Demons and Logic

11/01/2009

I write for a couple of other websites including my own Happiness through Humanism blog. There are two articles I want to share here, mostly because I struggled before deciding which website to post them on. And since I want my Sumogirl audience to read these, I thought, rather then reposting, I figured I would simply link. That way you can also check out my new blog. Anyway - here they are:

Living Demon Free - an article about why living in a demon haunted world is so horrible and

Why Logic Matters - a review of O'Reilly's rant against science as viewed through traditional rules of logic.

9/25/09

As any parent knows, teaching morality to your kids is often a funny process. Not because they don't get the concept. They do. In fact, they are pretty much born with a strong sense of what is right and wrong. It is just that their sense of who is the good guy and who the bad guys are don't always match our adult sensibilities. So, yesterday my son asked me who Noah was. This came up because PlayMobil has a Noah's ark play set and he wanted to know the story. So I told him. Including the part that the reason for the flood was because humans had become wicked. My son responded to this story by saying God is mean. He should go to jail for killing all those people. I reminded him they were wicked. And he told me it doesn't matter. God shouldn't have killed everyone. That's just mean. Morality. So easy even a child gets it.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Part 2

8/6/09

Ok – so recently I had read Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  I really liked it.  I wrote about it and about how much I liked the version of Christianity promoted in the book.  That prompted a nice woman named Becky to write me to encourage me to convert to that form of Christianity.  Here is why that isn’t going to happen.

It comes down to certitude. I happen to truly believe that certitude, and specifically religious certitude, is one of the most dangerous habits of the mind anyone can hold.

Three Rules for Religion

6/6/09

A while ago, Rob Kall at Op Ed News, wrote a short piece about the need to create 3 rules for religion, the same way Asimov wrote 3 Rules of Robotics. As we know, no set of rules, not matter how short, can ever be considered complete, but I did like the idea. Particularly since other societies have recognized the fact that religion is not always benign and some forms actually cause harm and so regulated religion to better protect their people from cults, and to protect themselves from challenges to their authority. Anyway, here is my take.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

5/12/09

As the parent of a 3 year old, I am constantly challenged on how to get my child to think about consequences before he acts. It is asking a lot of a 3 year old, but children are never too young to start. And that is why I have come to love Santa Claus. Kids love presents and toys and can totally understand the concept that if you are naughty, Santa will only bring you coal. If you are nice, he will bring you toys. And just the other day, my boy asked me about this to make sure he had the rules correct. To keep him in line, I only have to ask him whether he wants to be naughty or nice. He gets to choose and has to think about what he wants in the future. And I have Santa to thank.

Happy People are Good for the Planet

5/7/2009

So, contemplating happiness on the way home today. I do that a lot when I am driving. Have to think of something. Anyway, I was thinking about how my current best friend is religious and it doesn't matter to me. First, she doesn't proselytize. And I do think proselytization is offense, even when done by atheists. What really matters to me is that she is a happy person and a good person. And that is all I really care about anyway. And then it dawned on me. I am not sure you can be a good person if you are not a happy person. Excluding people with clinical mood or personality disorders. If an otherwise normal person isn't happy, chances are they aren't a very good person. Which comes first? Happiness or being good? I don't' know, but I do know there is a link between the two. Perhaps that is why Humanism focuses so much on human happiness. It isn't hedonistic. It is about making the world a better place. Even at its most basic level, happy people are better for society then unhappy people.

Joss Whedon on Humanism

4/19/09

This is a video of Joss Whedon (creater of Buffy and Serenity) talking about Humanism at Harvard. And yes, lots of Sci Fi writers are Humanists. But I am sharing this because he says something very important about Humanism at the end. And that is that religion isn't the enemy of Humanism. Hate is.