Gurdur

Yet another person to make me blush.

I will answer your post tomorrow, NonHomogenized.

Luiseach

BigBlue2

..sucks. Go the Swannies!!

(Sorry. I failed to suppress a post-slutting urge. Carry on.)

Virgil Tibbs

I consider humanist as someone who is concerned with promoting the welfare and protecting the rights of as much of society as possible (of course, a society may have to restrict the rights of those who violate the rights of others, such as murders).

There are many values of conservative xianity that I would consider opposed to that goal. For example, its homophobic views are needlessly hurtful IMO. Then there are states like Texas that IIRC will not allow anyone to serve in their legislature unless he/she affirms the existence of God. I can see no justification for not allowing nontheists to serve if one ever was elected (granted that's not likely to be a problem in Texas!).

Fair enough. Still, I don't think this disputes my underlying point: dogmatic thought makes one less likely to be a humanist, because humanism IMO requires a careful judgement of what constitutes harm, and this judgement requires a correct understanding of the way the world around us is. And the more religious someone is, the stronger the faith and the less willingness to question. An incapacity to question one's conclusions is at the heart of dogmatic thought.

I suppose you may be defining "strongly religious" differently than I do. I consider religion to be an incapacity to critically reason on the subject of the specific beliefs of the religion. The deeper or wider the incapacity, the stronger the religious sentiment. That's not to say I consider the strongly religious to be bad, I'd still judge them on their individual actions, same as anyone else.

Very christian.

Certainly, there is one obvious example in history of dogmatic, anti-humanist atheism: the USSR. However it's not my point that atheism in any way encourages humanism in and of itself. Only that humanism is easier to arrive at with a natural world view. If humanism is arrived at through supernaturalism, it is IMO in spite of rather than because of the supernaturalism.

I don't really follow politics closely enough that I'd want to post there, nor do I have time/inclination to get into the long arguments I see there. And as I'm still trying to pin down a few of my own opinions on the world, I'd rather read than post.

Tibbs

DixieNurse

Wow, Gurdur..I don't know what to say about the flowers---that is the nicest thing anyone's done for me lately--I owe you one....(when did you say you might be coming to Mississippi?? ..)


Thank you babes...:notworthy


Dixie

(we need a kissing smiley thingy..lol....)

Gurdur

If you can wait till spring (February to April), Dixie Nurse, I will have more flowers for you.

I'm planting bulbs now.

Yes, I really hoped to visit the USA this year, despite my merry anti-American ways, but I couldn't afford it --- I hope to visit next year.
I'm visiting for certain people, not the place. The place, frankly, scares me, especially with Bush and co.
Last and only time I was ever in the USA was 1994, IIRC. New Mexico and Ohio.
It was an absolute catastrophe. Really.

_______

Virgil Tibbs, I shall strongly disagree with you some more --- tomorrow.

Thanks, please stick around.
______

BTW, while I'm happily throwing pallets of spanners into the works, let me state that I also find ultra-relativist-liberalism anti-humanist.

Luiseach

What's a 'Swannie'?

_________________

And Gurdur, I hear tell there's a spanner sale on at the B&Q...just in case you run out.

Gurdur

I think he means the West Australian football team, but I could be wrong.
Swan River, the river on which Perth/Freemantle is built (capital of West Australia).

I am, believe it or not, trying to remain more or less on topic.
Otherwise I would have pointed out that at great effort I have managed to include West Australian wood (jarrah and marri) in my German house renovations, and I have a couple of West Australian plants. But hey.

BigBlue2

Ah, it's not that bad. I was there in 1997 and apart from the mugging in New Orleans I had a pretty good time.

Right sport, wrong City. Sydney's AFL team are called the Swans.

I'm actually enjoying this thread, so I'll shut up now. Carry on.

Cheers,
BB2

Gurdur

Damn. I knew there was something odd about you cheering the WA side on, but my knowledge is woefully ignorant at times, I've been so many years away.

______

BTW, Luiseach, BigBlue2's joke was about Hawthorn, a Melbourne suburb and team.

IIRC, of course.
______

Muggings are no worry. Oddly, I have never been successfully mugged yet. Heh, touch wood and keep a large spanner handy.
It was the other things that put me off.