12 Comments

I hear people scoff at humanism, speaking with a curled lip and a sneer like a low-growling dog. I don’t understand that. To be human is to be special; to be a good human is to be divine, about as divine as we will ever achieve. Christians (and I am one) who rail at humanism are missing the point of their message that God created man in his image. Surely if I am the image of God that doesn’t mean he is old, tired, with aching feet and legs, a bad heart, bad teeth, and bad eyes. I like the simple phrase that “God is love.” As I show empathy, concern, and love for others, that is as god-like as I can be and that is the height of being human. I encourage Christians to not complicate the message of Jesus. He said, “ I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

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I'm torn. While I couldn't agree with you more about valuing face-to-face human interaction with friends and family, I have to admit I'm addicted to my smart phone - for games, for quick fact-finding, for news and less so for communication. I like to think I'm getting the best of both worlds. I suspect that on that score I'm fooling myself.

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I have a friend who only communicates with me via text. I like her (she was a former co-worker), but I find the text-only contact rather limiting and not fully satisfying. I must, however, acknowledge that her life is far busier than mine, so perhaps texting provides her with a more convenient vehicle for staying in touch. Since I do value her friendship, I will admit that the technological advantages of the "smart" phone do, in this case, outweigh the perils - but just barely.

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My belief is our digital lives occupy more of our waking hours than we care to acknowledge and those hours have pulled us deeper into market values, market dynamics and influence than ever before. When it’s about the monetization of clicks, it’s not about what gives our lives meaning, or the rich fulfillment of non-market values. The digitalization of our lives is more insidious and pernicious than industrialization because it’s more seductive, numbing and isolating than factories ever hoped to be. That said, I read this article on my phone and I am responding with the use of my thumbs. Dear Friends, Caveat Emptor. Hold tightly to what is dear; our distractions are many.

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As much as I, too, have fled from the dogma of organized religion and have found the relative freedom of humanism to be exhilarating, there is one aspect of dogma that I have recently come to appreciate.

I live in a neighborhood that is shared with many members of the Orthodox Jewish faith. Through that proximity, I have observed a real sense of community as families and friends gather in groups -- away from their temple's -- on Sabbath. The imperative to eschew work (and technology) results in adult conversation and good, old-fashioned play among children. It is utterly refreshing, and has great appeal.

If only it did not require subserviance to so much other dogma to participate.

I have recently read that Gen. Z youth have begun to rebel against the prevalence of technology in their lives by embracing "dumb" phones. They are learning to "cut the cord" and are favoring direct, verbal communication over the virtual with all of its insidious distractions.

If this is true, I find real signs of hope in it. I say this as I type it with my thumbs on my "smart" phone...

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I wish we were nearer each other, I would welcome a discussion on humanism.

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