I am a secular humanist. My beliefs include that humans must depend entirely on our own efforts to make things better or prevent bad things. I believe that we must work hard to solve our own problems and never rely on controversial or imaginary beings to help us. We can't even prove that such magical beings actually exist. Prayer notoriously fails big time, with results being no better than not praying, and inferior to humans assuming responsibility and working harder.

In the 1990's, I saw mass starvation, drought, plagues, and mass killings occurring in Rwanda. I saw this on the BBC from Edinburgh. People praying did not help anyone but the brutal genocidal war of Hutus against Tutsis and vice versa occurred instead. So I followed my humanist beliefs. Being a young physician, I volunteered to go to Rwanda with a mostly French group of other physicians, nurses, and paramedics. I ended up staying there working 16 hours a day for over 3 years. We were not able to stop the Genocide but we did save the lives of thousands of people who would have died. I treated the huge burden of infectious diseases, malnutrition, and parasitic disorders while our two surgeons operated around the clock on the wounded. We also had a Death Tent for pain therapy of those dying.

I believe that our group of 7 Non-theist physicians, and only one clearly religious nurse, did more for many people than billions praying. I have put my beliefs into practice in my clinical work and in my research.

This and other work in the Third World was not divinely inspired. It was because I found myself to be responsible to helping those people in Rwanda, Bosnia, and in the Post-Tsunami Commonwealth Team. I know that people praying were only treating themselves not the suffering people. I volunteered for Lebanon in the recent war but the French Government rejected me because I failed the health exam.

I don't pray for unfortunate people. If I can, I roll up my sleeves and lend a helping hand.

But I don't believe Jesus was a God, so I am going to HELL.

Amergin

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Militant Agnostic: I don't know, and neither do you. There is no evidence of God so belief is optional.

Thank you for the wonderful post, Amergin and thank you for rolling up your sleeves and saving lives. Maybe you and your medical team were an answer to prayers.

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InterfaithForums.com-Where your ideas and beliefs count.

My core beliefs:

• Speak the truth or remain silent.
• Do not make any promise or commitment lightly: Once made, it must be kept.
• Reciprocity in all things: Help someone once, but if they make no attempt to return the favour do not help them a second time. (One exception: Always help someone who's in imminent danger.)
• Trust, once lost, is generally not regained. Support the trustworthy and avoid engaging with untrustworthy individuals.
• Avoid waste. Buy reasonable amounts of what's needed and use it as soon as possible. Give away things that haven't been used in the recent past.
• Make time for personal development, but choose activities wisely to avoid becoming overburdened. Far better to go to one course and attend every class than to do five things in a haphazard manner.

I believe in live and let live. I believe that everyone has equal rights. So, I treat everyone as a free person who can do as they wish as long as they don't wish any harm. I believe rights to be God given and/or natural. So, I consider it immoral to violate someone's rights and I consider it moral to defend someone's rights. I believe in freedom!

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"I fully comprehended the power of the human mind at the exact moment I came to the realization that I'm totally insane and have no idea what I'm talking about."

1) God exists.
2) None of us knows what that means (myself included).

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We do not fear the night, who have loved the stars so fondly.