Humanists, atheists drive for wider global impact

[rug]

Published on Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 19:05 | Source : Reuters
By Robert Evans

GENEVA (Reuters) - When Switzerland goes to the polls to elect a new parliament later this month, voters in Zurich will for the first time in the country's history have the chance to cast their ballot for a slate of Freethinkers.

"We decided we had to stand up and tell our politicians that it's time they recognised that there are a lot of non-religious people in their electorate," says 42-year-old Andreas Kyriacou, who heads the list.

"We, and probably a lot of Swiss people who have never thought about humanism or atheism, are tired of the influence the churches and religion still exert in this country," he said in an interview with Reuters.

Kyriacou, a management consultant, was speaking at a "Denkfest", or "Think Festival," that the Swiss Freethinkers Association held in Zurich last month, attracting scientists, philosophers and even comedians from around the world.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wire-news/humanists-atheists-drive-for-wider-global-impact_597288.html

[bananas]

1. Just what we need, more religious wackos trying to convert everyone to their beliefs. nt

[movonne]

2. Are you talking about the Freethinkers???

[bananas]

4. If someone calls themself a "FreeThinker(tm)" they probably aren't.

Nor if they call themselves "FreeThinker(c)".

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Who are these "FreeThinker(tm)" or "FreeThinker(c)" people of whom you speak?

[cleanhippie]

11. Thats the first time I have ever heard the No True Scotsman applied to freethinkers!

:rofl:






And I'm not laughing with you here.

[cleanhippie]

10. You hold the opinion that "freethought" is equivalent to "relgious wackos trying to...?

How can that be? Especially when...

Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas. The cognitive application of freethought is known as 'freethinking,' and practitioners of freethought are known as 'freethinkers.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freethought


:shrug:

[MineralMan]

3. Oh yes, heaven forfend that we should use rationality and reason

in government. I'm assuming you were being sarcastic in your post.

[bananas]

5. "Forfend" sounds like a cool word, what does it mean?

[laconicsax]

6. That's a good question.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Forfend

[bananas]

8. Cool! Google is kind of a Divine Oracle!

Divine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_%28actor%29
Oracle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_Corporation

[cleanhippie]

12. Actually, it's not, its just a great tool to defend against ignorance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignorance

[MineralMan]

7. It's an excellent word.

It means to fend off or ward off. These days, it's almost always associated with the word Heaven, so the only way it's used in modern English by most people is in the expression, "Heaven forfend..."

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/forfend

This vocabulary lesson is brought to you by the English Majors' Benevolent Society.