American Humanist Association's "My Humanist Vision" Challenge: First Place Winner
美國人文協會「我的人文視野」短片比賽冠軍 This video explains very well the spirit and values of Humanism. 這短片很好地解釋了「人文主義」的精神與價值觀。
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Received the following story from a humanist email list. Later, someone points out that this story might be some 20 years old. Anyway, the student's remark is so simple and so true:
"Most...religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell." 從一個人文主義電郵清單收到以下的故事。後來有人指出這是二十年前的故事。無論如何,該學生的這句評論很簡單,很真: 「世上一般的大宗教都說你不信它便下地獄。由於世上多過一個這樣的宗教,加上一個人不會信多過一個宗教,所以可以推斷世上所有人都落地獄。」 > HELL EXPLAINED BY CHEMISTRY STUDENT > > The following is an actual question given on a University of > Washington chemistry midterm. > > The answer by one student was so 'profound' that the professor > shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, > why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well: > > Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic > (absorbs heat)? > Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using > Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is > compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the > following: > > First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So > we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and > the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely > assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, > no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, > let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. > Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their > religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of > these religions and since people do not belong to more than one > religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and > death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell > to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of > the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the > temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of > Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. > > This gives two possibilities: > > 1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which > souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will > increase until all Hell breaks loose. > > 2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls > in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell > freezes over. > > So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa > during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before > I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with > her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure > that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary > of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that > it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, > extinct.......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of > a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting > 'Oh my God.' > > THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+. Many people in the West think that non-believers are ethically inferior to believers (usually Christians). This interesting book by the Harvard Humanist Chaplain Greg M. Epstein replies to this misconception.
Good Without God http://goodwithoutgod.info In "Good Without God," discover how Humanism offers comfort and hope that affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfilment in which we can aspire to the greater good of all. 《無神一樣做好人》 有些人,尤其西方人士,會以為無信仰者的道德標準比有信仰者(在西方來說,大多指基督徒)低落。美國哈佛大學人文主義校牧撰寫的一本新書《無神一樣做好人》,可望掃除這個常見的誤解。該書解釋人文主義如何提供安慰與盼望,肯定我們人有能力及責任去過道德的生活,帶來個人滿足,從而謀求眾生的褔祉。 Some, especially those in the West, might think that non-believers tend to be morally inferior to believers (usually means Christians in the West). The National Secular Service Day might be a good reply to this misconception.
National Secular Service Day www.secularserviceday.org As you may know, Sunday, October 18, 2009 marks the first ever National Secular Service Day. On and around this date, nonreligious organizations all over America (and beyond) will unite in performing acts of community service. The event is reported by the Humanist Network News of the American Humanist Association: National Secular Service Day Seeks to Unite Nonbelievers in Public Service Oct. 14, 2009 http://americanhumanist.org/HNN/details/2009-10-national-secular-service-day-seeks-to-unite-nonbeliev 「國家俗世服務日」 有些人,尤其西方人士,會以為無信仰者的道德標準比有信仰者(在西方來說,大多指基督徒)低落。於是美國的無信仰者將在本月十八日舉辦「國家俗世服務日」,以讓公眾更多認識俗世(無信仰)社會服務團體,以掃除這個常見的誤解。 As I have returned shortly from the ICUU Council Meeting in the Unitarian Centre of Koloszar in early September, I was very excited when I found this video in a UU forum "Faith of the Free". The video brings back good memories of my visit to the root of the Unitarian movement in Transylvania, a sort of pilgrimage. The forum host says (which I totally agree): Not that I can understand anything that is being said in this video, but I still recommend it (at least for the video imagery). This YouTube offers a rare glimpse of the Unitarian church in Koloszvar, (apparently) on the occasion of the 440th anniversary of its founding last year. Included are the church, both exterior and interior, as well as portraits of founder Bishop Francis David and of other people and events in the history of the Untiarian Church in Transylvania. This video runs about 10 minutes, but again is highly recommended for anyone wanting to have a "little better feel" for our Unitarian roots in Europe. Then I found a related video (slide show actually) of another Unitarian church with very beautiful background music: Csókfalva - Erdélyi Unitárius Egyház Zsinata - 2005 Have you ever pondered on the issue of “death”? Tonight, a group member presented his views on this topic. He took a personal approach instead of a theoretical one. At the age of 12, when he was on the way to a movie, he witnessed a serious accident, in which a middle-aged woman was hit at the head by a falling street lamp post. He didn’t saw the actual action but the scene was terrible enough: the woman lying on the ground with her skull cracked open and part of her brain exposed. At that moment, he knew what terror really was. When he grew up, he graduated from a seminary and became a church pastor, though he eventually quitted. He had witnessed many times old parents of Christian children resisted conversion life-long and yet yielded and received baptism towards the ends of their lives. In his opinion, old failing parents subcribe to their children’s Christian religion because they want their children to feel better—with a hope to “see again in heaven”.
“Death” is a big topic that always fascinates me. I am my brain. Physical damage or disruption of its energy supply (glucose and oxygen) causes my “death”. Biology has listed several characteristics of life such as organization, energy use, homeostasis, responsiveness, growth, and reproduction. But living organisms can be understood as complex molecular machines, ie, they can be just moving “non-living” structures. Is virus living or non-living? The line between living and non-living can be vague. What is so fearful to cross the vague line to the other side? Perhaps “fear” is actually the instinct of living structures to stay alive. Tonight, Flora presented briefly about Art and led us drew. Followings are the notes she had prepared. On the April 6 SafeHouse gathering, we watched a TV documentary about an American woman who has undergone transgender hormonal manipulation to become a man but has not completed gender assignment surgery, ie, he still has his female reproductive organs intact. He was later married to his wife who could not reproduce because of previous hysterectomy. Eventually, the couple decided to have a baby and he was the one who went pregnant! According to local federal laws, “mother” must be the biological mother of the baby, that means on the birth certificate of the baby, he was labelled as the “mother” and his wife was the “father”! The incidence quickly drew media attention and raised many deep and important questions. My understanding of take-for-granted notions such as “male/female”, “husband/wife”, “father/mother”, etc., was widened. |
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February 2022
AuthorAlex from UUHK |