You have questions; so do I. Let's talk...

Welcome to Humble Heathen! While some may use the Humble Heathen moniker to refer to me, it's really more of a name for this blog. Now, the real question is - what does Humble Heathen mean? What type of place is it? What's the purpose - or even the point?

Before I explain my concept and the purpose of Humble Heathen, I feel it is important to provide a bit of background information.

You ready? Let's go.

Background
We all know about the "new atheism" movement happening today, primarily through the four public figures championing the movement - commonly referred to as the Four Horsemen:

• Richard Dawkins - an English ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and writer
• Sam Harris - an American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist
• Daniel Dennett - an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, of science, and of biology
• Christopher Hitchens (13 APR 1949 -15 DEC 2011) - a British-American author, polemicist, debater, and journalist

These four are largely responsible for not only bringing the discussion of religion - and the lack thereof - into the national spotlight, but also for helping to mobilize the freethinkers and non-religious people to "come out from the closet" as atheists or non-theists, to stand up for their own convictions concerning religion and belief, and to take an active stance in protecting the Separation of Church and State.

Simply put, collectively they were the predominant force that created the Non-religious/Atheist Rights Movement, more commonly known as the Freethought Movement.

Generally when movements begin, their leaders make themselves heard by being loud and confrontational - they challenge defined societal conventions that are viewed to be discriminatory by the movement members. Figures like Gloria Steinem (Feminism & Women's Liberation Movement), Dr. Martin Luther King (Civil Rights), and Malcolm X (Civil Rights), are just a few examples. In the case of the Freethought Movement, the initial leaders were the aforementioned Four Horsemen.

Once a movement gains traction and awareness within the larger society, it tends to evolve towards a calmer phase where dialogue occurs between movement members and those who are not a part of the movement. The goal, of course, is acceptance within the larger society - which includes the societal condemnation of actions that are discriminatory towards the movement and its members.

I firmly believe that the predominate cause of discrimination, condemnation, distrust, and even aggression is fear of the unknown. It is human nature to lash out at those things we don't know, don't understand. It's a primal reaction, a part of the innate human nature in all of us, to fear what we don't understand. It is a survival trait that feeds into the "fight or flight" response. If you don't know what something is, either run from it or kill it before it gets you. We have to control this innate urge so that we can make the unknown... well, known. Recognize it, get it under control, and then let's move forward, shall we?

I'm hoping that we're ready to move into the "calmer dialogue" phase of the Freethought Movement; however before that can begin, we need to collectively acknowledge where we are, and what we think about each other. There must be a productive dialogue that enlightens and educates all involved. The only way to move forward is through an exchange of ideas, including a concerted effort to dissolve fears and dispel negative stereotypes. We must destroy the Wall of Ignorance & Fear that separates us, or we'll never make any progress past it.

Where We Are, Where We Need to Go...
Currently, when the religious and nonreligious interact with each other, both sides tend to feel very defensive from the onset - which leads towards both sides becoming very confrontational. Often each side tries to out-scream the other, and concentrates on pointing out everything that is wrong with the other. Unfortunately, these exchanges rarely produce any positive results; they simply provide "red meat" to each respective side, reinforcing their mutual belief that "I'm right and you're stupid - err, wrong. OK, stupid AND wrong. HAH!" The worst part of this type of dialogue is that, not only are these exchanges never productive, they actually do harm to both sides of the movement by reinforcing the negative stereotypes held by each side towards the other.

It's time to move the dialogue forward. However, before a meaningful and respectful dialogue can take place, those pesky, pervasive, negative stereotypes - held by both sides - must be replaced with an understanding of what is, and is not, true.

And that's the purpose of the Humble Heathen.

Purpose: Respectful, Educational, and "Humble" Dialogue
Well, here it is: My goal for the Humble Heathen is to create a place where you can come and ask your questions about the "other side", without fear of being jumped on, harassed, attacked, and vilified. What you can and should expect, however, is an honest and open response or discussion that answers your question.

If you're a Christian and you want to know how we atheists approach something like holidays, or raising our kids, or even where our morality comes from, then ask. You'll most likely get many varied answers, but hopefully they will collectively be enlightening and informative.

If you're a Freethinker, you may want to understand why many Christians don't trust atheists, or how they approach teaching their kids about other religions, or whatever - you should be able to ask and also get a respectful and informative response.

Now, you may not like the answer. But, whether you like it or not the answer itself should still be an honest and respectful answer; likewise, it is expected that your follow-up questions and comments should be respectful and honest as well.

The goal here is to foster a dialogue that, hopefully, diffuses some of the distrust and misunderstanding each side has for the other. And if you are more enlightened from participating, then hopefully you will help others become more enlightened as well, by sharing what you've learned here.

NOT the Purpose
There is one thing that must be perfectly clear to all participants - what this place is NOT:

• It is NOT the place to try to "convert" someone to your side
• This site is NOT the place to prove that someone's beliefs are illogical, immoral, stupid, "evil", etc.
• This is NOT a place for debate; it is a place for discussion

 If you feel the need to do any of these things, there are literally thousands of sites and forums out there where you can do this ad nauseam.

This is not one of them.

Remember: this is a place of open dialogue, discussion, exploration, and (hopefully) enlightenment; a place where everyone should expect to be free from the fear of persecution.

What's Next?
I'm going to post a couple of follow-up docs that lay out how I envision this site working, and also to lay down some Ground Rules about what is - and is not - allowed and tolerated.

Hopefully this little social experiment will yield some positive results; and if not, it will at least give me a place to talk to myself (like I need this place to do that...  ;) )

Ready? Let the dialogue begin...