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Sunny Jackson

Popular beliefs about homosexuality - 0 views

www.religioustolerance.org/hom_beli.htm

shared by Sunny Jackson on 22 May 13 - No Cached
  • They teach that lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender persons and transsexuals (LGBT) represent a threat to religious freedom. -- not a threat to the freedom of of the church and its members to believe as they wish, but as a threat to the freedom of the church to openly discriminate against LGBTs
  • a homosexual or bisexual orientation is generally both unchosen and unchangeable
  • generally do not recommend reparative therapy because of its very low success rate
  • ...17 more annotations...
  • expect LGBTs to remain celibate for life
  • dangers
  • equal rights and protections for persons of all sexual orientations, including the right to marry
  • the extension of federal and state hate-crime laws to include violent crimes motivated by hatred of the victim's sexual orientation
  • regard homophobia -- any denial of human rights based on sexual orientation -- to be as profoundly immoral as is sexism and racism
  • benefits of marriage
  • A significant majority of Canadian adults support same-sex marriage, which was legalized in all ten provinces and three territories in mid-2005
  • persons of all sexual orientations protected from abuse, firing, discrimination in accommodation, violence in hate crimes, exclusion from the military, etc.
  • People love to portray situations in terms of two options
  • life is not that simple
  • Homosexuality, is morally neutral
  • Persons of all sexual orientations deserve equal rights
  • Homophobia is the main evil
  • Full acceptance and valuing of persons of all sexual orientations
  • a normal and natural sexual minority
  • supportive
  • a fundamental human right
Sunny Jackson

Council for Secular Humanism - 0 views

www.secularhumanism.org/index.php

Cached ≡ Humanism

shared by Sunny Jackson on 22 May 13 - Cached
  • secular humanists don't believe in a God or an afterlife
  • secular humanism encourages people to think for themselves and question authority
  • secular humanism says the morality of actions should be judged by their consequences
  • ...57 more annotations...
  • There is no central authority
  • People come to secular humanism by following their own curiosity and reasoning
  • secular humanism is not so much a body of beliefs as a method for reaching understanding
  • It is an approach to life that tries to be positive, rational, realistic, and open-minded
  • we are not expressing a doctrine
  • doing our best to state the consensus shared
  • Secular humanists believe morality and meaning come from humanity and the natural world
  • It is our human values that give us rights, responsibilities, and dignity.
  • We believe that morality should aim to bring out the best in people, so that all people can have the best in life.
  • morality must be based on our knowledge of human nature and the real world
  • treat others with the same consideration as you would have them treat you
  • the common moral decencies - for example, people should not lie, steal, or kill; and they should be honest, generous, and cooperative - really are conducive to human welfare
  • Humanists realize that individuals alone cannot solve all our problems, but instead of turning to the supernatural, we believe that problems are solved by people working together, relying on understanding and creativity
  • humanists are committed to promoting human values, human understanding, and human development
  • Humanists also emphasize the importance of self-determination - the right of individuals to control their own lives, so long as they do not harm others
  • freedom of choice
  • people create their own meaning and purpose in life
  • The value and significance of life comes from how we live life, not from some supposed transcendent realm
  • The moral differences between secular humanism and religion do not justify the allegation that secular humanist have no morals. This claim is not an argument, just an insult.
  • Nonreligious, humanistic moral systems existed before Christianity
  • the Epicureans, Skeptics, and Stoics of classical Greece and Rome
  • the common moral decencies are found throughout the cultures of the world
  • The most important moral and political concepts of the modern era have developed out of humanistic thinking
  • You will search the Bible in vain for opposition to slavery or support for democracy and equality
  • neither the Supreme Court, nor this circuit, has ever held that evolutionism or secular humanism are `religions'
  • they refused to reverse a ruling that secular humanism is not a religion
  • Secular humanism is not a religion by any definition: There are no supernatural beliefs, no creeds that all humanists are required to accept, no sacred texts or required rituals. Humanists are not expected or required to have "faith" in what is said by any authority, living or dead, human or "supernatural."
  • humanists derive their meaning and values from the natural world. Secular humanism is a naturalistic, nonreligious worldview
  • humanists don't worship anything
  • Humanity's constant challenge is to understand itself and improve itself
  • We don't pretend that our ethics and values are divine: we recognize that they are human, and therefore part of nature
  • individual secular humanists differ
  • the human species has evolved by the same natural processes as every other species
  • some of our most treasured traits, such as language and the ability to understand and care for others, are on an evolutionary continuum with communicative and cooperative behaviors of other animals
  • humans have a moral responsibility towards the rest of the natural world
  • secular humanists cover a wide spectrum
  • One political view that secular humanists do share is unswerving support for democracy, freedom, and human rights
  • All secular humanists are utterly opposed to totalitarian systems
  • The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights contain no references to God or Christianity. Their only references to religion establish freedom of religion and separation of church and state
  • The motto on the Great Seal of the United States, unchanged since its adoption in 1782, is E Pluribus Unum ("From Many, One")
  • The Pledge of Allegiance did not contain an oath to God, until it was added in the 1950s
  • In 1797 the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Treaty of Tripoli which stated that "the government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."
  • the remarkable thing about the United States is precisely that it was created as a secular republic organized around the rights and freedoms of its citizens
  • on the basis of shared philosophical principles and ideals
  • The myth that secular humanists are unAmerican is an insult to the patriotism and distinguished service of millions of people.
  • all beliefs are fallible and provisional, and that diversity and dialogue are essential to the process of learning and developing
  • we value tolerance, pluralism, and open-mindedness as positive and beneficial qualities in society
  • Humanists are staunch supporters of freedom of religion, belief, and conscience, as laid out in both the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rights protect the freedom of religious belief equally with the freedom of nonreligious belief, the freedom of religion equally with the freedom from religion.
  • the neutrality of a secular society
  • Secular humanists believe that a healthy society supports a variety of worldviews
  • We also believe that religious and philosophical views should be every bit as open to debate and discussion as political beliefs.
  • All these claims make the same mistake: they confuse neutrality with hostility
  • neutrality toward different worldviews is the best protection from persecution
  • Separating church and state doesn't mean that the state promotes atheism and humanism, but that it provides equal protection to all beliefs
  • The amoral, power-hungry "secular humanist" conspiracy described by some religious conservatives is a myth
  • the vibrant movement that champions a moral approach to living based on reason and happiness is alive and growing
  • there are secular humanists. But no, there is no bogeyman.
Sunny Jackson

First Church of Atheism - 0 views

firstchurchofatheism.com

Atheists

shared by Sunny Jackson on 22 May 13 - Cached
  • With the First Church of Atheism you can become ordained quickly, easily, and at no cost.
Sunny Jackson

Friendly Atheist » The Religious Exemption to the New York Same-Sex Marriage ... - 0 views

friendlyatheist.com/...ew-york-same-sex-marriage-bill

shared by Sunny Jackson on 26 Jun 13 - No Cached
  • Churches have every right to be bigots. The government does not.
  • It would be funnier, though, if their religious views didn’t cause so many people so much pain.
  • “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.” – Winston Churchill
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • true understanding
  • timeless truths
  • So, a bunch of folks who believe a magical sky ghost and base those beliefs on a book written 1800 years ago (as well as others who hold similarly ridiculous beliefs) don’t want to perform marriages on two people who are in love. That’s cool – as long as the state itself has process in which those two lovers can be married.
  • these organizations can still discriminate on whatever basis they want, they just can’t receive taxpayer money for it
  • The general rule is that religious groups can discriminate when they’re operating as religious groups, but if they’re operating in a secular capacity, they have to comply with secular laws
  • the sooner churches work out that marriage has little to do with religion for many people the better
  • Some day, not so far off any more, when the Shamans disapprove of something, society’s overall response will be, “So?” Not so long after that, the overall response will be “Who?”
  • How arrogant. “As revealed by god”
Sunny Jackson

Introduction to Humanism - 0 views

www.religioustolerance.org/humanism1.htm

Humanism

shared by Sunny Jackson on 22 May 13 - No Cached
  • knowledge can be obtained through rational thought and experimentation
  • developed into the scientific method and is the major underpinning of all sciences today
  • a philosophy centered upon the needs and interests of people
  • ...57 more annotations...
  • truth could be discovered by human effort
  • rationalism
  • free thought
  • rational philosophy
  • Many regard Socrates as the first and greatest of the Humanists
  • value knowledge based on reason and hard evidence rather than on faith
  • the preciousness and dignity of the individual person is a central humanist value
  • universe that obeys natural laws
  • rejection of divinely inspired ethical and moral codes in favor of codes derived by reason from the human condition
  • full responsibility for the future of the world, its political systems, its ecology, etc. rests with humans. There is no God in heaven to intervene and save us
  • religious groups' "promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful."
  • reject both theocracy and secular dictatorships as political systems that are dangerous to individual freedoms
  • accept democracy
  • value freedom of inquiry, expression and action
  • combating bigotry, hatred, discrimination, intolerance and censorship
  • supporters of the principle of separation of church and state
  • moral values derive their source from human experience
  • regard life here on earth to be particularly precious
  • creator of Third Force Psychology
  • human rights
  • it represents a consensus of what Humanists do believe
  • Knowledge of the world is derived by observation, experimentation, and rational analysis
  • Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change
  • Ethical values are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience
  • Life’s fulfillment emerges from individual participation in the service of humane ideals
  • Humans are social by nature and find meaning in relationships
  • Working to benefit society maximizes individual happiness
  • Isaac Asimov
  • scientist and author
  • literary freedom activist
  • Margaret Atwood
  • Brock Chisholm
  • conceiver of the Theory of Relativity
  • Albert Einstein
  • Betty Friedan
  • feminist activist
  • R. Buckminster Fuller
  • futurist and inventor
  • United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization
  • Julian Huxley
  • Richard Leakey
  • Abraham Maslow
  • highly motivated to alleviating pain and misery around the world
  • John Boyd Orr
  • human rights activist
  • A. Philip Randolf
  • creator of Client Centered Therapy
  • Carl Rogers
  • Bertrand Russell
  • developer of the polio vaccine
  • Jonas Salk
  • Margaret Sanger
  • Andrei Sakharov
  • Gloria Steinem
  • American Humanist Association
  • Humanism and its aspirations
  • Humanism and Its Aspirations
Sunny Jackson

HUMANISM: Public school teaching, ethics, is it a religion? - 0 views

www.religioustolerance.org/humanism2.htm

Humanism

shared by Sunny Jackson on 22 May 13 - Cached
  • A non-religious approach to human sexuality would make use of the latest findings about sexual orientation; they would teach that bisexuality, heterosexuality and homosexuality are natural and human sexual variations.
  • non-religious approach to human sexuality would make use of the latest findings about sexual orientation; they would teach that bisexuality, heterosexuality and homosexuality are natural and human sexual variations
  • Public Schools are required to base their curriculum on secularism because of the principle of separation of church and state which the U.S. Supreme Court has said is implicit in the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • Humanists have successfully developed moral and ethical systems which are independent of divine revelation
  • foundational beliefs
  • Systems of morality and ethics can be developed through mutual agreement much like we develop laws and social customs
  • based upon common needs that humans have for survival, security, personal growth and love
  • Humans are social animals who can make the greatest achievements through mutual cooperation
  • reasonable
  • effective
  • lead to self esteem
  • consistent with one's natural feelings of caring, compassion and sympathy
  • do not lead to condemnation or rejection
  • accepted
  • Humanists do not generally believe in a supreme deity or deities, demons, ghosts, angels, or in a supernatural world, or in heaven and hell, or in a divinely ordained ethical code for humans to follow. Most would regard the Gods and Goddesses as a creation of mankind
  • Religious Humanism has been loosely defined as religion without deity worship and traditional theological beliefs
  • a belief in the scientific method as the best way to determine truth
  • philosophical and educational in nature
  • The ARIS study of 2001 showed that 76.5% of American adults consider themselves to be Christian. The Canadian Census of the same year showed that 76.6% of Canadian adults consider themselves to be Christian.
Sunny Jackson

Biblical Scholarship and the Right to Know | The Humanist - 0 views

thehumanist.org/...olarship-and-the-right-to-know

Humanism

shared by Sunny Jackson on 22 May 13 - No Cached
  • This is one of my goals as a scholar, to get people to think—to question what they believe, so that they can liberate themselves from whatever forms of ideology or religion may be preventing them from living life to the fullest and from showing love and concern for the wellbeing of others.
  • people should be free to embrace whatever religious or non-religious views they choose
  • so long as they don’t use their religious or non-religious views to silence, oppress, or harm others.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • This is what we were taught and this is what we believed.
  • At some point seeing the small differences opened me up to seeing big differences.
  • I just got to a point where my previous solutions no longer made sense.
  • I think it’s important to consider and confront the deep philosophical issues without settling for easy answers.
  • people must be liberated not only from something but also for something.
  • I’m interested in seeing people reject religion that is harmful and oppressive.
  • everybody has the right to know which of its views can’t be squared
  • Humanism must make a positive impact on people’s lives and be looked upon, even by outsiders, as a good and healthy phenomenon.
  • When someone leaves the womb of the church, they need to have somewhere else to go.
  • vibrant and viable alternatives
  • I am interested in getting people to think and become more intelligent about their views of the world, whatever their views are.
  • Religious Liberty award
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