http://rationalist.org.uk/articles/4070/facing-the-future-an-interview-with-jim-al-khalili
I agree that humanists should work more on the positive side of secular life, on creating the society which would be caring, loving, tolerant. But I can’t agree with accepting these Christian statements as rules. Turning the other cheek in many cases would give the wrong message to an offender. And different people call different things “love”. I still remember being told that to love in Christian understanding is to wish to a person being saved by God… That’s all.
I am a bit worried to hear about “good manners” when there still is inequality and injustice backed up by religions on this planet.
Maybe I was lucky – I’ve never seen atheists knocking on doors or surrounding people on the streets with the purpose of converting. .. I think some of us feel themselves as an offending side only because of the hyper sensitivity of many religious people to slightest disagreement with their views.
I respect kindness, courage, honesty, creativity, everybody’s right for self-expression but how could I “respect views” with which I disagree? And is a person civilized because of his or her “political correctness” or rather because that person can’t tolerate another person being abused?
I also think it is very important for secular people to stop mimicking religious ones. We don’t need “atheist churches” or ” humanist bibles”. We should work on positive and original self-identification, promote various aspects of secular lifestyle.
