Dear theist,
thank you for your letter that you wrote to us. It was well received. From it you said you were a secular humanist but you left. If you don’t mind my asking, what was your understanding of secular humanism and why did you leave?
What in the philosophy of secular humanism did you find most untenable? Is it embrace of human reason, ethics and philosophical naturalism or is it the rejection of religious dogma, pseudoscience and superstition that you didn’t like?
Or is it the claim that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or a god that you most disagree with? I hope you will be kind enough to indulge me.
As to your question, you ask what is the meaning of life? You say this question is fundamental and being that it has been asked by several generations of humans, I will take it to be so. Do you ask about all life or just human life? In my time I have seen men, mostly men, kill other life forms for pleasure. I am sure you heard of Cecil. Do these lives matter or do they exist for the pleasure of men? I digress. Life is to be lived. Trees have life, they grow and then die. Animals live and then die. We are unfortunate. We find ourselves in an absurd universe with the faculty for reflection. And we often think every question that occurs to us is answerable.
This is not to evade your question but to point out the futility of asking it. Maybe we should start by answering what is life before we get to what is the meaning of life. I hope you can shed some light on what is life?
In your letter you mention Belgium and it’s suicide rates and laid the blame on secular humanism. Assuming for a moment you are right and secular humanism is to blame, what is your argument against suicide? Who’s to decide when a person should quit this life? Does the alarm you raise about the low birth rate have anything to do with your Catholicism that sees women as breeders or something close? Or is it intellectual? I would love to know why you decry low birth rates.
You say the fatal flaw in secular humanism is its attempt to give meaning where there is none and me wonders really whether you thought about this statement fully. How it would be a flaw?
Your final question is unclear.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours naturalist and secular humanist.
Random thoughts 
Mak, there are so many points of attack in that person’s blog entry. I’m sure your commenters will do a good job of dissecting it. For me, the slogan, “I believe in GOOD, not (a) god” has been working for awhile. .
Oh, and loved the pics you put on yesterday! Those falls are gorgeous! Did you go swimming?
xx
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Hi Carmen been a while since I last saw you.
I had gone to hike then stopped over at the falls.
I think I like your slogan
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she seems to be assuming that SHs have no meaning or purpose in their lives without a Purpose outside of themselves. she seems to not be able to conceive of the possibility that lives have purpose that we infuse into them. and when we are gone, we trust our legacy to the judgment of others. -KIA
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You have said it well
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I am more bothered by the underlying thesis that religionists have a purpose: to “worship” and “glorify” and “obey” some omni-everything entity that would be beyond our comprehension anyway. How is this theoretical theist “meaning” useful or beneficial in any way? .
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comfort from our fears. pretty much all there is. therefore, fear is the driving force of religion. -KIA
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This is a good question.
I would like to hear a theist answer it
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there is purpose in life from what we give it. I just had to euthanize a beloved cat yesterday. Her life had much purpose, in her enjoyment of it, and the pleasure she graced me and my spouse with.
I always have trouble believing these folks who claim they converted to Christianity from being a humanist. it strikes me as just another story told, to make them seem more important, quite similar to so many Christians claiming that they were such “horrible” people before they supposedly converted. I would suspect very strongly that this person has no idea what secular humanism actually is.
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I had the suspicion said person has no idea what secular humanism is
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Secular humanism is the intersection of Human St and Main.
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and I think you are quite right. I am curious if she will answer what purpose she thinks she has and what evidence she has her god is against suicide.
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Didn’t her god become his own son by impregnating a 12 year old virgin with himself in the guise of an angel/bird? Did her god, as his own son, not then commit suicide via Roman centurion in order to earn forgiveness from himself for the apple eating of Adam and Eve? If suicide is OK for god as his own self in the guise of his own son to do, how is it sinful for anyone else to do it?
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that does raise some very interesting points and in your own inimitable way 🙂
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This is complex. Jesus is his mother’s son and father kind of thing
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I am still waiting. I don’t see us getting any
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I have engaged her at her website but her answer doesn’t help much https://confessionsfromacatholic.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/open-letter-to-secular-humanism/comment-page-1/#comment-5
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seen your comments and her response.
does it follow necessarily that if allowed for a god, said god would be responsible or creation?
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In American fundamentalist circles, the “testimonies” are amazing in their lurid litany of failures and abuses and crimes. I am not saying that the stories are false, but the exaggerations certainly make for great theo-theater!
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ah, theotheater, I’ll have to borrow that term 🙂
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I recently converted from secular humanism to out-right cannibalistic atheism. The food’s better. 🙂 “What’s the meaning of life?” I don’t know. Find a helpful, useful meaning for your life and stay outta other people’s business who aren’t interfering with you living it. No invisible, unreal, magical guys needed.
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I thought you have been on cannibal diet for a while?
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On and off. Depends on when the meat is in season. With Christmas coming, I’m gonna have a feast!
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You should share your new recipes
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Clearly, he has been on it for awhile – look how he’s filling out that white frock of his! 🙂
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Times are hard for our cannibalist
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Cannibals best enjoy their meals with “fava beans and a nice Chianti.”
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Hannibal Lector, my ideal. 🙂
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Meant to say, “my idol”. But, for a heathen, his behavior is quite ideal.
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No problem with that
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Now that was a link to some utter, utter, utter nonsense.
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The Catholic was confessing. I think she should have just left where the priest told her to say two hail Mary
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LOL!
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“… this question [the meaning of life] is fundamental and being that it has been asked by several generations of humans…”
Several generations of humans? As in the Christian fundamentalist 6,000 year history of Earth known as Creationism? Oh, please! I call them as I see them, and this person is an UNABASHED LIAR not an ex-SECULAR HUMANIST. The nerve of these people… geez!!!
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Maybe to get numbers to read their posts, they have to smear us with mud by claiming they know our stand. They have been there sort of thing
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Noel, how did you even read that? I know I’m long winded, but that article is something else!
I did catch a glimpse of how absolutely miserable the author assumes our lives are without god. Oddly enough, since leaving Jesus, I work on my marriage, family and myself more than I ever did as a Christian. As an atheist, I face my flaws more honestly and actually do something about it. Gone are the days of me “waiting on the lord” through prayer and his followers to resolve my issues. I was a physical and emotional mess before deconverting.
There is something about the godless life that gives us clarity of mind, it’s the absence of all that god stuff.
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Someone had to read it, Charity.
I don’t know what bothers these religionists with our very peaceful lives. Do they think we are so depressed, so lost that without their unknown god life is miserable
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As a former Christian myself, I can tell you that they cannot even perceive a life without a god. He/it is pretty much all they know. He is their identity. It’s honestly quite sad. I feel for them. Being bound to a dangerous philosophy/religion is dangerous and self destructive. I found most aspects of Christianity abusive.
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I agree with those who have called christianity and Islam especially religions of death. It is not a good way to live
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