For those of you who say I have no heart…
… proof!
The Church Of LOTU
As you know, over the last year I’ve been working on a book about religion. During this time, while I’ve been debating the subject with people on the show and in person, one of the common arguments I’ve heard for keeping religion is “people need something to believe in”. I used to scoff at this statement. I certainly don’t feel that need. I’m happy with my own assessments of what’s right, what’s wrong, what is true and what is false. However, it struck me recently that perhaps other people aren’t like me. Perhaps they do need help figuring answers to the big questions. Perhaps they would like a place to gather on a regular basis with like-minded people to discuss the subjects of life, the universe and everything. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons religion continues to survive in the 21st century.
Atheism doesn’t have such a place. As an atheist, I don’t have a place where I can gather with other atheists to discuss “the big questions”. And, while this isn’t a problem for me, I got to thinking that perhaps it might be a hurdle for the new atheists, the people who are reading Dawkins and Hitchens and are preparing themselves to let go of superstition and mythology to embrace critical thinking and logic.
Scientific literature, and working scientists, rarely seem to attempt to play the role of answering the big questions either. There are exceptions, such as Carl Sagan, but these are truly the exceptions to the rule. Scientists provide us with the best information they have about how it all works and they leave it up to us to decide what that means to our individual lives.
So… I’ve decided to start a new religion which I’m calling
THE CHURCH OF LOTU.
“LOTU” stands for the “Laws Of The Universe”. The idea is that this religion, this church, will be fully based in science and critical thinking. It will not worship any mythological deity but will respect, and try to interpret, the laws of the universe as delivered to us by the latest scientific research. LOTU will also endorse the United Nations Charter on Human Rights. Unlike every other religion on the planet today, LOTU will not condemn people who do not agree with us to an eternity of torture and vilification. LOTU doesn’t care what you believe. LOTU respects your right to believe whatever makes you feel good. We may disagree with you. We may debate you vigorously. We may even chide you for believing in bronze age mythologies in the 21st century. We will also, however, fight for your right to believe whatever you want.
Yes, I know that the words “religion” and “church” seem to be incongruent with atheism but they need not. Wikipedia define ‘religion’ as:
“A religion is a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term “religion” refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.”
LOTU may well have all of those things. Note there is no mention of a supernatural deity in that description.
Wikipedia defines ‘church’ as:
“A church is an association of people with a common belief system, especially one that is based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.”
LOTU is definitely the first but also, obviously, NOT the second. Christians have always been fond of stealing ideas from older traditions (Easter, Christians, monotheism… hell, even the Jesus story is a rip-off of Mithra), so I feel quite comfortable stealing one of their words.
At the moment, I’m working on writing the “scripture” for LOTU but, as I’ve leaked word of it to a few people over the last week, I thought I should throw the doors open and let those of you who wish to join me in the creation of the first new religion for the 21st century. This is Religion 2.0.
To start with, I’ve created a Facebook group (I know, BOO! HISS!) for us to discuss the idea. I hope a few of you will join me.
G’Day World #306 – Steve Sammartino, Rentoid.com
The first show of 2008! My guest today is local Yarraville boy Steve Sammartino, founder of Rentoid.com. I love Steve’s approach to his business and his entrepreneurial spirit in general. He came around to Casa del Reilly this morning to talk about the Rentoid site, why he left his big income corporate marketing job and how he lives on his investment dividends. It’s a great show to start the year with!
**update 2017-05-29** – unfortunately it looks like the audio for this interview disappeared in a server crash many years ago. You might like this interview with Steve instead.
Vote for your favourite OzWebCeleb
I just heard about this poll today via @bronwen. I’m not going to tell you how to vote or anything cheesy like that. I want to comment on the list itself. I don’t think any of the people on the list, except maybe Marty Wells from Tangler and Duncan Riley, who was probably running the Blog Herald back then, would have had any kind of public profile 5 years ago. Who were the OzWebCelebs five years ago and where are they now? Frank Arrigo should have garnered more votes and I’m sure if he’d blogged about it he would have. I just think it’s cool that there are a whole bunch of new people on the scene in Australia, most of whom I consider mates. I know most of the people on that list and I consider them a terrific bunch of people. They are people I love to talk to and hang out with. They inspire me, challenge me, and keep me on my toes. Most importantly, they are people who have chosen to make a difference. They are stepping up, putting their ideas and energy on the line, trying to create something, build something. I respect each and every one of them.
a new 2web Crew podcast is up!
Join Techcrunch’s Duncan Riley, Norg’s Bronwen Clune, World Communities’ Laurel Papworth and TPN’s Cameron Reilly for a round up of the apps and services that rocked our world in 2007. (link)