Dear Readers of the Youthspeak,
the last month brought some new changes into the IHEYO network. As IHEYO was present with its 7th Annual event, related to the Humanist World Congress of IHEU in Washington D.C., we can proudly look back to a successful conference time with lots of new network connections to the American youngsters, but also to a stronger feeling of more involvement, of a bigger responsibility of each volunteer who belongs or wants to belong to IHEYO. Over the last time period IHEYO struggled with a volunteer gap and some further support from our own members. So it was time to start an open confrontation and a call for support. But nevertheless, Washington gave us again strength and self-confidence through our members and new networking contacts.
Herewith we will give you an overview about our sessions, our new cooperations with SSA from America and will introduce some nice stories throughout the world.
We hope to entertain you, we hope to encourage your own motivation to take part, we hope to open your mind for further communication and discussion.
In this sense, I wish you a nice reading.
Silvana Uhlrich, Communication officer IHEYO
(1) Project of the month:
IHEYO's 7th Annual event - "The Future of Youth Humanism" 4th-8th June 2008 in Washington D.C.
Read more about our successful Youth Conference and our new contacts to the American humanists, our programme and new established visions and ways forward.
(2) Volunteer of the month:
Herb Silverman wrote a very entertaining article called "Kindergarten Questions of God" who gave us proudly permission to publish it through our network. Read more about himself and find here the whole article which will give you possibly answers to your own questions and an inspiration of dealing with believers in a discussion.
(3) IHEYO member:
IHEYO welcomes a new member inside its network - Our first American member organisation: Secular Student Union of the University of Washington. Read more about them in a brief introduction
(4) EC member: Uttam Niraula, our current Interim President in the YouthSpeak interview.
Read more about his opinion to the future of the young humanist movement.
(5) Humanist Sofa
The IHEYO platform for new way of personal contacts, possibilities to travel and communicate between young humanists. Read more about the soon coming idea.
(6) Book advice:
"Away with all Gods" by Bob Avakain - Read more about this book with the subtitle 'Unchaining the mind and radically changing the world". Maybe it will also change your mind!
Introduction to IHEYO
Imagine you get an invitation from an international network organisation which will hold its next Congress in the
With funds from IHS, EYF, IHEU-HIVOS and HEF it was possible for IHEYO to
The platform of the Washington Congress made it possible to take part in lots of workshops presented by AHA and IHEU, but also from SSA and IHEYO. As young people went to IHEU sessions, we enjoyed the contact with older members and the stories of their current working fields and life perspectives. Next to the registration and information desk that were possible to reach all day, people from different organisations and humanist backgrounds offered information on their table about their working fields, new publications of books, booklets or other medias.
IHEYO used the connection with the World Congress to plan common sessions with SSA students. Planned activities like the station work day from IHEYO which was related to practical and energetic ways of exchange to “The Future of Youth Humanism” headline-related issues. Participants from SSA, IHEYO and the Congress took part in that, for one round or the whole day. The outcome was satisfying and we had great results after discussing, creating, laughing, summarizing over the whole day of the session.
Station work
Method
Stations: active citizenship – critical thinking – humanist education – volunteer work – north/south-partner cooperation
Methods:
(2) Scrabble: brainstorming words which belong to the station theme, fill them into prepared paper pieces for playing scrabble. The task is to find matching letters, but moreover, connections between two words and explain your decision to other group members. The group leaves the words at the station, but connections between the found words are not maintained - for equal opportunities. Pictures are taken of every combination.
(3) Free-writing: every group member has 5 minutes to write down anything that comes into their mind without any break or interruption while writing. After writing, they will read out their results to the others (at the station) and discuss their ideas about that theme. The staying person will have to summarize the facts while the next group members have their writing time, so the results of every group that participated previously will be included
(4) Collage/puzzle: big wall paper divided into five jigsaw puzzle pieces. Picture material, photos etc. will be provided for preparing a collage concentrating on the station theme. Each group has to fill in one of these five pieces, which will become later on one puzzle – the staying person can explain ways of thinking to find connections between the puzzle pieces
(5) Rotation story telling: An even numbers of participants is needed. Story telling in a circle or square: person A tells person B a story related to the theme, then B to A, meanwhile C to D and vice versa, second round: person A turns to D and tells the story heard from person B as his/her own story to D, then D tells A the C-story as his/her own version. All stories rotate until the original story comes back to the person who was telling it first. There is discussion afterwards about changes inside the stories and ways of knowledge/ education. One single story is distilled out of the several ones, the person staying will relate this story in the next group.
The following methods were used for presentations:
Within the evaluation round, participants could express their impressions, shared their thoughts about the station work and if this session changed something in their thinking relating to the theme “The Future of Youth Humanism”. Sceptical attitudes could be changed into enjoying happy faces, open minds and a decrease of stereotypes. Expectations have been crossed, participants expressed that they learned lots of news things about working methods, other nations, youthful dynamic movement, an easy going process of being connected, creativity inside humanist fields and that they have seen the stations as a wonderful meeting and exchange point for themselves. The day brought lots of hope back to IHEYO as the inside structure of the network has been seen as stepping backwards in 2008 due to lots of challenges and lacks of funds and volunteers. It seems
Kindergarten Questions for God
by Herb Silverman
All I really need to know, I learned in kindergarten was a best-selling book by Robert Fulghum. The Jesuits put it, "Give me a child until the age of seven, and I will give you the man."
In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins points out that following blindly what your parents or other authority figures told you may very well have had some survival benefits, because experience taught elders dangers to avoid. Of course, as we move from child to adult we need to learn for ourselves to distinguish which lessons of our parents to keep, modify, or discard.
Whatever our personal beliefs, we can’t and shouldn’t want to shield children from hearing about other belief systems. Children have questions about God. Some don't ask them, some are discouraged or reprimanded for asking questions that make adults uncomfortable, and some are given what adults deem to be age appropriate responses. But for just about all fundamentalists, a "correct" answer for a kindergartener is equally correct for an adult. In this article, I ask ten questions (with sub-questions) that bright kindergartners have asked, thought about asking, or should have thought about. Why ten? No particular reason, since I left out more questions than I ask. So feel free to make up your own questions. I think brief discussions on such questions at a tender age could help a child eventually choose to live in a world of reason rather than a world of faith.
But before asking my ten questions, I need to give a caveat/disclaimer: Like Catholic priests, I have no children; unlike Catholic priests, I don’t pass myself off as an expert on child-rearing. However, you, I, and everybody else are experts on God. This follows from what I modestly call the
1. Who created God?
This is the first question my Rabbi refused to answer, and now I understand why. There is no reasonable answer to give a child, or an adult. If everything has a cause, then God must have a cause. If God can exist without a cause, then so can the universe. A corollary to this question is, “Who taught God how to be God?” It’s hard to conceptualize a being that comes into existence as an instant know-it-all.
Whether believers think the universe is several thousand or several billion years old, they still believe that God predates the universe by billions of years (or eternity, whatever that means). If God's primary concern is with us, He sure waited a long time before saying to Himself (since He had nobody else to talk to), "I'm lonely. I think I'll create human beings to mess around with."
Even children have difficulty picturing God as an old man with a white beard (a slimmed down version of Santa Claus). Trinitarians try to resolve this through the odd mathematical equation 3 = 1, which makes God human, inhuman, and ghostly—all at the same time. If God rests (sleeps?) on the seventh day, apparently the world runs just as well without his active engagement. Robert Fulghum, author of “All I really need to know...” said in an interview for the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he once asked his Southern Baptist mother if Jesus went to the bathroom. She refused to talk about it with him. (My answer: Of course he did. That’s why we say “Holy Shit!”)
If people today claim that they have regular conversations with God, we think they are crazy. Were those so-called ancient prophets also crazy? Or did they just make up stuff so people would follow them? We honor Abraham for his unwavering faith when he hears God tell him to kill his son, yet we institutionalize people who hear the same voice (and request) that Abraham purportedly heard.
Author Harold Kushner tried to answer this question, as did the book of Job. There is no sound answer if you believe in a God who is all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful. To paraphrase God when He answers Job in a whirlwind: “Who the hell do you think you are to question Me? Were you there when I did all this incredible universe stuff, you puny little ignorant jerk?” Incidentally, this is the last time God talks to humans in the Bible. Perhaps even a self-righteous God recognized how lame His response to Job was, so He decided to shut up forever. (Maybe this is the answer to the previous question.)
Whether or not we believe everything was determined long before we were born, it seems like heresy to ask God for something he hadn’t planned on giving (like a missed field goal by an opponent). Doesn’t He already know what is best? I just can’t picture God slapping His forehead (in the image of mine) and saying to Himself (since He doesn’t speak to me), “Good point, Herb. I hadn’t thought of it in that clever way of yours.”
Children are praised or punished for how they act, not for what they think. They are taught that actions speak louder than words, and I would add that words speak louder than thoughts. Wouldn’t a benevolent deity focus exclusively on our being kind to the people He allegedly loves? Is God’s ego so fragile that He confines His ultimate wrath and vindictive acts toward those who disbelieve in His existence or don’t properly worship Him?
Our binary divisions are usually quite arbitrary. People may vote when they are 18 and buy alcohol when they are 21, but they are not permitted to do either on the day before. We recognize such rules for what they are—as distinctions without much of a difference. Not so when it comes to the cutoff between an eternity of bliss and an eternity of torture. Incidentally, how could we be capable of such bliss knowing that family members and friends we now care about so much will be in constant agony for the unpardonable sin of holding different beliefs? Which brings us to the next question.
If I can sin on earth, but not in heaven, then I will be a different person. Who will I be? On the other hand, if I can sin in heaven will I still be in danger there of being cast into hell? If God loves us so, why didn’t He just put all of us with Him in heaven for eternity to begin with? Why do we live forever in an afterlife, but not in this life?
My neighbors on both sides stay with the “correct” religions of their childhood, and each thinks the religion of the other guy is false. After all these millennia, can’t a benevolent God help us get it right? And I won’t even get into what happens with people born in different countries and cultures.
Despite our best efforts, we know that a lot of adults will maintain childish religious beliefs. In such troubled times, I think we should turn with them to one of my favorite biblical passages, 1 Corinthians 13:11: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” If this doesn’t give them pause, then nothing will.
Herb Silverman:
Born in
The Secular Student Union (SSU) is a Registered Student Organization (RSO) at the UW where students are able to discuss their lack of faith. According to the RSO’s Web site, the group provides not just atheist, agnostic or otherwise nonreligious students, but all students, with a forum to “discuss and debate general issues of religion and philosophy.”
It is a venue for people to get together to discuss issues involving atheism and faith with no political agenda. It is open to people of all faiths and there is a different topic each week.
Last quarter, the SSU’s theme was religion outreach. The group invited different religious RSOs every week for a Q&A session. They hosted groups representing the Jewish, Mormon, Biblical Literalist, Hindu and Muslim communities. These sessions were extremely successful.
During the session, questions were asked about faith and beliefs of present religious people.
Students knew what they were talking about. This is not surprising, said Michael Amini, a junior and Near Eastern languages and civilization major, who is another officer for the SSU. Many atheists know the Bible better than many Christians do — which shows that they turn to atheism not out of ignorance, but as a rejection of what they have learned.
The session helped gain a better understanding of atheism and agnosticism, and as a result, it was possible to have an intelligent conversation without being ignorant or rude. Instead of causing believers to fall apart, this questioning of faith strengthened them.
There should be more meetings like this where people of different backgrounds can discuss these differences.
The SSU is working on doing just that. While many reactions atheists receive are benign curiosity, atheism is still viewed as OK to be prejudiced against. As a result of this prejudice, a lot of people stay “in the closet” or call themselves agnostic to avoid the stigma that comes with being an atheist.
Amini said that one of the most irritating reactions he gets when people find out he is atheist is the assumption that he has no morals. Contrary to this, Amini said that because he believes there is no divine justice and this is the only life he has, he is going to live it the best way possible. This makes for the view on his lack of morality interesting.
“Morality predates religion,” he said.
Amini has experienced the stigma of being atheist firsthand. Unlike others, who were raised in nonreligious families, Amini was raised Mormon. When he told his family that he was atheist, he said his mom told his sister that it would have been better if he had died, and his dad said he is not contributing to society. He said his parents still love him and welcome him in their home, but they don’t want him staying alone with his younger brother and sister.
These are the types of obstacles that people face for being different that need to be faced and discussed. “Most of the time, especially with young people, our cultural differences act as barriers instead of doors.” (Severin, member of SSU)
IHEYO welcomes its new member organisation inside the international network and is happy to open its wings further to America. We are thankful through our personal contact with Michael Amini from SSU and looking forward to a great collaboration.
taken from the website: http://thedaily.washington.edu/2008/6/5/members-secular-student-union-discuss-spirituality/
IHEYO: Uttam, since 2006 you are now involved with IHEYO while being part of the EC? How do you see the development of IHEYOs work and also the structure of the network?
Uttam: Thank you for the question. Personally, I am optimistic about the progress of IHEYO in last two years. It is really growing very fast. It is developing its contacts and strategies rapidly. Maybe it is because of excited young and commitment. Even though IHEYO is completely a volunteer organisation, I found the team highly dedicated and hard working for gearing IHEYO up. The idea of making a strong regional group of IHEYO shows that the organisation is trying to be more nearer to local people in their local issue. Next good thing I found in IHEYO is, that nobody cares about being formal to each other. It is like a family for me. I can share everything among the team without any hesitation. Such working way and structure of IHEYO really attracts me.
Uttam: Of course here are many things to combine in my life this time. I am taking this as an opportunity for developing my leadership quality. I take my responsibility learning many things more than just coordinating. So it is also a part of study. And it is fun too. Although, being the Interim President of IHEYO and the coordinator of AHA seems two different responsibilities, but it is not. I am working on promotion of youth humanism on both responsibilities. I am a student of political science now and current issue we are reading in university right now, is the issue dealing how to be a humanist in this world now. And of course I am professionally a broadcast journalist in
IHEYO: When you look back to your active period in IHEYO, what was the most memorable moment/situation for you? And when was the worst one, you can remember?
IHEYO: The latest theme of our Youth Conference in
Uttam: The theme of the Washington Conference was really important. I think IHEYO has made some clear vision on the future of youth humanism. At the same time the young humanists are more organised after this event for a better future. Silvana Uhlrich (Elected president), along with other IHEYO members played a great role for integrating youth effort together. Especially IHEYO role to introduce with American students was really appreciable for the future of youth Humanism. The role of our current treasurer and former President Gea Meijers, former President Lars-Petter and current 2nd Vice-President Sara Wastijn having a meeting with the IHEU board for close relation shows we are uniting our strength to fight against anti-humanist forces in future.
Uttam Niraula, 24 years old, is a professional broadcast Journalist in Nepal. He lives in
Humanist Sofa
Is believing in gods actually harmful? How has Christianity for centuries served as an ideology of conquest and subjugation? Why is the "Bible Belt" in the U.S. also the "lynching belt"? Why is there a rise of religious fundamentalism throughout the world? In the intensifying conflict between U.S. imperialism and Islamic fundamentalism, is the only choice to take one side or the other? Why is patriarchy and the oppression of women foundational to so many religions? Can people be good without god? These are just some of the questions explored in this provocative work by Bob Avakian.
Bringing a unique revolutionary communist voice to the current discourse about god, atheism and morality, Avakian demystifies religious belief and examines how, even in its most progressive interpretations, religion stands in the way of the emancipation of humanity. A thread deeply woven throughout Away With All Gods! is the need to fully rupture with all forms of superstition, and to take up instead a truly scientific approach to understanding and transforming reality.
Whether you believe in god, or are an agnostic or an atheist, Bob Avakian will challenge you with his powerful critique of long-established traditions and his liberating vision of a radically different world.
Comments
"Whether readers enthusiastically embrace or reject its claims and arguments, Away With All Gods! is a book that cannot be ignored."
—Peter McLaren, Professor, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California
"One needn't be a Marxist to learn a lot from this work. I especially like the forthright critique of the obfuscating epistemology of religion, and of religion's appalling consequences for women."
—Laura Purdy, Professor of Humanities and Professor of Philosophy, Wells College
"Forceful, scathing, and timely. While I did not personally agree with everything Bob Avakian has to say in this book, I found his arguments cogently articulated and provocatively put forth. Angry, humorous, provocative, and hopeful in equal measure, this was an enjoyable and engaging read."
—Phil Zuckerman, associate professor of sociology at Pitzer College
"Lots of people haven't actually studied what that Bible says. Bob Avakian has. He exposes the hypocritical bullshit...this book is serious reading."
—Eric G., former Black Panther member
"...may just spearhead a return to the Age of Reason."
—Harry Lennix, actor, instructor
About the Author
Bob Avakian is Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. A veteran of the Free Speech Movement and the revolutionary upsurges of the 1960s and early 1970s, he worked closely with the Black Panther Party. By the mid-1970s, he emerged as the foremost Maoist revolutionary in the
Avakian's writings are marked by great breadth-from discussions about religion and atheism and morality, to the limits of classical democracy, to basketball. It is often alleged that a vanguard party is incompatible with a searching, critical and creative intellectual enterprise. Avakian gives the lie to this claim.