Category: Why I Am a Humanist
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Mark Vendelbosch
I was introduced to Humanism in 1986. Until then I had not considered Humanism. One of my colleagues at work had attended a meeting of the Wellington Branch and gave me their brown booklet to read. I liked what I saw. Although at that time I still believed there was some sort of god out there. I felt…
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Bill van Gorkom
I was born, in 1916, in a smallish country town halfway between Arnhem and the German border. My father, the local notary public, was a widely read man, with an enquiring and philosophical mind. Although the son of a Lutheran minister, he rarely went to church, and like so many people, always chose Christmas, and…
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Charles Murray
To Be or Not to Be? When did you first know, or even suspect, that you were a Humanist? With some it starts early. For many, it is a slow and painful adjustment in later life, a gradual recognition that man created his own gods. For me, the seeds of doubt were sown when, growing…
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Maureen Hoy
When asked to write a few paragraphs for the column “Why I Am A Humanist” I agreed with a deep sense of trepidation about my ability to meet the request and agonised for some considerable time as to how I could possibly answer coherently. Reflecting on my early childhood and the years that have followed…
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Karl Mathys
When asked to briefly explain why I perceive myself to be a humanist I feel obliged to first of all indicate what my definition of a humanist is. The reply would be something along these lines: I believe that humanity is still evolving, just as all living things are evolving by the process of natural selection as outlined by…
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Eileen Bone
First I had an agnostic father – he spent a lot of time taking his widowed mother to church (my grandfather was drowned in the wreck of the Penguin in 1909). I attended the ‘Senior Boys’ Bible class (taught by my great-aunt) by emigrating solo from the kindergarten class. It was our misfortune to leave…