Humanism - Radio 4 - May 11th 2008

Listen here BBC Radio 4 (7 mins). Includes Simon Blackburn, Polly Toynbee, Casper Melville.

• A brief history of Humanism.
• Bishopsgate Humanist Library
• Charles Bradlaugh
• thrown out of Parliament
• Simon Blackburn
• Humanism was originally (Erasmus, Montaine) were Christians
• Renaisance developed
• Rousseau, Paine, David Hume (proto Darwinian)
  
• Casper Melville
• to be human is the centre
• as many denominations of Humanism as their religious belief
• moral and ethical sense
  
• Poly Toynbee
• Humanism is positive belief - nothing supernatural, free to make our own fate, we can make the world a better place
• Humanism seemed irrelevant 20 years ago - now religion is a major cause of strife. Humanism shows that we humans are masters of our fate - not supernatural beings!
  
• Humanist Weddings