A humanist perspective on the virus crisis. Humanism = Atheism +. Opinion piece Barking & Dagenham Post 25.3.20 & Spiritual Life column Ilford Recorder 26.3.20. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Hope is\nhugely important for everyone at this difficult time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many will\nfind hope in their religious faith. Not humanists. For us belief in a kind\nomniscient creator makes no sense. Coronavirus is simply a natural disaster.\nLike earthquakes the random victims include good men, women and children. But\nour outlook on life is positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The virus highlights\nour common humanity. We feel for all those terrified, suffering and bereaved worldwide.\nNot that we are \u2018all in this together.\u2019 As usual the better-off have better\noptions. Remember those who rely on foodbanks or are trapped in refugee camps or\nshantytowns. We\nall benefit from the toil of those such as cleaners, NHS and shop staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greedy stockpiling\nshows the worst side of human nature. The best side includes compassion, reason\nand cooperation, qualities which have enabled our physically weak species to\nthrive. Just like viruses, with their ability to mutate and adapt, we are the\nproduct of evolution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human\ningenuity and science are solely responsible for success in tackling disease.\nThe absence of prayer or faith in the PM\u2019s daily briefing is striking. It is\nrefreshing that science and evidence are at the heart of strategy after years\nof \u2018so-called experts\u2019 <\/em>being derided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We live in hope that the best qualities of humans will prevail. As we savour quiet skies and the sounds of spring we reflect on how a kinder, fairer, greener and safer world might be created in the wake of this disaster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul Kaufman A humanist perspective on the virus crisis. Humanism = Atheism +. Opinion piece Barking & Dagenham Post 25.3.20 & Spiritual Life column Ilford Recorder 26.3.20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9c4oP-yx","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2141"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2143,"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141\/revisions\/2143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eastlondon.humanist.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Chair East London Humanists<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"