| Humanism
Humanism is not a religion, more an alternative to religion. There is no book of rules.
There is no Messiah.
It is a moral way of thinking. A moral way of acting. A moral way of life.
It is evolving as we evolve. The only rule worth considering is the ancient
‘Golden Rule’, recognised as far back as the Ancient Greeks;
“Do as you would be done by”. And that is more of a guideline
rather than a rule. Humanists have faith that we, the human race, can,
and will, in time, solve all the problems of the world ourselves. We believe that
there is no supernatural force to do it for us. Each situation must be
judged on it’s own merits. We must arrive at conclusions through
rational thought and experience alone. Humanists would say that, the evidence
points to this being the only life we have. It is up to us to make the
most of it. To live a happy and fulfilled life we need to make others
happy and help them reach fulfilment. Humanists would accept that we are
all individuals but, only by working together have we come this far,
only by working together will the human race survive. Humanists strive
for a fair, compassionate, and open society, where everyone has a voice,
and deserves to be heard.
The roots of Humanism go back at least as far as Confucius. (500 years
BCE) Confucius said "Forget the gods, the 'here and now' is what
is important". He said it in Chinese, of course. The Greek philosopher,
Socrates, drank from a poisoned chalice rather than accept that their
were Gods. Epicurus, the laughing philosopher, extolled the virtues of
restrained pleasure and wrote "Friendship goes dancing round the
world, proclaiming to us all to wake to the praises of a happy life"
. He also said "I was not, I have been, I am not, I do not mind".
The Roman philosopher & poet Lucretius promoted the views of Epicurus.
Right the way through Thomas Paine, who wrote "Rights of man"
and claimed "My country is the world, to do good is my religion",
to today, thinking people have embraced Humanism. Even the mother in the
street who shouts to the bully, "How would you like it if I did that
to you?" is talking Humanism.
You can visit John's website:
www.john-the-fish.co.uk
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