Humanism and Deism e-mail
>is there a difference between deism and humanism?
>if yes, what are they?
Regarding God:
After seriously studying the Bible (and possibly the Koran,
Mormon Books, and other "Holy" books) most Humanists
have arrived at the conclusion that the God of the Bible
(God of Koran, etc.) could not be the God of the Universe.
Many of these, having investigated the matter further have
concluded there could not be any God in the traditional meaning
of the word. So, Humanists do not believe there exists a biblical god
or that there exists a supernatural realm separate from the natural.
Humanists vary in their view of god. They are mostly agnostic,
some are atheistic, some tend towards Deism.
Other things:
Generally, Humanists believe man, not a supernatural being,
is responsible for the well-being of people and other sentient beings,
morals and ethics, the improvement of the human condition, meaning
and purpose in life. Individual freedom of thought and belief
(as long as it does not harm others) is considered of great importance
to the human condition. This is why Humanists are so against
dictatorships, some of the worst in the past being Russian Communism
and German Nazism. History has shown that the Humanist kind of
belief system tends to be better for humans than any supernatural
belief system. The scientific enterprise (an atheistic one) compared to
the religious enterprise is one good example.
Many Humanists do not belong to any particular Humanist Organization,
but many do. The ones that do have set up a kind of a creed to replace
the traditional creeds they once believed in.
Check the following website for an example:
http://www.humanist.net/
Try the following link to some 'creeds' that some Humanists accept.
http://www.humanist.net/documents/
Also, try http://www.vcn.bc.ca/humanist/