July 2010

by Lisa Miller

Humanist Guest Speakers

Take a look at our wish list for Humanists of Utah guest speakers:

  1. Jesus: Surveying Christianity around the world with a 'Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do."
  2. Buddha: Including one lecture on why Buddhism is philosophy and not religion.
  3. Hypatia: a Greek scholar and philosopher: What is this thing called "Christianity" and living life on your own terms.
  4. Leonardo da Vinci: How could we pass up the widely regarded most intelligent human to have lived?
  5. Christopher Columbus: Comparing our world with his.
  6. Reverend Jonathon Mayhew: (extra bonus: he's a relation of one of our members!): John Adams called Rev. Mayhew "the morning gun of the Revolution." Adams also dubbed him a "transcendent genius." Robert Treat Paine called Dr. Mayhew, "The Father of Civil and Religious Liberty in Massachusetts and America." No one today should underestimate the significant contribution that the Rev. Jonathan Mayhew made toward the cause of liberty and American independence.
  7. Mark Twain: How much has the world changed and how much has it remained the same.
  8. Charles Darwin: He would love Utah!
  9. Albert Einstein: A truly brilliant man: His life and his views on the world today, with special focus on global climate change and clean energy.
  10. Nelson Mandela: How he maintained his equanimity in the face of such odds. And was he planning the way he would run the country during the 30 years they had him imprisoned?
  11. Casey Jones: columnist for the Salt Lake City Tribune: A session of humor, good for the soul.
  12. Christine Durham: Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court: The importance of civility.
  13. Apa Sherpa: The Sherpa who has summited Everest 20 times and lives in Draper: What we can do to take care of the earth?
  14. David Irvine: Co-author of the Utah legislative ethics reform initiative
  15. Christopher Hitchens
  16. Carl Sagan

You guys are so great! What an amazing list. Doesn't that just get your imaginations soaring? Oh, how I wish there was a way to pull that off. It would be so incredible to talk face-to-face with these people.

The Conversation for July:

Yay! Summer is here! It's glorious to be able to spend an afternoon at the park, under a shady tree, bare feet in the grass, getting lost in a great book. What's your favorite summer activity?

Send your responses to Lisa at HumanistsofUtah.org for next month's newsletter.

--Lisa Miller