The News and Views of the Humanists of North Jersey announced that Larry Hyman will suggest at their monthly meeting:

... that humanists should not be concerned about a belief in the existence of God and indeed emphasize our commitment to reason, individual responsibility, and to the democratic ethos. By redefining humanism as an affirmative rather than as a negative philosophy, we can appeal to millions of younger Americans who are neither theists nor atheists...

From the Humanist Community of the Peninsula (San Carlos, CA), in his column "On Retiring From the Office of the President", Bob Delzell writes:

I would like to suggest a few thoughts and random ideas for the future. This may sound like preaching, but it is directed at myself as much as at anyone else.

It is not enough to speak to each other; we have to learn how to listen. It is not enough to seek the truth; we have to provide a vision. It is not enough to deplore the failures of organized religion; we have to provide an organization that will do a better job. It is not enough to condemn the supernatural until we can find expression for the awe and mystery that encompass this life. It is not enough to strike out at fundamentalists without recognizing that they are human beings who are trying to make sense of this life in the best way they know how. It is not enough to be satisfied with reason, or logic, or science, "the facts", or the truth, without recognizing that we are as ignorant of the answers to ultimate questions as anyone else. It is not enough to be an "activist" without understanding that the end to which we aspire is just as important as the means we use to get there.

Finally, humanism to find a place on the human scene, I think we have to create a sacred space wherein our hopes and visions can be raised to a level that will inspire, give hope, and provide meaning. Anything less may be entertaining, enjoyable and stimulating, but it won't take us anywhere. Lest anyone take offense at the word "sacred", let me assert that the experience of the sacred is a real, bonafide, human experience. It is not supernatural, supra-normal, transcendental, or in any way "out of body". It is a deeply significant part of being human and demands fulfillment. If we humanists can't, or won't fill this need, then some other group will.

--Grassroots News