SHANAS – S.H.A.N.A.S. – Secular, Humanist, Atheist, Non-believer, Agnostic, Skeptic

The road to a true global future is indeed full of many skeptics and skeptical beliefs.

Perhaps it takes time for global reality to set in. Myself I would rather look at the tools available in global communication and set a focus point for others to gather at and to begin a lot of restoring of the human spirit and the human culture after thousands of years of religious bigotry and superstition.

My quest to assert my minimalist Christian beliefs as a Cultural Secular Christian is to have a place at the table of communication and not let some religious or PR hack determine what is best or acceptable for me to believe in.

We all believe and feel billions of different things. We are however bound together by blood and DNA on this fragile planet in space.

As such I termed the word SHANAS as a focal point – focus point as a label to follow, fill out in breath and come back in retort, an umbrella of beliefs and non-beliefs, in reaction to those thousands of years of abuse and superstition that the human race has endured thus far.

We all want to change the world. Perhaps I am too much in a rush to perfection for our human race. The past seems to cling to too many negatives and redundancies. The future or any so-called new world order should be determined by input by all mankind. Part of the future is trying to determine what to jettison from the past. It is no easy task on an individual or on a global scale. I value individual input rather than institutional input.

I took the words most common in these outside cultures and philosophies at present and forming from ideas that gravitate toward similar but not exact goals. Secular, Humanists, Atheists, Non-believers, Agnostics and Skeptics should focus perhaps under one label to ease the path to future communication and integration of a durable global matrix of local and global issues in the present and immerging Global Reality. The energies of these groupings do not seem to be set in stone so much as that energy can turn into quest for a new horizon and or enlightenment for all.

SHANAS – S.H.A.N.A.S. – Secular, Humanist, Atheist, Non-believer, Agnostic, Skeptic – as a label is a start.

Whatever forms in reality in terms of labels in the future will form by common consensus and not by any one SHANAS member of alternate belief systems. And as opposed to the obsolete superstitions and religions plaguing the present world. I want people to start thinking and acting globally and – in a Secular Humanist fashion of sorts.

Christopher Hitchens, a famous atheist, complains that we need a new Age of Enlightenment – well that age is here – it has arrived – it is time for individuals more so than any one or many institutions to bring forth the light within humanity to the forefront of all human existence.

This is the dawning of a new human age.

Freedom of Speech is a Universal Human Right!

-
Freedom of Speech is a universal human right.

There is a war out there raging to suppress yours and mine - freedom of speech and expression. The leaders of this war are the Roman Catholic Church, Funadamentalist Islam, and Orthodox Judiasm to name just a few.

The Orthodox Jews in Israel just shouted down an orthodox rabbi who dared to say that “Jesus was a good rabbi”. Blasphemy! I suppose that is an improvement. Forty years ago I do not think that you could get one Orthodox Jew to even admit there was a historic figure called Jesus of Nazareth.

And that is where all this is leading. Laws against Blasphemy are popping up all around the planet. One took place on January 1, 2010, in the universal capital of religious buggery - Ireland.

The atheists there are diving in head first to challenge this piece of shite feel-good to the religionists law that could put a damper on any future criticism of the Catholic Church to go back to buggery in private and protected by the law should someone dare challenge the sacredness and sanctity of the behind the closed doors fantasy world of the clergy.

Atheists condemn blasphemy law

Atheists have begun a campaign against the Government’s new blasphemy law, which came into force on January 1st as part of the Defamation Act.

The group Atheist Ireland has published 25 quotes it says are blasphemous, attributed to people from Jesus Christ to Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern.

Under the new blasphemy law, which Atheist Ireland is campaigning to have repealed blasphemy is now punishable by a €25,000 fine.

It defines blasphemy as publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted.

Another organization, The Center For Inquiry staged a mock Blasphemy Day on September 30 in remembrance of the Danish Cartoonist depiction of Mohammed as a bomb throwing jihadist – the same cartoonist who was almost murdered in his home in Denmark over the weekend by a Mohammedist jihadist.

While this mockery of things held sacred by some is by itself possibly offensive, I believe that people of non-belief or of the new global order want fresh ideas to replace obsolete philosophies from the past. To open up the windows - let some fresh air in to the new global conversation.

There was the first annual Blasphemy Day last September 30 sponsored by the Center for Inquiry – one group representing the growing S.H.A.N.A.S (Secular, Humanist, Atheist, Non-believer, Agnostic, Skeptic) movement.

The Center For Inquiry

The mission of the Center for Inquiry is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values...

Fostering a secular society requires attention to many specific goals, but three goals in particular represent the focus of our activities:

- an end to the influence that religion and pseudoscience have on public policy

- an end to the privileged position that religion and pseudoscience continue to enjoy in many societies

- an end to the stigma attached to being a nonbeliever, whether the nonbeliever describes her/himself as an atheist, agnostic, humanist, freethinker or skeptic.

It seems strange that atheists, non-believers, humanists are at the forefront of protecting Freedom of Speech. Of course, this campaign has its cynical side. I guess atheists, non-believers, secularists and doubters want to deprogram themselves of a lot of religionist bullshit shoved down their throats over the years, centuries.

In response to the most recent Blasphemy Day none other that Hisself, Mister Catholic Virtue, of the Catholic League Bill Donahue chimed in at the catholic blogosphere with a few choice words about the idea of mocking other people’s sacred ideas in the present glutted town square of old and immerging ideas.

'Blaspemy Day' Targets Christianity

Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke to this event today:

"The Center for Inquiry is factually incorrect to say that “Free speech is the foundation on which other liberties rest.”

"Freedom of conscience is the first liberty, and it is inextricably linked to freedom of religion. Moreover, the whole concept of inalienable rights presupposes a belief in the Creator.

"In other words, atheists have the right to mock religion because our Christian Founding Fathers afforded them human rights.

"They are all such phonies. The stated purpose of Blasphemy Day has nothing to do with any religion but Islam, yet there is not one scheduled event insulting Muslims. We can only guess why. So who have they chosen to mock? You guessed it—Christians.

I am glad to be enlightened that our Founding Christian Fathers made a mistake in giving atheists “Human Rights”. Oh well. Consider the source.

Which brings us back to Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and his human right to practice his trade and live in peace and without fear of Muslim jihadists trying to kill free speech and subvert the world to the worship of their Prophet’s words.

Think back to when you first heard this story in 2005 about the cartoon about Mohammed and the riots in the third world, muslim world over defaming the prophet.

Seems that there was a conspiracy of local Danish Imams/clerics who wanted an apology from the newspaper that printed the cartoon. No apology necessary. Covered by free speech.

Well this conspiracy of Danish Muslim clerics, whether native born or not I do not know, they put together an infamous dossier with collected offensive images against Islam and started passing it along to the chief muslim clerics in Egypt and then Syria etc. Then these local clerics started to issue deflamatory statements against the cartoonist, the newspaper and finally Denmark. If you are a bully like Islam is, then pick on a small country without a Nuke - like Denmark.

Akkari-Laban dossier

To make a long story short, some of the images in that so called dossier got added to from country to country to the point where this weird PR campaign that only a Bill Donahue would understand got turned into Danish flag burnings, bombings, murders, fatwas and totally utterly religionist bullshit. Blasphemy is in the eye of the beholder.

Which leads to the attempted murder of Kurt Westergaard and his granddaughter by a Somali jihadist over the weekend. The police got him, shot him and then the dirty yellow rat bastard shows up in Danish Court and pleads “not guilty” to his failed hatred actions and religionist revenge. “Not Guilty” – that’s blasphemy!

Stemming out of all this hatred toward Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression is yet another Blasphemy Law before the United Nations to protect the religion of Islam from worldwide modern thought or comment.

AP: Muslim countries seek blasphemy ban

GENEVA — Four years after cartoons of the prophet Muhammad set off violent protests across the Muslim world, Islamic nations are mounting a campaign for an international treaty to protect religious symbols and beliefs from mockery — essentially a ban on blasphemy that would put them on a collision course with free speech laws in the West.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that Algeria and Pakistan have taken the lead in lobbying to eventually bring the proposal to a vote in the U.N. General Assembly.

If ratified in countries that enshrine freedom of expression as a fundamental right, such a treaty would require them to limit free speech if it risks seriously offending religious believers. The process, though, will take years and no showdown is imminent.

Let me end by repeating myself.

Freedom of Speech is a Universal Human Right!

Freedom of expression in the form of art, drawing or satire should be protected at all cost.

Whether the Danes acted incorrectly by not apologizing in a local matter, that should have been dealt with locally - official complaints, lawsuits, legislation etc.

The local standard stands - it may change over time - but when in Rome do as the Romans do.

These Muslim Akkari-Laban dossier guys should be tried for incitement to riot and murder in a global court.

Have a safe and free from religious blood thirsty fanatics day.