Humanist Thought of the Week

Confession

Obviously, most Humanists don’t do confession. If you do something that hurts another, there is no magic wand you can wave to magically make things better. Making things better requires hard work, perseverance and a desire to make things right. Asking a priest for forgiveness doesn’t make sense, unless it is the priest you have wronged. The person you should be seeking forgiveness from is the person you have hurt through your actions. If they won’t forgive you, then you will need to forgive yourself. This isn’t easy to do and is probably the reason why confessing our sins to someone, anyone, might make sense. But don’t take the short cut no matter how attractive it may be. The best way to forgive yourself is to behave better going forward. If you fail in this, you won’t be worthy of anyone’s forgiveness, let alone your own.

Happy Freethought Day

In case you didn’t know, today is Freethought Day. What is Freethought Day? Glad you asked. It’s the celebration of the day the Salem Witch Trials ended. This was the day, way back in 1692, when the governor of Massachusetts decided that spectral evidence would no longer permissible in a court of law. He apparently had friends who had been accused who he knew weren’t witches, but realized that the reality they weren’t witches wouldn’t matter to the courts. So he declared that from that day forward, if you were going to convict someone of being a witch, you had to provide actual proof that they were indeed a witch. We celebrate this day as Freethought Day because this was the day that sanity was restored, literally, during a witch-hunt. And for the record, I’m not a witch, I’m not a witch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Hawaiians

It’s hard to not be happy when you listen to Hawaiian music. Part of the reason why is because much of the music is love songs. And who doesn’t like a good love song? The other reason is that the music is always connected to the beauty of nature. There is an inherent appreciation of the world we find themselves in. Not because of some supernatural reason, And not just because Hawaii really is paradise on earth, But because anyone, if they are willing, can see the beauty of passing days. And this is consistent with Humanism. We seek to appreciate the world that we find ourselves in instead of hiding in a world of make believe. The real world is amazing, and awesome and beautiful. And to live in it fully without hesitation is, to quote my favorite song, to capture moments that some only dream of.

Live Long and Prosper

The goal for most Humanists is to Live Long and Prosper. And yes Roddenberry was an acknowledged Humanist.

God and Ice Cream

Or: Why doesn't God like kids?