The first question that assailed my mind after watching the magnitude of human and material disaster that befell Haiti was: "Is God a disaster or or architect of disasters ?“ Spontaneously, I answered: No!. God, for me, cannot be a disaster when God (He or She or It) is the source of a free chosen belief. But it can become a disaster, most especially, when people start to missuse their belief or the belief of others because of greed, eagerness for power or repression.
So many 'disasters' have happened and, indeed, are happening around the world because many are using God and God's name to wreck havoc on others. What about the crusades, the inquisition, the dispossession of natives like Aboriginies, the fate of the Red Indians and in Africa, today where many are surviving on witch-hunting? It is awful to know that religions are often used as tool for putting pressure and inflicting violence on other people. How many persons are already influenced through fake promises and "godsent" miracles?
But is it always due to illiteracy, bad education conditions or simply living status of many of victims of religious victims? I doubt. I know that people with less opportunities of knowledge acquisition and education get faster into the trap of irrational and fake beliefs, but that would also mean that people with more access to knowledge and education are coming out of these "devilish" circles. But is that the case? It isn´t that easy. The worst and most powerful disasters have been promoted by educated mankinds, most especially leaders with brainwashing methods. God is not the disaster, it is what mankind have done and are doing with the belief.
So, where do we stand as humanists? Are we just observers? Are we opposed to everything related to religion and supernatural beliefs? Our world is not black and white, so we cannot paint it just in two colours.We will always find people on both sides, who are more strict and negative against the others, but to criticize religion and results which are marked through religious belief does not object a personal belief of mankind. It is our task to raise awareness in fields of abuse related to human rights defense. To make people think about actual situations and supernatural powers. But is it not our task to choose which kind of lifestyle and way of confession is the best for all. We can decide this for ourselves, we can discuss this with our friends, family and surrounding, but we cannot force another person into the same direction, which seems to be the right one for us. That, the ideal of free choice, is that which all humanists hold dearly and strive to promote.
Silvana Uhlrich
Haitian Earthquake: What has voodoo got to do with it?
Existing internet social networks (dot com) sites like facebook.com and Twitter.com, indisputably offer countless opportunities. But sometimes, as have been discovered, these networks could be haven for promoting seemingly non-sensical groups and dangerous beliefs. One of such is the "Why Help Haiti when They practice Voodoo?", a facebook.com group created by one Trisha Lee. Although, the creator has the right to create whatever group, this, as I see it, is one freedom taken too far.
Related to this, also, is the statement credited to US Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson that Haiti was "cursed" because of what he called a "pact with the devil" in its history. Of course, what he was refering to is the commonplace practice of voodoo in the country. Voodoo is fundamentally a home-based cult where each Haitian family has their own collection of household gods, including many images of Catholic saints, that they worship.
Statements and actions such as these are irresponsible and ought not be taken lightly without generated discourses, most especially by humanists. Although Trisha's group has only 2 members and Pat Robertson has denied the statement, the fact remains that these persons are not attuned to the contemporary reality of societal religious plurality and tolerance.
It is a thing of joy, however, to see the numerous humanist activities dedicated to contributing to the reconstruction of Haiti, disregarding such annoying assumptions as that of Trisha and Pat. Commendable among other humanists, working on the field, is Sebastian Velez,the Harvard evolution biologist working with the locals in Haiti with the financial support of humanists worldwide. The Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, coordinated by the Humanist Charities (http://www.humanistcharities.org), with donations from the IHEU, AHA, HAMU, among others, is a worthy contribution and a sign of our, humanists, commitment to the tenets of a plural society that sees humans as end in themselves, regardless of their beliefs.
Yemi Ademowo Johnson
Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:
"First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities:
1) If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2) If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over. So which is it?
If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year, "...that it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you", and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having an affair with her, then #2 above cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze over."