Age of Reality Truth, Love, Justice and Peace to All

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This site is dedicated to the advancement of Secular Humanism

And a New Enlightenment in which mankind is free from ignorance, superstition and fear!

WELCOME TO THE AGE OF REALITY!!!

A cursory study of the history of humans will show that humans have always been engaged in conflict. Conflicts between individual humans exist on a day-to-day basis in some form - sometimes subtle and sometimes open and violent. Furthermore, thoughout history, little time has elapsed in which one society or group was not in violent conflict with another somewhere in the world. Millions of humans have died or been maimed and the environment decimated as a result of these conflicts.

Just as sure as there have been conflicts, there have also been efforts to organize society to avoid or bring fairness to human conflict. In fact, there have been significant conflicts related to how society should be organized and who makes the rules. Once again, these conflicts have resulted in millions of persons killed or maimed.

It is the premise of this web site that the ideas and principles of Secular Humanism will best enable us, as humans, to survive as a species and to survive in a happy and peaceful manner. While there are many facets to Secular Humanism, two principles stand out. First, we believe that our conclusions should be guided by reason. Second, we base our lives on love and respect for our fellow human beings, fellow creatures with which we share our planet and the planet and universe itself. More about Secular Humanism can be learned on my Secular Humanism page.

Our reliance on reason leads us to believe that there are no supernatural entities, such as a God, gods and angels and that supernatural places like heaven and hell do not exist. Thus, Secular Humanism is a nontheistic belief system and this site avers that there is no God or gods and all the gods and religions worshipped by humans were created by humans to fulfill certain human needs. Secular Humanism, thus, is very much distinguished from any religiously based humanism.

Additionally, we look to science and the scientific method to answer the questions we have about the physical universe. Thus, most Secular Humanists believe that evolution best explains how the various species have arrived at their present state of development.

We believe that a moral system based upon love and respect for each other and all that surrounds us is on a firmer foundation than one based upon obedience to a god or gods that no one really ever sees or a self-centered desire for a reward (heaven) or to avoid a punishment (hell).

Basically, to survive, we humans must:

1. Have a compact so society is organized, will not self-destruct and will treat all beings fairly;
2. Respect and care for ourselves as individuals;
3. Continue to learn as much as we can about ourselves, the secrets of life, composition of the earth and how all things interrelate;
4. Respect the environment of earth as, at the present, it is the only environment that we have; and
5. Constantly explore the universe as it is our greater environment and we will no doubt need it in the future;

all of which are concepts of Secular Humanism.

This site will advance the idea that we all should be free to do whatever we want as long as there are no substantial societal reasons for limiting that conduct. Thus, the accountability one has for his or her actions is to ones own self and any limitations thereon are based upon societal considerations as opposed to theistic considerations. Though atheism is an important element of this philosophy, it does not free us to do whatever we wish.

We will look at how peace and justice can be brought to the affairs of humans through Secular Humanism. Also, we will look at the role the environment plays in our survival, peace and happiness and what we must do to protect and preserve this natural space ship on which we were born.

For years, I have agonized over what to call my philosophy! I have come to believe that Secular Humanism is most compatible with my beliefs. While it is not a perfect fit, it fits much better than any other.

SITE ORGANIZATION

This is a developing web site, so please come back for updates. It is definitely an Secular Humanist/Atheistic web site. We will be looking at religion, ethics, nature, space, current events and many more things in the context of reality, the well-being of humans, the long term survival of humans as a species and the environment in which we live.

While this site could be organized in several ways, I have chosen to organize it under the topics shown in the main menu above. First, we will get an overview of humanity and the universe under the headings of Science, History and Beliefs. While the word "belief" often is used to mean a belief in God or a particular religion, here I am using it in a more general sense. Everything from theistic religions to atheism will be found under this heading.

In the analysis section, I will try to tie everything together. Hopefully, we will learn something from examining science, history and human beliefs from different perspectives. Most importantly, I will try to explain why humans have mystical thoughts and created the gods, God or whatever supernatural being or beings they have worshipped and why I reject a belief in those mystical, supernatural and theistic beliefs. I am an impatient person and will admit right now that I may post my analytical articles before posting the underlying articles in the Science, History and Beliefs sections.

In the section entitled "A Humanist World" I will try to visualize an organized, fair and successful human society in which a supernatural being is not expected to set the rules - one based upon secular humanist concepts. Also, we will be looking at how to protect and preserve our planet and our species so both will survive for many more years than we have existed so far. This is the section that is my view of the way the future should be and basically is the purpose of this whole web site.

In the "News" section, I will attempt to look at current events in the context of what I advocate on this site. I will do this section as time permits, so it will in no way be comprehensive. While I prefer to look at general concepts on this site, perhaps a look at specific events might make the general concepts more comprehensible - or perhaps not!

I do not offer my research and thoughts in the belief that my work is of special value or especially inciteful. I am constantly humbled when I learn that one of my thoughts that I believed was somehow unique or very perceptive was offered by some thinker centuries or millenia ago! Rather, this web site is a way in which I try to organize my thoughts and, if in the process, sharing it with the public is useful, then here it is.

Finally, I am but an amateur web master - self taught - so, if things do not display properly, I apologize. I test my pages in Internet Explorer since that seems to be the most popular browser. I have found that they do not display properly in Mozilla Firefox or Opera. I am constantly trying to upgrade my talents in that regard and hope to polish up the site as time goes by. While I am sympathic with the efforts of browser developers other than Microsoft, I do not have the time right now to make whatever adjustments that might be necessary to assure proper display in all browsers.

Comments about either the site content or how it displays are welcome, of course. Send me an email, if you wish. Let me know if I can refer to you by name or quote you, if I decide to comment on your comment.