Well, I am back from Atheist Con. What a weekend.
I can't summarise everything in one blog post, but there are a few issues raised by the visit to Melbourne that I can't wait to start dealing with. As you can already see, I've become very interested in the idea of ridicule and criticism. Among other things raised at the conference:
- What constitutes a zealot, an extremist, or an evangelical atheist? Can they exist?
- What can we DO about the influence of religion on our secular society?
- Why are we moral creatures?
Just some of the things that the likes of PZ Meyers, Richard Dawkins, AC Grayling, Robyn Williams and a host of others talked about over the course of three days.
Just quickly - one of the most moving and amazing speeches I have ever seen delivered in my life came courtesy of Taslima Nasrin. I was not the only one in the audience brought close to tears and certainly only one pair of hands in the ubiquitous, minute-long standing ovation she recieved. If there is anyone out there unfamiliar with her story - I was one of them - I really must insist you read up on her. She is an inspiration for women, for men, and for free thinkers everywhere.
I must sign off and fill in my membership form for the Australian Secular Party now.
Adieu, heathens!
Yes, Taslima's story was the most powerful thing I have ever witnessed.
ReplyDeleteBtw after that particular afternoon, i've drawn 2 conclusions that I'd like to throw out there for criticism. 1: you cannot be a self respecting woman while suscribing to one of the major abrahamic religions 2: you cannot be a femanist without being an atheist because they appear to simply be two applications of being a rational humanist. Is that fair?
Consider these things added to the topic list! I have an idea on where to find a guest blogger for this topic, too.
ReplyDeleteThey're interesting questions! Thanks Duy - I'll wait until I have a full post before I try and tackle them myself. But this is exactly the sort of thing The Big A Word is looking for.