Last Saturday saw the second segment of Humanist Society Singapore’s Psychology Talk Series. Entitled: “Agent-Based Modeling Game Theory”, the talk started out with participants filling out one of two questionnaires, picked out at random. This would provide the data points for the Ultimate Game afterwards.
The AWARE takeover saga is approaching its 10th year anniversary. In March 2009, the Association for Women for Action and Research (“AWARE”), a not-for-profit NGO, was taken over by a group of women largely from the same Christian church (the Church of Our Saviour or “COOS”). The takeover was supposedly prompted by a perception that AWARE had become “pro-lesbian and pro-homosexual”, and this was against the values of the all-Christian women who took over.
One may have heard of secular organisations taking part in Interfaith conferences, but an organisation championing secularism running an interfaith forum may be likened to a philistine judging an arts competition, or a tone deaf person judging American Idol.
Quite the contrary, in fact. First of all, the word “interfaith” presumes it’s only between people of faith, and so people without faith should just sit by the sidelines of society. A belief system, however, can be one based on reason and evidence, and therefore InterBelief can be seen as an “inter-faith-and-non-faith”. It is obvious why the Humanist Society of Singapore (HSS) chose this nomenclature.
Celebrating the international World Humanist Day (occurring on 21 June to coincide with the summer solstice), Humanist Society Singapore (HSS) held the InterBelief session with the aim of creating a common space for mutual understanding among people of different faiths & nones. Dr. Catherine Lim, of writing and debating politicians’ fame was the keynote speaker, and she pulled no punches. Channeling her own distaste for the belief systems in her life, she said she finally arrived at the third and final belief system she embraces – humanism. It sounded a lot like ‘I found my perfect religion the last place I looked’. But the reality is : humanism is not a religion – it is a life stance.
Next up, founding HSS president Paul Tobin’s dissection into the different types of nones, gave people the impression it is very easy to misconstrue the nones. Speaking passionately about science and evidence, while debating down religious claims, is not militant atheism, but one that goes purely on the merits of reason and evidence. Atheism needs not to trample on any faith, in so much as reason is the common denominator for discussion.
The moderated panels were where the action was to be found. The first panel, moderated by Dr. Matthia Lee , tried to highlight the differences in belief systems. The panel was cordial, and instead of a comparative analysis, they were mostly into their own corners of “unique propositions”, without antagonising other belief systems. Actions were stirred from the floor, when the audience raised questions or shared personal experiences. It was no surprise this was going to run overtime, and the organisers allowed the momentum to rule over the need for the scheduled timing tea break.
After a delayed tea break, a second and new panel convened. The main agenda of ‘commonalities’ was sacrificed for the airing and venting of comments and opinions. While never out of control, the session became what is akin to a “truth and reconciliation commission”, with candid and pointed questions from the floor, and a little reluctance and lack of time in answering by the panel. Many didn’t want to leave beyond the 5pm cutoff, and were willing to help rearrange furniture in the hope of getting more time with the panel, as a group or individually.
Moderator for the second panel, Mr Tan Tatt Si, president of HSS, explained : “Faith is emotional, and logical people can be passionate about rationality as well. InterBelief is only as good as the degree of freedom we permit for questioning. It can be messy, but from chaos comes a pattern, and a grounds-up understanding that talking openly is the only way forward, not sweeping dirt under the carpet. We are glad we did not try to steamroll our agenda , to seemingly arrive at a pretentious consensus.”
There are many interfaith out there. To this reporter, this HSS ‘messy truth’ version needs to be a permanent fixture.
You can catch the panel discussions at our Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/KZ-V62McIxc
Humanists value the only life we have. Sometimes just a few critical minutes can mean the difference between life and death. On Apr 28, 2018, a group of women and men responded to our call for the Emergency Preparedness Workshop at People’s Association HQ on King George’s Avenue.
The workshop began with a theory lesson introducing us to the human anatomy and the basics of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillators (AED). The class was lively with enthusiastic questions and laughter as the trainer dispelled many TV-inspired myths about the practice of CPR and AED.
Emergency preparedness lesson
After the break, we proceeded to the practical session, breaking up into smaller groups led by individual trainers. It was a very different feeling to get our hands on the training mannequin and AED set, taking turns to perform chest compressions and ventilations (commonly known as mouth-to-mouth).
CPR and AED practical session
The course was provided free of charge by PA as part of its emergency preparedness initiative. Certified trainees are encouraged to participate in community volunteer programmes to keep their skills fresh and current. If you get the opportunity to participate in a course like this, we cannot recommend it enough. Someone’s life could depend on you one day.
On 22 Feb 2018, the Humanist Society (Singapore) organised a visit to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum to commemorate the birth of Charles Darwin.
By Huang Yihua
On 25 March 2017, around 20 people attended a public talk on advanced medical directives (AMD), will writing and estate planning by Mr Patrick Chang, a veteran of the financial industry who has written over 12,000 wills for more than 600 families.
The talk started with some common misconceptions about will writing. Mr. Chang noted that 87% of working adults do not have a will according to a 2011 survey.
Why should we write wills? It lets us decide who should inherit our assets and in what proportion. We can also appoint appropriate trustees, executors or guardians, so as to avoid confusion and conflict down the proverbial road. A will should also be reviewed and rewritten from time to time as needed.
A will, however, only takes effect upon the death of the person. In the event of mental incapacity such as dementia, a person should have a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) drawn up to decide who has authority over his or her assets. And in the event of a medical crisis where death may be imminent, an Advanced Medical Directive (AMD) lets her decide what steps are taken to prolong or without life support.
Despite the sombre nature of the topic, Patrick managed to give the attendees a light-hearted yet informative lesson on writing the all-important will.
Rounding up the event, President Tan Tatt Si of Humanist Society Singapore reminded the attendees to not avoid talking about death, but to embrace it and make leave a worthy legacy for loved ones, friends and other fellow beings who continue to live on Earth.
