CDRH - Clarington & Durham Region Humanists

Welcome to the CDRH


The First Meeting of “Truemind a Community Project”

will be held on Tuesday Feb. 6 2007 and every first tuesday of each month after that - till June. time is 7pm to 9pm At

John M. James Public School
175 Mearns Ave.
Bowmanville. Ont.
L1C 5C6

Meeting in the school Library.

will restart back in Sept.

Make a Difference in your community!

do any of these listed below concern or apply to you?

-A place in our community where people with a humanist point of view know their opinions count.

- Science and Reason

- human kindness

- Global Warming

- separating Church and State
-Believing everyone should be treated equal

-being part of a team that finds a way to have their voice heard

Become a Member of The Humanists of Canada
Contact Mark Robinson @ 905 243 2303 for more information
Location:

The Truemind Community Project principal objective is to bring people with a humanist outlook on life together and unite and feel free to express their views on life with others of the same understanding. To allow the study and understanding of Science and Reason to continue a path of truth so we can understand how and why we exist. Not only is it important to understand how and why but also how we can stay here on this planet. Through Community support we can make a difference to our environment which in turn will preserve our wonderful planet for our future generations to come. We can make a difference together.

What is Humanism?
Humanism is a non-theistic, non-religious ethical philosophy of life based on the principle that human beings are responsible for giving meaning and purpose to their lives relying upon their human capacities of reason and responsibility and natural and social resources.

The Association considers Humanism to be fully secular and non-religious, and Humanism is, therefore, not to be considered a religion.
Although the Association endeavors to provide certain rites of passage and other services traditionally provided by religious institutions, this fact does not in any way imply that Humanism is a religion. The Association defines Humanism as being inherently and intrinsically secular, non-religious, non-theistic, and non-supernatural.

Declaration of Humanist Principles
Humanism aims at the full development of every human being.
Humanists uphold the broadest application of democratic principles in all human relationships.
Humanists advocate the use of the scientific method, both as a guide to distinguish fact from fiction and to help develop beneficial and creative uses of science and technology.
Humanists affirm the dignity of every person and the right of the individual to maximum possible freedom compatible with the rights of others.
Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity.
Humanists call for the continued improvement of society so that no one may be deprived of the basic necessities of life, and for institutions and conditions to provide every person with opportunities for developing their full potential.
Humanists support the development and extension of fundamental human freedoms, as expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and supplemented by UN International Covenants comprising the United Nations Bill of Human Rights.
Humanists advocate peaceful resolution of conflicts between individuals, groups, and nations.
The humanist ethic encourages development of the positive potentialities in human nature, and approves conduct based on a sense of responsibility to oneself and to all other persons.
A fundamental principle of humanism is the rejection of beliefs held in absence of verifiable evidence, such as beliefs based solely on dogma, revelation, mysticism or appeals to the supernatural.
Humanists affirm that individual and social problems can only be resolved by means of human reason, intelligent effort, critical thinking joined with compassion and a spirit of empathy for all living beings.
Humanists affirm that human beings are completely a part of nature, and that our survival is dependent upon a healthy planet which provides us and all other forms of life with a life-supporting environment.

Discovering you are an Atheist

The thought of waking up one day and having a how new meaning of life sounds extremely scary and far fetched when written in one sentence.
It really does not happen like that at all. That is where t­­­he thinking process over a period of time comes into plan. This time period is as long as you care to think about it. It is not about converting your self or trying to believe in something else but more about finding the truth. The one reason I could never turn to religion is because I could never say for sure that I agreed with it which for the longest time I was wondering and looking else where for the answers and the truth. For that period of time I guess I was considered Agnostic which is one who believes that the evidence for and against the existence of God is inconclusive.
To be honest I never liked the title of being agnostic since I knew deep down I was moving in a direction I guess I never liked the idea of being labeled as not knowing.

A lot of people have been afraid to openly admit to turning away from religion and opening stating they are atheist because of the negative backlash from people that believe in religion which brings us to the war between creatism and evolution. I will make it clear now that my stand on the subject is not to create war or friction between the two. One of the main reasons for coming to my conclusion is that I see a better solution to world harmony through atheism over any type of belief I have heard of. I strongly believe the world would be a better place for man and all forms of life if we all believed that life of oneself ends fully when we die. My point is that knowing that the only place you will ever be in on earth in your current existence would lead to people treasuring this one time experience as the greatest gift you could have. With no life after death visions people would concentrate more on life as final and not as a stage of life. Quality of each individual's time would be looked upon and more valuable. The world would instantly become a more secure and precious place. For a lot of people the thought of complete closure at death is a horrifying thought and I will view my thoughts and opinions on that in the chapter titled "Excepting death".

I have found it fascinating how people and groups go to long measures to defend there beliefs usually boiling down to call the other one a liar almost like a political debate which really saddens me to see. The biggest thing I notice between Evolution and creatism is that evolution continues to gather facts through research of physics or biology and new facts continue to develop. Theories from recent past are continually studied and become clearer all the time. The problem with religion is that the literature supporting its cause seems to be the only form of evidence for their debate and time has shown through science that the information is not as correct and it has been made out to be. With believing evolution you continually sit on the edge of new discoveries. A lot of time could be spent listing all the things found to be untrue in the bible and also religious supporters doubting evolutionary facts. It easy enough into today's world to surf the internet and find all kinds of supportive web sites and reading from both sides and is very interesting to read with an open mind. Remember it is all about you making up your own mind not somebody else doing it for you.
There is Propaganda existing in both sides of the debate and you must always remember religion is funded by the support of member's monetary contributions. More members more funds more income. I do not look at my writings to promote evolution but to share with others my though travel to getting to the point of belief I am at. Though I'm sure it can be easily said that if someone reading this is a believer of religion they could find it on the supporting side of evolution which it definitely is but I am not going to promote evolution to a point of making them believe it based on my thoughts I want others to look at it based on there own thoughts. The message I am trying to promote is don't be afraid to look at evolution with an open mind. Think about it, discuss it and weigh it against what you currently believe. I think everyone owes it to themselves or at least to your genes to try to understand our development in life and our continued evolvement into or future generations to come. Supporting a belief at times has become like supporting a sports team for some. I have seen T shirts of catchy phrases and slogans and bumper stickers. It does make sense to be proud of our beliefs and letting other aware f what they are. Some people may think of it as preaching which in a way it is. To me I can take it either way. I seen a lighter side to it with that kind of attention which is good sometimes like anything else even this topic can be taken to seriously. I have always reflect back to when I saw a Jesus fish with legs added to it and the name Jesus switched with the word Darwin. I'm sure this was quite a shock to some to see on the car in front of them on a Sunday morning on the way to mass. Since seeing that I have discovered that it has been modified even more now with the Darwin fish being eaten by another fish with the word Truth inside so I continues and I hope that in the end it is only for a bit of humor. One of my bad habits in most of my years has been to take the lords name I vane so to speak. "Cursing Jesus Christ" and saying "Oh My God" is something that I will probable continue to do but being an Atheist how is this looked upon. Theoretically speaking now I am blaming something I don't believe in for something that has occurred.
I have grown up around this type of phrasing and just like all other phrasing in language I have been programmed to use. I am not concerned about this in anyway but when you are spending a lot of time thinking about the whole process it is something that comes up. I guess someone yelling "OH MY GOD" in the middle of having an orgasm could be another thing to consider. Hears a scenario, a couple for the first time having sex with one being an Atheist and the other lets say a believer in god. The male is the atheist lets say and the female a believer in god. When the female climax's she lets her partner knows by screaming "Oh My God". This can create a real interesting set up for pillow talk after the intimate session which has just come to an end.
I will take this opportunity though to mention that we all feel connected to something of our beginning. This does not have to be in the form of a creator as in God as we know of him to be thought of. I see the universe as the largest thing known to man. Believing in the Big Bang Theory and that is the being of our birth as a universe I look to that as my form of a God( for lack of better words). When I look to the stars I see what I see the stars and plants and space continuously expanding, growing evolving as our genes continue to do with the help of ourselves passing them on to future generations. I see the sky for what it really is. I don't see a heaven when I pier upwards in to the nights sky. So even though an atheist does not believe in a creator as a god we can still look at or earliest known beginning of existence.
After writing that last line about the beginning of our existence I want to talk about my thoughts of what happened before that but I am going to leave that for another time.

Dawkins Fish Up Close

Here is a better photo of the "Dawkins Fish"

Made from Solid African Mahogany.

Approx 18'' long by 7'' high by 3/4'' thick

The "Dawkins Fish"

On October 21st 2006 I presented Richard Dawkins with the "Dawkins Fish" I made for him. It was my way of expressing thanks for what great work he has done over the years and continues to do so in the world of science and reason.

The event was a lecture on "The strangeness of Science" at McGill University.

Mr. Dawkins is promoting his new book "The God Delusion" which has rustled some feathers with religious followers and opened a lot of eyes and ears of many others. Richard has also founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation.

Mission

The True Mind represents the ability to think clearly without interference from mind implanted information which has been proven to be untrue through the study of science and logical reason.
No one should be victimized by others at a time when they are venerable of being a young age or at a period in their life when they are reaching out for help or some direction. One of the greatest threats to our minds being poisoned has been the use of religion. Mostly through the methods of impregnating children's minds with irrational beliefs from all cultures world wide. Some religions without doubt have a more serious effect on all life on earth but they all possess the same outcome of misleading a perfectly capable mind from thinking freely in a world where life should be treated with a respect that values this life as one life only. We have one opportunity to play a role in making the planet earth a positive progression for future life to live healthy and pleasant. To give a chance for life to see and appreciate and respect everything else that we share it with. Help this mission by making awareness of a world where people can think freely. A place where people are looked upon as equal. A land that we are proud to step foot one no matter what part of the planet our feet may walk.