THE 2011 PROGRAMME (Meetings & Events)

 

MEETINGS HELD IN 2011 

13th Jan

Can we ever understand the Taliban?

Taliban fighters have been brought up in a male-dominated society: most have little or no education and know nothing of mathematics, science, history etc. Indeed, many are barely literate. It is ironic that the word Taliban means ‘student’! What’s more the movement as a whole lacks scholars learned in Islamic law and history. Taliban fighters also lack traditional skills in farming or a trade, and are ignorant of tribal and clan lineages (which are so important in Afghanistan). In such an environment, war means employment; and dominating women affirms (sic) their manhood. Taliban leaders repeatedly told one reporter that "if they gave women greater freedom or a chance to go to school, they would lose the support of their rank and file." For the leadership then, rigid fundamentalism is not just a matter of principle, but also a matter of political survival. This should provoke lively discussion!

10th Feb

Designing an Ethical Secular Education for Children

The National Curriculum for England provides schools with guidelines for the teaching of Religious Education. Locally appointed SACREs (Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education) use these guidelines to draw up a syllabus to be followed by schools in their area. Andrea and Elaine will be examining the extent to which Humanism features in, or is missing from, these documents, as well as the areas of study where it could potentially be included. Then they will be letting their imagination take flight by outlining their ideas for a Humanist School for Children from 3-18 years old.

10th Mar

Why does Music make us go weak at the knees?

Music is: “the shorthand of emotion” (Tolstoy), “love looking for words” (Durrell), “the art which is most nigh to tears and memory.” (Wilde), “the literature of the heart” which “commences where speech ends” (Lamartine). Music has been described as: “the wine that fills the cup of silence” (Fripp), “the poetry of the air” (Richter), “an outburst of the soul” (Delius), "the art of thinking with sounds” (Combarieu), and "the universal language of mankind” (Longfellow). It has long been used by the church to unlock and provoke powerful spiritual emotions; it is also used by farmers to encourage cows to produce more milk; although whether it makes plants grow faster is a mute point! But why is music such a powerful drug? This is the question that Alistair Campbell-Dick will be exploring at our meeting. So even if you feel you have (as Billy Wilder put it) “Van Gogh's ear for music” or you loath amateur musicians (GB Shaw noted that “Hell is full of them”) suspend your prejudices for this one special evening when we will be exploring some aspects of music you perhaps haven’t heard before. 

14th April

Multi-Culturalism: how tolerant should Humanists be of other's beliefs?

Multiculturalism is a bit of a dirty word these days. A growing number of world leaders have declared it to have failed miserably. David Cameron recently badmouthed ‘state multiculturalism’ arguing that the UK needs “a stronger national identity to stop people turning to extremism”. Similar sentiments have been expressed by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. But what exactly do we mean by ‘multiculturalism’ and what do the polls say about our collective attitude towards it? We will be exploring some of these issues at our meeting and trying to get to the core of what we actually feel about the subject, and how tolerant should Humanists be of other’s beliefs.

To set the context, here are some definitions of multiculturalism (taken from the internet): “the doctrine that several different cultures (rather than one national culture) can coexist peacefully and equitably in a single country”; “the idea that a society, notably one with a high rate of immigration, is enriched by celebrating the separate contributions of its component cultures”; “the notion that all cultures are equal”; “a system centred on respect for and the promotion of ethnic diversity in a society where respect for ethno-cultural diversity takes precedence over the imperatives of collective integration”. And one last thought: it is sometimes suggested that government policy on ‘multiculturalism’ is really about ‘multi-faithism’ ― seeing and treating people as ‘faith’ groups and not as individuals. This can be damaging and divisive and antithetical to the aims of social cohesion.

12th May Religious Language

Words and phrases with religious origin and meaning are common and pervade our language: we talk about the ‘Apocalypse’, ‘Armageddon’ and people having ‘charisma’; we are used to such phrases as ‘god forbid’, ‘talk of the devil’, ‘god’s gift to women’, and ‘bless you!’, and there are many more, phrases like ‘we’re a broad church’, ‘it was a baptism of fire’, and expletives, ‘Thank God!’, ‘Jesus Christ!’ ‘God damn it!’, ‘Hell!’, and ‘Damn you!’ We also use names from the Bible or Koran (‘Christian’ names), and we wish people ‘Happy Christmas’. From a Humanist viewpoint does this matter? Does it affect the way our society works and the personal lives we lead? If it does should we try to avoid using religious language and challenge it wherever we meet it? Val Lefrere and Matt Haughton will set the scene for us and see if they can provoke a lively discussion!  

 

9th Jun  Evolutionary Biology 

Evolutionary Biology is a sub-field of biology concerned with the origin of species from a common descent and descent of species, as well as their change, multiplication and diversity over time. In biological terms, evolution is the change in the inherited traits of a population from generation to generation. These traits are the expression of genes that are copied and passed on to offspring during reproduction. Mutations in these genes can produce new or altered traits, resulting in heritable differences (genetic variation) between organisms. New traits can also come from transfer of genes between populations, as in migration, or between species, in horizontal gene transfer. Evolution occurs when these heritable differences become more common or rare in a population, either non-randomly through natural selection or randomly through genetic drift. The development of Evolutionary Biology has been described as “one of the great intellectual achievements of science".

19 Jun Summer Picnic

We held this years summer party in the Tree Cathedral in Milton Keynes (close to Willen Lake). This is a most beautiful and peaceful place, and the perfect venue for relaxing with friends. A great time was had by all!

14th July  The Funny (and not so funny) Side of Religion 

Humour is important in all walks of life. All? What about humour in religion? Is humour a pathway to spiritual wisdom? How do believers respond to sarcasm and irony?  And are there limits to mockery and making fun of people of faith? Does humour have a pacifying effect when societal tensions run high or does it intensify the sensitivities? What about the reaction to the Danish cartoons?

Let's explore some of these tricky issues, and have some fun at the same time! Do you know a good religious joke? Come and share it with us at our meeting.  

 

 

 

8th Sep Depraved or deprived? Moral questions behind the recent Riots’

The recent riots have raised so many moral issues/dilemmas that we thought it appropriate to try to tackle some of them within the group whilst memories are fresh. Our Secretary, Andrea Quayle, will give a short introduction to the riots and highlight case studies of people who were directly or indirectly involved in the violence/looting. We will follow this with some small group discussions of four key moral issues and conclude with an open plenary to explore whether there is any consensus amongst the group about: a) the causes of the riots; b) how politicians / the courts reacted; c) how they might/should have reacted; and d) what Humanists have to contribute to the debate. (Religion seemed to have hardly counted in the public discussion of the riots).

13th Oct Why Remember?

Each year, on Remembrance Day, Commonwealth countries remember those in their armed forces who have died or were injured on duty defending others. This national ritual dates back to 1919, and the first anniversary of ‘The Great War’. The Cenotaph in Whitehall was constructed that year and it has since become the focus for national commemorations. It is inscribed ‘The Glorious Dead’. In November each year the monarch, politicians, representatives of state and the armed forces, and religious leaders gather to pay their respects at the Cenotaph and there are public gatherings at war memorials up and down the country. But over the years there have been more and more wars, and more and more things to remember, and it is instructive to ask, what exactly are we commemorating on Remembrance Day, especially since the last foot soldiers from WW1 have now passed away?

David Brittain has very kindly volunteered to introduce the topic for us and lead a discussion. David is a Humanist Celebrant and Chaplain to the United Kingdom Armed Forces Humanist Association (UKAFHA) and an active member of Bedfordshire Humanists.

 

10th Nov   Reaching Out: Humanists in the Community

The topic of our November Meeting is ‘Reaching Out’. We will be looking at our draft programme for 2012 and reviewing a number of recent initiatives to make contact and dialogue with other local groups in Milton Keynes. The Book Group will also be putting on a display and talking about the books that it has reviewed over the last year. There’s a lot to cover!

Here’s our draft programme for 2012: 1) The Cruel Myth of Paradise & Everlasting Life; 2) The Spirit Level (why equality is important; money & morality); 3) Ten Commandments for Humanists?; 4) Who Needs the Devil?; 5) Fundamentalists: what threat do they pose to freedom of speech?; 6) What being a Humanist means to me; 7) Religious Jokes: funny or offensive?; 8) Religious Movements in Milton Keynes; 9) Unmoved: have we lost the sense of awe?; and 10) Quiz & Music Night. Add to that a Picnic and a Party, a couple of outings…

Several of the meetings will be for anyone who wants to contribute, notably our joke night (7); our exploration of things we find awesome (9), like the ‘eye of god’ photo taken by the Hubble Telescope; and our music night (10) -- what music turns you on?

 

 

 

 

13th Nov   Remembrance Day

We will again this year be laying a wreath at the War Memorial in Bletchley in rememberance of those of lost their lives in two World Wars and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will be laying our wreath on behalf of Humanists and other people of no religious faith, remembering that many of the war dead had no particular faith to begin with or lost their faith while enduring the horrors of war.

This will probably be the last time we attend a religious ceremony on Remembrance Day. In November next year (2012) we will be laying the MK Humanists wreath at the new  MK Rose in Campbell Park which has been designed for all faiths and none.

 

 

 

 

Sunday 18 Dec    Winter Solstice Party 

This years Winter Solstice Party is being hosted by Val and Paul at their home in Great Linford. Please contact the Secretary for details. There will be feasting and festivities, with poetry, stories and music.