;
to ignore no truth and fear no fact;
to be ready to re-cast opinion in the crucible of experience;
to forgive without demanding apology;
to keep affection in spite of misunderstanding;
to set our thought upon the things of value
and spend our strength in the fulfilling of noble purposes;
to reverence the reverences of others
rather than what they revere;
to be alert to Nature’s pageantry of beauty,
though we dwell amid the city’s clamor;
to get the most out of Life
and give the most we can;
to be guided in our conduct by the angel of Intelligence
and not by the gaunt spectre of Fear;
to approach our last hour with the calm of a philospher and the gentleness of a saint,
and to leave the world enriched by a treasury of kindly deeds and a memory of love;
this is our Aspiration,
this is our Ideal.
-Dr. Arthur W. Slaten, 1927
Left Christianity 