Pilgrimage Moments: A Humanist Explanation

Narrator: As a journalist. Rath wants to discover more about Ed's beliefs. Ed is a patron of humanists UK.

Raphael: So atheist was was something I thought that I discovered. And then Ed goes and throws a curveball with this humanist thing. So I mean, I don't know what a humanist is and whether it's the same as an atheist or a Christian.

Ed:          A humanist believes that one should live a good life. So without a belief in any otherworldly or supernatural being or presence, that one can still and one should still lead a good life.

Raphael: How does that differ from being an atheist then?

Ed:          There's nothing to atheism other than saying that there's no God. You know you can be an evil atheist, right?

Raphael: But a humanist is a humanist.

Ed:          Who believes that one should still strive to be good and we should still have morality.

Kate:       The stuff he's talking about, about moral compass and about wanting to do good. I think that the motivation to do that, I think, comes from God. That's what I would say. That's where we would differ.

Ed:          And that's and that's okay. And while I think she's a lovely individual.

Kate:       Who thinks I'm.

Ed:          Wrong, I'm very good. No, I know, but here's the thing. It's not that I'm offended by that statement.

Kate:       Now, of course, but.

Ed:          It's this idea that Christians own those values.

Kate:       No, I don't think we own those values.

Ed:          When you use terms like Christian values of goodness. It makes it sound like they are Christian values. That fact is, they are just good values.

Debbie:   I know a lot of people that are totally hypocritical that go to church every Sunday and pray and say, I'm a really good Christian, and they're really horrible people.

Kate:       I absolutely agree with you. For me, that's not what going to church is about. And for lots of Christians that I know, actually going to church is about saying I'm a rotter. I'm not a good person. I've fallen short of all expectations and I'm trying to be better. And that's what when I go to church and pray,

that's what's in my mind. That's why I say, forgive me just a minute. So that's why when I say forgive me my sins, that's why I say that. Because I don't think. Because Christians don't think they're perfect. We are deeply flawed human beings.

Neil:        One of the philosophies of people who are Christian is that God empowered mankind to make decisions for themselves. So God doesn't sit up wherever you imagine he does and and wave a magic wand and make good people. That's not how it happens. There's really good, brilliant, great people who will never believe in God. And there's really amazing, God fearing people in positions of power who are out and out evil.

Raphael: I see myself as somebody who cares about people, cares about mankind, and I believe good's in everyone. And I'm an ignorant and I have no followers.

JJ:           Are you making up your own religion?

Raphael: Because I have, I have, I have no followers.

JJ:           Religion. Because that felt like it was casting his net out. I have no followers. But please, somebody follow me.

Raphael: I like Ed's stance. Humanist. What it stands for. Take God out of the equation and I think you've got a good belief. I think he's kind of on the right track. It's kind of more where I'd be leaning to than Christianity.

Ed:          I would hope that at least Kate and Heather understood my perspective and knew that I wasn't out to rid the world of religion. I don't have some Stalinist attitude to, you know, that we should burn down all the churches. I don't feel that way, and I just wanted to make sure that they knew that.