Secular Ethos is a place for discussion about issues that affect the secular community. We discuss issues such as free speech, equality, and bodily autonomy.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
The necessity of secularism
Secularism has become a necessity in a world of such diverse beliefs as ours. These beliefs lead to irreconcilable political differences. The various sects of religion all have expressed a desire to legislate their oppressive doctrines. Secularism solves this by leaving room for all to participate, while preventing any from becoming oppressive. A truly free and open society will thrive only when all are represented, and none are privileged. The theocratic regimes in the world are being seen with a new clarity as the world is shifting toward global communities. People are communicating and connecting with people around the world in ways never before seen in all of human history. And from this global community we are slowly learning to accept people of various cultural backgrounds. In fact, a new culture is forming. An interconnected global culture shifting toward reason, acceptance, and above all equality. It is on the lips of all forward thinking humanists, who desire to make this life here and now the best life possible. After all is that not the true meaning of life, the life your lead, the decisions you make, and the people you help. These are the factors that give our lives purpose.
The laws for any society must be written with pure secularism, reason, and compassion. Any sectarian ideals that are not conducive to equality should be left off the table. Equally any anti-theistic ideals that would suppress the practice of religion should also be dismissed. Now I would like to make this point clear , there is a distinct difference from private citizens and government. Legislators and other government officials should absolutely be restricted from influencing laws on any religious or anti-religious grounds. I would also like to make clear what is meant here by anti-religious. By anti-religious, I mean against or oppressive to private citizens who wish to practice their faith traditions. Lawmakers, however, should be barred from using their faith or lack thereof as a political tool.
In America , people often fail to realize that although we hold democratic elections ,we are a republic. Public servants are chosen to represent everyone in their communities, not just the majority. The constitution outlines the protections that individuals and minority groups are given. Often miss-understood is the first amendment protections for religion. And it is important to understand, that without freedom from religion there is no freedom of religion. Many progressive Christian groups understand this. If one is to interpret it as a freedom to legislate dogma it will lead to oppression of minority religions. The atrocities of bloody Mary alone show the dangers of sectarian leaders. When they implement dogma as the law, reason goes out the window.
Monday, July 20, 2015
God of the week: Hades
Hades in Greek
mythology is the son of Cronus and Rhea. He is brother to Zeus and
rules over the underworld. Hades tricked and kidnapped his niece
Persephone and made her his bride, causing Demeter to curse the Earth
part of the year giving rise to winter. Hades is known as Pluto to
the Romans. The name is the Latin derivative of the name the Greeks
began to call Hades,Pluton. Guarding the entryways into Hades
underworld realm Erebus, is the three headed dog Cerberus.(Although
Homer refers to Cerberus as a dog it is closer to a serpent as its is
the child of a half-human half serpent hybrid Echidna) Cerberus is
later defeated by Heracles(Hercules) in “the twelfth labor of
Heracles” where Hades agrees to let Heracles take Cerberus to the
surface if he can subdue him unarmed.
Hades is the ruler
of the underworld, and is often feared by mortals. The realm of Hades
is the place where all of the dead go when they die rather than
simply a separate place of punishment. Erebus was one of the three
realms divided up by drawing of lots, whereas Zeus(Jupiter) rules the
skies, Poseidon(Neptune) rules the sea, and Hades(Pluto) rules the
underworld. If you were judged to go to Tartarus it was there Hades
would decide how you would be punished, according to whatever crimes
you committed. Although hated and feared, Hades was more of
“supervisor” of the underworld.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
God of the week : Persephone
God of the week :
Persephone
Persephone was the
Greek goddess of the harvest. She was the Daughter of Zeus and
Demeter. Persephone is sometimes referred to as the princesses of the
underworld. The Homeric hymn to Demeter tells the story of how Hades
carried her away to the underworld to make her his bride. Upon
hearing what had happened her mother ,Demeter, caused all of the
vegetation on the earth to stop growing. The cries of the people and
the other gods persuaded Zeus to send word to Hades to release
Persephone. Hades agreed to release her, but before doing so he
tricked her into tasting the pomegranate fruit. In doing this, he had
cursed her into being bound to him in the underworld for half the
year. The story of the abduction of Persephone is often called the
rape of Persephone as she was forced to to be the bride of Hades, and
then later to bound to him half the year.
Ovid gives her
Roman name Proserpine. In the version told in the Metamorphoses it
was Jupiter that decided she would spend half the year in the
underworld. He did this to console Ceres (the name given to Demeter
by Ovid). This was because Jupiter had said he would only rescue
Proserpine provided she hadn't eaten anything in the underworld. So
when Ceres had learned that Proserpine had eaten the pomegranate she
was devastated at the loss, and Jupiter offered consolation by
allowing her to return for six months out of the year.
Friday, July 3, 2015
God of the week : Dionysus
God of the week :
Dionysus
Dionysus was the son
of Zeus and the mortal Semele(daughter of Cadmus of Boeotia) Often
referred to as the god of vegetation and wine. The jealousy of Hera
led to the deception of Zeus ,tricking him into showing his true self
to Semele. The true form of Zeus incinerated Semele. In some
accounts, Zeus took the unborn Dionysus into his thigh were he was
taken to Olympus to be born.
The adult life of
Dionysus was filled with spreading his teachings in human form across
the land. He would madden those who didn't believe or worship his
divinity, and he would bring wine and happiness to those who did.
We see in the tragedy of Euripides, The Bacchae, Dionysus is
arrested and brought before Pentheus. Pentheus interrogates Dionysus
for his crimes of corrupting Thebes. After the brief interrogation
period Dionysus is placed in the dungeon , where he escapes by
conjuring earthquakes and fire from his mothers tomb. Dionysus
proceeds to madden and trick Pentheus into adorning a costume and
walking up the mountain to be torn apart by his own mother. The method of slaughter was indicative of the ritual madness the worship of Dionysus involved.
In The Metamorphoses
of Ovid we see Dionysus by the name preferred by the Romans,
Bacchus. This is the story were we get the fable of king Midas.
Dionysus grants king Midas any gift he wants for returning Silenus,
the foster father of Dionysus. Midas foolishly asks that whatever
he touches turns to gold. Finding he can no longer eat or drink
because of the impetuous “gift” he asked for, Midas begged
Dionysus to free him. Midas was instructed to the river to release his "gift" into the waters, where the riverbed became lined with gold.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Love beats bigotry: supreme court rules marriage as a right
Love beats bigotry,
at least according to the supreme court ruling today. The ruling was
a historic moment in the gay rights movement. The divisive laws in
states like Tennessee have been overruled by this decision. The
evangelical Christian majority is already crying foul. It's this
backwards narrative they have that by removing their ability to
oppress people is somehow “oppressive”. However, let us not allow
them to bring down the joy this ruling will bring to the people who
want nothing more than the freedom to love. The union of two people
in marriage is the ultimate expression of love they can share, and at
least for now the evangelical bigotry can't stop them.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
God of the week, Inti
In the
pre-Columbian era of the Americas lived a relatively vast
civilization. It's center rested in what is now known as Peru. This
civilization was called the Inca empire. The empire was known for
human sacrifice and cranial deformation rituals. The Capacocha ritual
involved selecting children of the greatest health to sacrifice to
appease their gods. Sometimes this would be in response to famine,
major events, or the death of the Sapa Inca(ruler or emperor). Their
rulers were believed to be of divine right to rule.
Inti their sun god
was the patron deity of their polytheistic traditions. Inti is the
brother of the moon and was the patron deity of the Cuzco their holy
city. Also known as home of the sun. The Incas worshiped Inti in
three forms as they represent the different stages of the sun during
the year. A festival was held each year to celebrate Inti, during the
winter solstice. Inti is attributed with building the Inca capital.
This action involved a golden disc, said to represent Inti.
The worship of
Inti, and their festival of Inti Raymi, involved sacrifices,
fasting, and banquets of food. As part of this festival, the people
would fast for three days and celebrate for nine days, presumably to
represent the three aspects of Inti. The three parts of the deity are
Apu-Inti, Churi-Inti, and Guauqui-Inti. Apu Inti, is the father and
often is associated with the summer solstice. As the father, he is
lord of the sun and acts as an overseer or guardian. Churi-Inti, is
the son and is associated with the day or daylight. Because of this
connection, the deity is associated with the winter solstice, as it
is a time when the days are at their shortest. Guauqui-Inti is the
brother. The brother is a representative of the sun and the practices
associated with Inti and his followers, most importantly rulers or
priests.
The brother may
have been a figure that was included to represent the rulers as a
means to justify their divinity. The Inca rulers were decedents of
the gods and thereby entitled to ruler over others. This was
incorporated as a method of maintaining their hold on power within
their own society and over captured citizens of other cities. Inti
became a symbol of the Inca empire and their victory over other
peoples. Natural disasters, primarily issues regarding the sun, were
taken as a sign of Inti's anger toward the people. Sacrifices to the
god to please him in times of drought or during an eclipse. The god
provided the Inca people with a motivation to conquer other nations
and to remain dedicated to their divine rulers without question.
Providing the people with this purpose, has proven effective in
motivating citizens to rely on those in power and to follow without
question.
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