humanism

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Humanism and Jehovah's Witnesses

Humanism at its basic level is a philosophy that states a person should lead an ethical life and fulfill all human needs. Humanism itself can take a different meaning depending on the humanist asked. Secular Humanism does not worship or believe in a deity. Religious Humanism however believes that religion and faith can be necessary in leading a fulfilled life. Secular and Religious Humanist both place reason above faith. Humanist believe that people should think for themselves, question, and challenge different ideas. This allows people to be open minded and share in the human life experience. They value and have developed a more scientific based set of morals and ethics. All of these traits allow humanity to succeed and thrive. They feel that through open debate and critical thinking, this will lead to better understanding, tolerance, laws, and society. Humanism even within its own community has its debate whether or not it is a religion. Some see it as more of philosophy only and regard it as a guideline on how a person should live a good life. UU Minister Kenneth Phifer in his essay “The Faith of a Humanist” writes

Humanism teaches us that it is immoral to wait for God to act for us. We must act to stop the wars and the crimes and the brutality of this and future ages. We have powers of a remarkable kind. We have a high degree of freedom in choosing what we will do. Humanism tells us that whatever our philosophy of the universe may be, ultimately the responsibility for the kind of world in which we live rests with us.

This allows people of all faiths to be heard and respected. Humanism values opinions of all people, and does not place wealth, status, or position in life ...

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...es to them. Humanist seem to get paired with Atheism and the role of anarchy in the world. I found that the major difference is that Humanist want to better the human experience and society. They do not seem to lash out at religion like some of the Athirst groups and keep a low key in the public eye. When was the last time you saw Humanist on the front page of CNN. With Jehovah's Witnesses I always seem to remember the 144,000 and though like most that was all that was too be saved. If you were to ask someone what they know about Witnesses they probably would have the same first response of “the people who go door to door”. I enjoy the fact that both are independent thinkers and equality throughout the group. Having equality is something we all can strive to achieve. All to often we are cast aside by our leaders for the better good of a few, not the many.

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