:: deafening silence ::

Humanists do good without God

2010-02-21T23:44:00.001+08:00

John Lui

21 February 2010

Straits Times
Lifestyle - Hot

Living a morally good life without religion is the belief that a small group of people in Singapore hold and some of them have been meeting regularly to discuss social issues of the day.

The group, Singapore Humanism Meetup, uses a website to arrange social gatherings. They describe themselves as secular humanists, atheists or agnostics.

Mr Ryan Song, the network's organiser, says: 'Secular humanists can find themselves in a lonely place.' These 'natural sceptics' hold views that differ from those that religious people hold, says the 30-year-old IT executive. ?

They are also fond of debating ideas and the meet-ups give them a chance to do so. They range in age from 18 to 76 and include entrepreneurs and those working in the civil service and banks, he says.

Atheists and non-believers are more active and organised in other countries.

The British Humanist Association, working with scientist Richard Dawkins, who wrote a book on atheism, supported a controversial bus advertising campaign in Britain which said: 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.' The buses ran throughout the United Kingdom last year and inspired similar bus campaigns in the United States.

The British campaign was prompted by bus advertising by an evangelical Christian group which said that non-believers would be condemned to eternal suffering.

But in Singapore, humanists whom LifeStyle spoke to say that proselytising is not as strident, thanks largely to strict laws promoting religious harmony. So for now, humanist activities are limited to blogging and meet-ups at cafes around town.

So far, 14 meet-ups have been organised, with the first held in January 2008. About 20 people show up for the monthly discussions, which deal with topics such as courtship and ethics.

The meetup.com site was set up in late 2007, with a Facebook page created around the same time. Since then, the sites have garnered about 200 followers each, with some signing up for both.

Sociologist Paulin Straughan calls the trend 'a very interesting development' and sees the growth of the network as the attempt by some to 'find meaning in life' and 'to exchange ideals and reinforce their beliefs'.

'The Internet serves to connect and therefore, certainly plays a significant role in gathering like-minded individuals in cyberspace,' she adds.

The Singapore Population Census 2000 showed that those who stated they had no religion made up 14.8 per cent, slightly outnumbering Christians at 14.6 per cent. A majority of 51 per cent of the resident population aged 15 years and above were either Buddhist or Taoist, while Muslims and Hindus made up 15 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. Those of other religions made up the rest, at 0.6 per cent.

Mr Wong Koi Hin, 34, who runs an IT consultancy and has attended one humanism meet-up, says he wants to be identified as a secular humanist because 'it gives us an opportunity to present ourselves as people who believe in living an ethical life and helping our fellow men while subscribing to a rational world view'.

Miss Chen En Jiao, 21, a student, has attended four meet-ups and is attracted to the idea that during these meetings, people can discuss topics such as sexuality without appealing to religion, but instead rely on research and desired outcomes, such as the reduction of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Not all humanists hold the same views and she enjoys learning about the wide range of opinions they hold, she says. 'It's hard to bring up topics such as sexuality education in schools in normal, everyday conversation without opening a can of worms,' she says, laughing.

The self-described humanist and atheist knows that some right-wing Christians characterise humanist views as anti- religious and anti-God, and that such views seek to impose a liberal, 'anything goes' approach to sexuality. It is wrong to say that humanists have no values, she says. In fact, the views of liberal Christians can be very similar to those held by some humanists, she says.

Mr Song says: 'We do have positive values but we base them on reason, science and the observation of the world. We also believe in compassion.'

For now, the loose network is not a registered society and has no official ties to any humanist group, local or foreign. But Mr Song says it is possible that a more formal grouping may form in the future if there is support from the network.

Links with overseas humanists groups will also depend on whether their views are in sync with Singapore values, he says.

He also thinks that in Singapore, it is more constructive to promote harmony between believers and non-believers by education than by promoting the humanist cause through advertising.

So a confrontational approach, such as that seen in the British bus campaign, will probably not work here. Even if one religious group is advertising itself, a 'tit-for-tat' approach taken by humanists 'is not healthy in the Singapore context', he says.

Major beliefs

The range of beliefs among those who call themselves humanists is broad. Here is a list of the major ideas, drawn from websites such as the British Humanist Association and the Humanist Association of Hong Kong.

They do not believe in a God or gods, or in an afterlife. Many of them say the claim that one is either for or against religion is a false choice. Belief in a deity is not necessary to live a morally good life. Not believing in a deity does not lead to a life empty of meaning orsolace in dark times.

They believe they alone bear responsibility for their actions and cannot blame or give credit to fate or a deity.

They prefer to rely on observation, experience and rational methods to explain and understand the world.

They hold moral principles, such as the Golden Rule ('Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'), and accept that compassion and human welfare should guide their lives. Therefore, helping causes such as world peace and famine relief follows.

They believe that because there is only one life to live, they should live it to the fullest.

Long time!

2010-02-03T10:31:00.002+08:00

It's been a long time since I last blogged but today I suddenly felt the URGE to blog. :P

Had a very interesting lesson yesterday on GIS and I'm having ideas on how to use it for my thesis. Gotta download the program later and sorta play around with it. We also need to submit a literature review on it. 1000 words. Gonna find some interesting paper to read. Reading papers is a sure cure for insomnia I tell you... :)

Center for Inquiry Calls Vatican's Position on Biomedical Technology Deplorable and Scientifically Insupportable

2008-12-13T13:07:00.000+08:00

Amherst, New York (December 12, 2008)—In a move designed to firm up faith-based opposition to embryonic stem cell research and other cutting-edge biomedical technologies, the Vatican has released a 32-page document titled “Dignitas Personae” – meaning “the dignity of a person.” The document condemns a host of procedures considered “immoral” by the Catholic Church, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), the freezing of unfertilized eggs, embryonic stem cell research, and the testing of embryos to help identify those with defects. The Center for Inquiry, a think tank headquartered in Amherst, New York that supports research on bioethical questions, deplores the Vatican’s pronouncement. The Vatican’s position has no justification other than religious doctrine, according to the Center for Inquiry, and may have a serious adverse effect on scientific research and the development of medical therapies.

“I regret the renewed effort by the Vatican to censor—indeed prohibit—research in reproductive science,” said Paul Kurtz, chairman and founder of the Center for Inquiry. “Do we have to wage the Galileo battle again? The Vatican claims that their objections are “moral,” but they are based on a theological doctrine that a formless fertilized egg is a full human being, a position which most scientists reject.” Kurtz says there is a need to defend freedom of scientific research and the positive good that can ensue for countless numbers of infertile couples. “The effort to curtail stem cell research is especially disturbing in the view of the possible beneficent results for improving human health,” he said.

The Vatican has focused on commonplace scientific technologies used in the United States and elsewhere, which the Church believes demean human “dignity,” and bring humans perilously close to “playing God.” The Church continues to hold steadfast to its key theological proclamation that “life begins at conception,” thereby rendering as “illicit” the use of embryos or fertilized eggs in research or otherwise, including IVF for married Catholic couples wishing to conceive.

Dr. Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry (and author of the book Future Bioethics: Overcoming Taboos, Myths, and Dogmas) said that “the Vatican has once again manifested its regrettable preference for religious doctrine over science. Until roughly fourteen days after conception, one cannot even meaningfully refer to the embryo as an individual, let alone the equivalent of an adult human, since both twinning and fusion are possible until that point.” Lindsay added that the Vatican’s rejection of IVF on the ground that it results in the discarding of embryos is especially ironic since from 60 to 80 percent of embryos conceived “naturally” are spontaneously aborted. “If the Vatican wants to prevent embryos from ‘dying,’ then they will have to instruct couples to avoid sex completely.”

“The bottom line,” says Lindsay, “is that the Vatican is telling those who need medical assistance to seek help from theology, not therapy.”

The Center for Inquiry/Transnational is a nonprofit, educational, advocacy, and scientific-research think tank based in Amherst, New York. Their research and educational projects focus on three broad areas: religion, ethics, and society; paranormal and fringe-science claims; and medicine and health. The Center's Web site is www.centerforinquiry.net .

Sun's out Surf's up! YAY

2008-10-11T14:10:00.001+08:00

At 150 sharp yesterday, Odie took off in his blueberry mobile to the next nearest island: Sentosa!

Still feeling sick from the ulcer in his throat, he hoped the UV rays would kill the naughty virus. Argh! (*disclaimer* it doesn't work that way...)

The sky was clear and the sun was good. Not much screaming kids over this side of the island though I did see lots of school kids on the Siloso side. I guess exams are over for them and they're all out in full force. Bless those peeps at siloso. Ha.

Called Alvin, who's my uni roomie and he came pretty quickly. Roderick came along as well and we had a pretty swell time. Sun's out surf's up! Yay! :P

Ended the evening at PS Cafe, Dempsey. Tristan knocked off from work and came straight down to Old School where we picked Jeffrey up. Dinner was so so, big portions, but we were rushing a little cos we had a movie to catch.

Ribs... like i said, portions were huge. Not a ribs person though. Think Ted would love it though. :)

Roasted Chicken and Penne. Felt pretty stuffed after that. That's my kind of meal. Binge and binge...

Tris had this friend seabass thing. The curry tasted exotic. A little orange-y kinda taste.

Eric Miyashiro and Tokyo Kosei !!

2008-08-27T19:32:00.003+08:00

Was searching through youtube looking for Spitfire by James Barnes but instead found this gem! Eric Miyashiro and Tokyo Kosei playing....... TURANDOT! Ha! Gerald beat that!!! :P

One man lost is one man too many.

2008-06-26T20:10:00.003+08:00

Adrian has passed away. I find it wierd to speak of him in the past tense. Just a year ago I bumped into him at Bugis again. One of the few occasions that we met after I graduated. Back in uni, he would turn up to support his classmates during the sports events. My only anger is that he had a hard life. Played by the system that we have here in Singapore. Trapped by the very own people that were supposed to protect us. He finally became a doctor but just had to succumb to a lung infection at a mere age of 29. Life is just so unfair.

HOLA! (Barcelona, Sitges; Spain)

2008-06-18T21:04:00.001+08:00

top of the world (edinburgh castle)

2008-06-13T00:25:00.000+08:00

Castles, witches and regalia...

2008-06-11T18:43:00.003+08:00

And so we arrived in Edinburgh's Waverly Bridge

As we walked to our hotel, we passed by University of Edinburgh

And we arrived at our hotel. Ten Hill Place, a hotel managed by the Royal Surgeons' next door.

The Royal Mile, the cobber-stoned road that leads up to the Edinburgh Castle on one end and the Queen's Palace on the other.

Exterior of a Cathedral.

Across the moat and into the castle.

Statue on one side of the bridge across the moot.

War memorial within the Castle.

Cemetry for the little Royal Doggies.

The castle overlooks the entire Old Town of Edinburgh.

The fireplace of Queen Mary's chamber.

Queen Mary staring at us...

This is linked to the next picture.

Monument of Scotland....

Cambridge --> Edinburgh

2008-06-11T18:39:00.002+08:00

Nice sunny afternoon at Trinity College, Cambridge again. Very much like Harry Potter, which was filmed partly at Oxford, sister university to Cambrige.

Stansted Airport has pretty good shopping too.

Flight delayed for 1 hours plus due to strike by French air-traffic controllers.

Welcome to Edinburgh!

wake up london!

2008-06-09T18:16:00.002+08:00

I drifted in and out of sleep throughout the entire flight. Only managed to fall asleep 4am sg time. Even so, sleep wasn't good. 4 hours before landing, I was already feeling grouchy and annoyed from the lack of sleep.

My first A380. I didn't managed to catch the registration number though.

This is the "Get out of jail free" card equivalent. Heathrow's immigration is notoriously known for its long queue. This card enables me to breeze through the customs using the Fast-Tracked Lane. There was no one at the fast tracked lane and I virtually cleared the customs within a minute. :)

Finally, after 3 hours of bus ride from Heathrow, CAMBRIDGE! Quaint quiet little place. The city centre has become more exciting since I visited 2 years ago. Now, there's a big mall smacked right in the middle of it. It's hard to imagine that this place is a university town. The concept of the NUS town according to Ted, is gonna follow the same one that Cambridge has.

So this is where i'll be putting up in cambridge. Nice little loft units.

Sunday market! Sea sponges. I've heard about them but this is the first time I'm seeing them. All natural sea sponges!

Finally my A380!!!

2008-06-09T18:15:00.003+08:00

Finally after more than a year of waiting, Odie boards the superjumbo A380.

His boarding pass.... 48D! Hah! The cattle class seat with the most leg-room sans those emergency exit seats.

Like most major airports in the world, T3 is configured such that each waiting lounge caters for more than 2 boarding gates.

As the plane is a superjumbo, boarding is done by rows. Flight is full, presumably cos the A380 craze is far from over. The B747 was very much dwarfed by this giant at the apron.

Sitting on 48D, the leg room is amazing. Not that I need it but still, for long haul flight I get a little grouchy sometimes.

As there are no economy seats in the A380, all economy class seats are classed Executive Economy. The seats are generally wider, more leg room and bigger LCD screen. The plane is equipped with LED lights that very gently changes colour to colour. This is very much different from the usual planes were the lights can jolt you out of sleep when they come on. Takeoff was exceptionally quiet for such a huge plane. Throughout the flight, the engine was very quiet. The B777-200 or A320 by comparison were very very much noisier.

So it will be!

2008-06-07T11:38:00.001+08:00

Finally this evening, BP goes on the A380 en route London Heathrow. I had chosen the most spacious seat in the economy section of A380, 48D. The missing seat in row 47 is due the presence of an escape hatch in the lower deck. So SQ322, 48D it will be! :)

I'll update with more pics onboard to show you guys when I arrive in Cambridge! :)

blabberings...

2008-02-19T20:09:00.003+08:00

I'm almost up to my neck at work but i'm lovin' it. Presents are coming in this wed and i'm quite sure I can do them within the week. Then one more week and i'm off with fab peeps to Taman. I just can't wait. :)

Met up with Eunice and Jac and binged. I guess we're all pretty stressed at work. I could really do with more regular meals. Gonna top up the milo at my desk and maybe replace it with cereal. Gosh I miss the cereal days while staying in hall. :)

CNY came and it's almost over. Yet another year.

oh btw...Mary J Blige has a new song!

What I'm listening now...

2008-01-13T16:17:00.001+08:00

2008-01-07T21:59:00.000+08:00

everything is just so blah now.

Blogger PLAY!

2007-09-16T16:19:00.001+08:00

"Shortly after Blogger launched photo uploading two years ago, one of our engineers whipped up a web page that would show us the pictures that were being uploaded in real time. The result was fun, often beautiful, but above all, compelling. We couldn’t stop watching."

I saw this when i logged into blogger this morning. Wondering what this new toy is, i clicked the link. I was wow-ed and amazed by the pictures that I see. It made me feel so small yet unique in this world that we live in.

We're all born different. No one better than the other. Perhaps better or well adapted to live in certain environment, but never completely better. This is the basis of evolution and effects of genetic variation. What we perceive as correct or norms are merely social constructs. Boundaries that societies set so that we can make sense of this complex world that we live in.

For example, many religions today claim that there is only one true god. Their god. But this belief system is very dependent on the cultural background of the person. In other words, what god I believe in actually depends on what culture and religion i am born into. The development of the human brain as we make sense of the world depends very much on our prior knowledge. In other words, what we both call green colour, may actually be different colours because our experiences and understanding with the colour green, were all different.

Interestingly, NGC is playing "In the womb" again. And I'm just so awed by the ever so diversified world that we live in. If the world is big, the universe is even bigger. But if our minds are small and narrow, humankind will never make progress. Geneticist Richard Dawkins wrote that biology raises the human consciousness and opens up the mind. It really does.

Don't Give Hate a Chance!!!

2007-09-16T16:17:00.001+08:00

Recently I've come across a lot of incidences personally and also on the news about hate crimes and discrimination. Be it racial, religion, body weight, looks, whatever...Discrimination comes from ignorance and ignorance breeds hate. Nobody likes the feeling of injustice so here I am doing my part by telling everyone, don't give hate a chance. :)

Check this commercial OUT! Nice...

2007-07-25T23:10:00.001+08:00

Hooked!

2007-06-23T13:20:00.001+08:00

Just like Kim, I've taken a fancy to chinese songs recently to the song below. I first heard it a couple of days back in a cab and since then I've been playing it 10 million times annoying everyone. I'm like that. When I like a song, I play it until i'm sick of it. :P

你那么爱她 by 李圣杰林隆璇

直到爱消失你才懂得

去珍惜身边每个每好风景

只是她早已离去

直到你相逢他早已经

不在对你留恋

最后的你开始了一段挣扎

你那么爱她

为什么不把她留下

为什么不说心里话

你深爱她

这是每个人都知道啊

你那么爱她

为什么不把她留下

是不是你有深爱的两个她

所以你不想再让自己无法自拔

直到爱消失你才懂得

去珍惜身边每个每好风景

只是她早已离去

直到你相逢她早已经

不在对你留恋

最后的你开始了一段挣扎

你那么爱她

为什么不把她留下

为什么不说心里话

你深爱她

这是每个人都知道啊

你那么爱她

为什么不把她留下

是不是你有深爱的两个她

所以你不想再让自己无法自拔

你那么爱她

为什么不把她留下

为什么不说心里话

你深爱她

这是每个人都知道啊

你那么爱她

为什么不把她留下

是不是你有深爱的两个她

所以你不想再让自己无法自拔

And here's a fake MTV I found on Youtube. Quite funny!

HKG and Wedding

2007-06-20T13:14:00.001+08:00

Been back since last sunday but been very busy since I got off the plane. Immediately, I went home and just zonked out waking up for Shi Sheng's meeting. Yeah, if you remember, Shisheng is the brother of the Huang Shi Yu who took part in the Star Search some time back. Here's the link:

However, Shiyu wasn't the star that night of course. The groom, Shi Sheng was my friend in NUSWS and turns out that, the bride is my primary school friend! So that wedding dinner turned out to be very interesting for me. Not only were there tables for my NUS friends there was also a table full of my primary school friends! I was most surprised to find Jia Miao because, Jia Miao is also my kindergarten friend!

Here's the bride and groom.

Bride and groom again in their 2nd change of clothes. Sometimes I wonder why the hassle? Just let the two poor pple have their wedding dinner in peace man...

And Jiali was there too! She's my JC classmate, one of the members of our clique. Also the counsel president of my year. Gosh...we've all grown so much. JC seems to be yesterday but it's been almost 10 years.

And of course how can any post be complete without me and Ad? :P

This is Jia Miao, my kindergarten and primary school friend. She's the only friend i can remember from my kindergarten days cos our families were quiet close. Oh...she cousin is Zhang Si Li. The ex- Miss Singapore and brother is Teo Say Luck, MP of some constituency.

Wennie, Gerald and Me! Always so FOS in band....sigh.. i really miss playing my instrument.

Vending machine

2007-04-24T11:21:00.000+08:00

Sometimes it really irks me that some of the hillers treat me like a vending machine.

Can we have extra XXX? Can we have extra YYY?

Gosh, when I've been trying to give them the usual amount of XXX and YYY they themselves are the one who didn't want it. And now that the end seems near for them and they start to panic, they start to treat us like vending machines. More sugar more milk? Please?

I think not.

As much as it pains me to see them in such a state. I think sometimes they need to learn a lesson. At this point of time there's still enough time for them to learn a lesson and then pick themselves up again. I really hope they this will be a good lesson for them.

New Toy!!

2007-04-23T11:01:00.000+08:00

My new toy looks like this...

Intel Dual Core 925+3.0GHz/800MHz

Hitachi 160GB 7200rpm/SATA 2 HDD

1GB RAM

LG DVD-Writer

ATI Sapphire x1050PCI-E 512MB

450W ATX Power

I transplanted my 40GB HDD from old P3 into this and so now i've got 200GB space! Suddenly have so much space to store all my resources.

However, I'm now poorer by 670. Joel was kind to sell me his LCD (read: more table space) for $50! Woohoo! :D

The Hills... (have eyes?)

2007-04-15T14:53:00.000+08:00

Things got pretty crazy over the last two weeks up in the hills. There were so many deadlines to meet and plus the fact that my health wasn't really in tip-top condition really got me under. Haven't gymmed for 2 weeks and I feel like shit. Thankfully Alvin went gymming with me yesterday. I should really schedule in weekday gym sessions with Al at Novena. Think it'll work out better for us since it's nearer.

I should really be spending more time in the office. Have this sudden urge and drive to make things better. Perhaps because things are looking better these days.

Recently also realised how little time I have to prepare things for the people on the hill. Would really love to have more time to prepare proper things for them. I find that when i do that, i feel better and they benefit more too.

I WANT MORE TIME!!!

I met Miss Blame-it-on-the-world!

2007-03-24T12:30:00.000+08:00

You wont believe it but I actually met Miss Blame-it-on-the-world yesterday. Yes I know you'll probabaly have met her too and maybe a few of her relatives. If you haven't, beware! She's gonna meet you at some point of the time or another. It's really quite alright to meet her if she's just complaining about things in her life. Wait till she accuse you of doing something you did do. That's when you'll get it real bad from her. I got the exact treatment from her yesterday.

Accusation 1: You are always picking on me.

Reaction: What?! I think I've really got better things to think about and worry than to keep picking on you. So many people to take care of and I'm picking on you? Obviously logic has failed her.

Accusation 2: Maybe you've been picked on when you were young that's why you're doing the same to me now.

Reaction: I'm sorry but psycho-analysis doesn't work that way. Hey wait a minute! I really was picked on when I was young! I was picked on when I was young for being the best in everything I do. See the difference?

Accusation 3: You're just biased against me. Others in class can see that too!

Reaction: Maybe it's inferiority complex or something but I think i can find more than twice the same number of people who thinks I am being fair and just.

In conclusion: If you're not able to produce good quality products because you have chose not to do so and instead chose to blame it on everyone but yourself then I think you're not an angel to begin with. I can tolerate stupidity but not indifference. Talk is cheap, let's get down to real action.