The society for rational thought is committed to the encouragement of critical thinking in all aspects of life. We are committed to the goal of establishing a progressive, caring and thinking society. We will respect the beliefs of others in so far as they do not inhibit the development of the individual or of the society. We accept the scientific method and the process of critical evaluation of all statements proporting to be based in fact. We believe that faith should be personal and optional, but should not conflict with our current knowledge base, which is founded on scientific research, peer review, and critical evaluation. Our principle goal is to critique all claims made in the public arena and to educate the community on our findings. Recognising the difficulties involved, we will draw on the wide cross section of disciplines represented by our members in order to offer the public a sound, scientific alternative to the many claims with which they are faced daily.
Following is a quote from Bertrand Russell, which encapsulates our goals quite adequately.
“We want to stand upon our own feet and look fair and square at the world-its good facts, its bad facts, its beauties, and its ugliness; see the world as it is and be not afraid of it. Conquer the world by intelligence and not merely by being slavishly subdued by the terror that comes from it. .... When you hear people in church debasing themselves and saying that they are miserable sinners, and all the rest of it, it seems contemptible and not worthy of self-respecting human beings. We ought to stand up and look the world frankly in the face. We ought to make the best we can of the world, and if it is not so good as we wish, after all it will still be better than what these others have made of it in all these ages. A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men. It needs a fearless outlook and a free intelligence. It needs hope for the future, not looking back all the time toward a past that is dead, which we trust will be far surpassed by the future that our intelligence can create.”
Russell, Bertrand; Why I Am Not A Christian, Touchstone Books, 1957, pg. 23.
If you wish to participate, drop me a line. The email address is societyforrationalthought@gmail.com . Come and be a part of a new movement which is poised to take this nation forward. The aim is to form an organisation and meet regularly for debate and discussion. I have cast the first stone into the pond. Now it is your turn.
All over the world, we are seeing the fallacies that represent the religious method coming apart at the seams. This unravelling has been going on, slowly, since the time of the rennaissance and the enlightenment in Europe.
I am not denying the importance or the relevance of religion; I am denying the relevance of superstition. I believe that we all have the right to believe or disbelieve as directed by our reason and conscience, but ancient superstitions have no place in the modern world.
You may agree or disagree with my comments above. Leave a comment and let me know. This is an open forum. You don't need to be a member to comment.
The next post will be made in September, 2009.
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