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Freethought
Association of West Michigan
Meeting Minutes for June 12, 2002, #117
Our next meeting
topic is "Skepticism & Wishful Thinking" to be presented
by Tim Van Haitsma on June 26 at 7PM.
Then, on July
10, at 7PM, Frank Girard will present "Socialism vs. Capitalism."
JULY 13 at
9AM: Remember to mark your calendars for our Annual Freethought
Picnic to be held at Hagar Park on 28th Avenue, Jenison in the
Maplewood Pavilion. Please bring a dish to pass, table service
and beverage. This is always a fun time; hope to see you there!
Our next scheduled
group event is the July 20th Adopt-a-Highway cleanup. This is
a Saturday and we congregate at the Citgo station on Plainfield
between 5 Mile and the East Beltline starting at 10AM.
Our topic
for this meeting was a special presentation by Paul Kurtz, who
is considered to be the Father of Secular Humanism. The title
was "What is Secular Humanism?" This was presented in
two parts; first a 55 minute video that Dr. Kurtz prepared especially
for our group, which was then followed by a live Question &
Answer time enabled by a phone patch between New York and Grand
Rapids. A microphone was passed around to those wishing to participate
in the interesting discussion that ensued. We thank Jeff Seaver
and Joe Duba for their technical work and in planning and coordinating
this successful event. Copies will be made of the video with our
group name and logo inserted in the front and as a trailer for
use on public access television; GRTV.
The Professor
Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at
Buffalo, Dr. Kurtz talked about how secularism and naturalist
philosophy is under attack from both the Religious Right, who
demonizes humanists as immoral and those on the extreme Left who
tend toward post-modernist ideas that are antithetical to the
rationalist and scientific approach to life. Both, he believes,
are building in intensity after a slight decrease in the 90's.
Another spike point of irrationalism and religious fervor occurred
in the 80's and it was in 1980 that Dr. Kurtz launched the Council
for Secular Humanism (CHS). He is also the founder and chairman
of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of
the Paranormal (CSICOP) that puts claims of the paranormal, supernatural,
etc. under scientific scrutiny. It is the publisher of Skeptical
Inquirer magazine. There are no sacred cows for the CSH and CSICOP;
all should be open to examination. Formerly, criticism of religion
or the "sacred texts" was off limits but these organizations
make no distinction between claims of a religious nature from,
say, that of a "miracle" device, the function of which
would violate natural laws and scientific principles. Kurtz is
also the founder of Prometheus Books that has a cornucopia of
literature on controversial subjects, including religious skepticism.
His Center for Inquiry publishes Free Inquiry magazine that focuses
on dogmatic religious claims and doctrinal faith beliefs for its
scrutiny.
Unfortunately,
Secular Humanism has been defined for most people by its enemies
and Kurtz gave us a litany of the false accusations that have
been foisted upon this view that, in reality, celebrates freedoms;
a free mind, a free society and individual rights and liberties.
Secular Humanists are generally staunch supporters of the "Wall
of Separation" between State & Church and a democratic
society without favor or impediments for any particular group,
gender, or belief group. Of course, this viewpoint is in keeping
with our Bill of Rights and American Constitution yet, ironically,
secularists, as Dr. Kurtz pointed out, are often labeled "un-American"
and, while a religious test for office is forbidden, there is
no way that an outspoken non-believer could now hold public office.
Dr, Kurtz also exposed the often heard myth of our Founding Fathers
as being deeply religious, men-of-god- Christians, noting that
most were Deists who knew only too well how dangerous it was to
mix religious faith with governing power, and therefore set out
to form a secular nation where one was free to believe or not
to believe as he or she chooses.
Professor
Kurtz, who holds degrees in Economics, Political Science, and
Philosophy from New York State University, and an M.A. and PhD
in Philosophy from Columbia University, spoke of the millions
of Americans who are Secular Humanists and do not realize it;
that is, they espouse the same ideals but would be wary of the
label, especially as it has been misinterpreted and vilified.
He provided statistics indicating that 29 Ö million adults (14%
of the population) were without any particular religion. They
understand that life is meaningful and exciting without reference
to a supernatural belief system and subscribe to an alternative
ethical system as opposed to religious faith in dogma and so-called
moral doctrines. A quick check of the state of the planet now
or historically, shows the tremendous harm, devaluation of human
life and intolerant divisiveness that religious belief has produced.
As has been pointed out by others, there was no lacking in religious
faith by the men who used our passenger jet planes as bombs on
September 11th.
Dr. Kurtz,
the Humanist Laureate and President of the International Academy
of Humanism, noted that one's deepest held religious beliefs are
no more than an accident of birth; Hindus beget Hindus, Southern
Baptists beget Southern Baptists, and Muslims beget Muslims, for
instance. And all have the correct path, of course, with all others
being misguided, at best, or deplorable infidels at worst. Kurtz
said that one should not inherit one's church and he doesn't believe
in baptizing an infant, who cannot make choices for his/herself
as to devotion and adherence to a particular brand of religious
faith. Secular Humanism does not mindlessly parrot ancient oral
beliefs, fraught with error, deletions, insertions, and shaped
for the benefit of particular ruling groups. It does not make
a sin of critical investigation, the questioning of any claims,
current or from antiquity, including those from people who lived
long ago and whose gaps of ignorance about the world were vast.
These capacious chasms easily supported an anthropomorphic god
and belief in divine interference creating crop failures, plagues,
or a woman who is either barren or fecund. We are far removed
from this worldview that neither holds credibility in contemporary
times nor produces anything to help progress humanity and our
understanding of the natural state of being and our true place
in this reality. Secular Humanists, Kurtz stated, are materialists.
But he clarified this statement to not be about having as many
possessions as one could, but rather looking to the natural world
of matter, scientific laws and forces, rather than ghosts (Holy
or otherwise), spirits, angels, an ethereal heaven, or to put
it as he did, "extraterrestrial values." Secularists
seek an increase in happiness for the benefit of men and women,
not gods.
Dr. Kurtz
gave us an overview of the struggle of humanity against the chains
that bound them; religion. As he pointed out, the root of the
word "religion" means "to bind." He spoke
of the early Greek tradition of intellectualism and critical investigation
into the natural causes of phenomena, the Renaissance that was
a rebirth into light, curiosity and human achievement, casting
off the religious Dark Ages, the Age of Reason, and our current
examples of democracies and the real-world magic performed routinely
by modern science.
Secular Humanism,
Professor Kurtz stated, is the oldest philosophical concept of
an ethical expression of human values. We are not wretches born
in sin but worthy beings seeking goodness. We can fulfill the
highest aspects of what we are capable of, subservient to no "divine"
beings, sacred texts and rituals or religious authority. There
is no salvation in the "next world" but a flowering
or unfolding of human life in the here and now. "You are
the artist of your own life" and the meaning of life is what
you make of it. One should seek the riches to be found in life,
according to Secular Humanism, and strive toward this fulfillment
for all others. There are no scapegoats, no illusions, no dependence
upon an otherworldly will, with Secular Humanism. We are responsible
for ourselves and to each other as fellow humans. There is nothing
to seek salvation from, no carrot and stick of heaven and hell
dictating ones actions and no putting off living properly now,
assuming a deathbed plea for forgiveness later, in Secular Humanism.
Dr. Kurtz
also spoke of the disingenuous nature of those who wish for an
American theocracy, in that they despise all other belief systems
as evil but pretend that they are in support of all faiths being
promoted and supported by government. Those who try their best
to get prayer into the public schools want these prayers to be
to their personal conceptualization of God and would not be happy
with their Christian children facing Mecca and calling their god
"Allah", for instance.
Dr. Kurtz
is the author of some 600 articles and over thirty books, most
dealing with living the good life, free of religion- what he termed
"Eupraxophy" which deals with good, practical wisdom.
He has written many other books that go along with his enthusiasm
and love of life, such as The Fullness of Life, The Courage to
Become; The Virtues of Humanism, and Exuberance: A Philosophy
of Happiness. He exulted the virtues of playfulness, creative
endeavors, loving and being fully loved, and living with a passionate
intensity for life.
Secular Humanism
links human experience and emotion with rationality. Truth is
not handed down from on high. Our experiences and beliefs derived
from them can be justified by empirical testing. Rationality is
the rudder, exuberance is the motor, our individual lives are
the boat navigating the waters of experience. Beliefs are not
accepted on blind faith but are susceptible to reason and critical
evaluation and we have to be willing to discard even the most
comforting falsehoods, if they fail to pass the muster of empirical
examination. The Secular Humanistic worldview takes courage and
a sense of personal responsibility but provides tangible, real-
world rewards in compensation.
Professor
Kurtz summed up his nearly hour-long video presentation- given
without reference to anything more than a couple jotted notes-
by saying that the following were key components to what Secular
Humanism is: It is the oldest tradition of ethical human interaction
and marries philosophy with a naturalistic approach and in modern
times uses the full flowering of science and its methods. It is
dedicated to human happiness and fulfillment and stewardship of
the rest of Earth's biota, realizing our connection to each other
via common evolutionary descent and our union with the universe
itself, since the very atomic compounds of our being are the stuff
shed from stars that went, themselves, through billions of years
of cosmic evolution, birth and death. It is the responsiveness
to the needs of others and belief in intelligence (which Kurtz
quipped is a word never found in the Bible) and rejects a merging
of State and Church, which poses a detriment to both.
In the Question
& Response portion of our meeting, Professor Kurtz fielded
inquiries and comments on a wide range of topics related to his
presentation. One regarded his view on human euthanasia. He supports
the right of individuals to make a conscious choice on eliminating
their own personal suffering and to die with dignity, utilizing
no extraordinary methods to sustain life. He was asked more about
the history of the Humanistic Movement and he enlarged upon some
thoughts given in his video presentation as well as organizations
he founded or helped foster. Asked about how he regarded "Religious
Humanism", he stated that, to him, it was a cop out and fear
of being without the familiar comfort of religious ritual. "Why
misuse language?" he asked. He conceded, however, that since
most people do not really understand what Humanism is and its
positive message, they are faced with no good personal alternative
to religion and can become susceptible to nihilism. In response
to another comment, he linked Humanism with democratic principles
but mentioned how secularism had often been linked with Communism
to cast aspersions upon it. He was asked about how he reconciled
an exuberant joy with no belief in an afterlife. He regarded hope
for a future life beyond the grave as an expression of cowardice
that does not allow one to fully participate in the living the
more precious time we have as fully. He was asked how natural
it is to care for all others upon the planet, when most of humanity's
time has been one of small kin groups that made strong demarcations
between in and out-groups. Part of his answer was that while it
is natural to regard closest members of a group in the highest
light, we are now aware of how what affects one group detrimentally,
eventually affects us all. Dr. Kurtz was asked about the current
avatar of Creationism: Intelligent Design. He noted how this is
just a reading of faith into science and that the I.D. proponents
look to every regularity and ordered process as bolstering their
position. But what about the irregularities, disorders and peculiar
structures that denote a biological form pressed into new service
in a make-do sort of way but far from optimally designed? He also
mentioned the many mass- extinctions our planet has seen, and
asked how this fit in with an all-knowing Designer.
At another
point in his post- video commentary, Kurtz , encouraged Secular
Humanists to "come out of the closet." Let our numbers
be seen and get the positive, life affirming, egalitarian message
of this philosophical life stance to be seen, heard and understood.
We are the last major repressed minority, he said. He talked briefly
about how atheism is a negative expression (it says what one does
NOT believe in) while Secular Humanism affirms what IS endorsed
and supported by its adherents. He answered another question about
how religious belief persists, covering some of the ground in
his video talk and adding other thoughts. Regarding the Bible,
he noted that it had been written by humans only, and reflected
the culture, knowledge, and politics of the time, and did not
display any superhuman authorship in its writings. The New Testament
was written as much as 80 years after the alleged death of Jesus,
so none actually knew the subject of their writings and it was
an unreliable oral tradition society. He presented various books
(such as Randall Helms' Gospel Fictions) as good looks into how
the Bible came to be compiled. He was also asked about the differences
between modern and ancient Humanism. He said that the ancient
Humanism reflected the best understanding of the day and examined
life without regard for theistic explanation. The advent of science
informed modern Humanism and presented a method to test the various
ideas, create unified theories and a build up of knowledge unimaginable
in ancient times. One member mentioned the work done by the Freedom
From Religion Foundation (FFRF) in Madison, Wisconsin. Dr. Kurtz
applauds their efforts to keep State and Church separate and to
damp down efforts toward making our nation lean theocratically.
He mentioned the similar efforts of the CSH and others in this
regard as well. And he commented on the high level of piety expressed
in the public square these days, thereby making the work of these
groups all the more needed.
"Theists,
who claim to derive meaning from God, are simply reading into
nature their own conceptions of a deity. Since religion is a product
of human imagination, woven from the materials of human passion-
fears, forebodings, anxieties, hopes, yearnings, and dreams- God
has meaning in the universe only insofar as we attribute to Him
the meanings we hope for. We wish He would answer our prayers,
ease our pain and suffering, and save us from death. If we were
to dispense an idea of God, meaning would not collapse, because
meaning is a human invention. Humans have been ingenious in inventing
an infinite variety of belief systems that enable us to cope with
the problems encountered in living. The human brain is adroit
in spinning out tales to console and inspire. Nature is nature:
but we add to and embroider upon it. Culture is the web of the
intricate meanings we have spun." Professor Paul Kurtz, from
his book Forbidden Fruit; The Ethics of Humanism. Prometheus Books.
Secretary:
Charles LaRue
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