About
Welcome to I like trees.
This was conceived as a neutral discussion place for humanists, and as an encouragement, I’ve got a running blog going on as well.
The author is a perfectly ordinary person with a day job, muddling through life and getting by. Nothing special, I’m afraid. You’re on your own there. But what I’ve got, I’ll share.
The guidelines:
- Bad words: “Stupid.” “Gullible.” “Faithless.” “Sheeple.”I think you get the picture.
- No gurus. No one has the answer. Not God, not Dawkins, not me, not you. On this site, we begin with the assumption that each of us is an individual culture and community of one. You are invited to tell us about life in that community. You are not allowed to extend the rules from yours over those of others. We operate under basic secular laws, and you’re expected to abide by them. You’re also expected to abide under several basic presumptions, one of which is that scientific method is a valid way to test hypotheses. The others are that science and faith are separate things, and that fundamentalist fervor is dangerous.
- So… no rabid fundamentalism, including atheistic bitterness or evangelical zeal. Does this make us fundamentally against fundamentalism? Possibly, but the rule is, “No one has the answer.” Not even me. All we have is the possibility of civilised discourse.
- No sheep.
- You’re not wrong. You can’t tell anyone else what to believe, and no one can tell you, either. If they pester you about it, tell us, and we will scold them (and quite possibly ban them.) What you believe is your problem. You have to live with it. We will gladly hear about it and try to help you live with it, but the responsibility for listening to your truth is yours alone. You know what’s healthy in you, and you must help it grow.
- No trolling. That’s going to be a tough one on an atheist/believer community board, I know. But remember, this is a humanist site first. Do your best to help each other grow. If someone’s trolling, use that little button to let a moderator know. We’ll pay attention. On the other hand, if someone is raising legitimate points in a respectful manner, it’s up to you to decide how or whether you want to continue the discussion.
- No personal attacks. Deliberate trolling will get you banned. So will any other kind of disrespectful treatment or harassment, and any kind of personal attack towards anyone. It doesn’t matter how dumb their belief system is; mistreating them won’t help, and will get you booted.
What is most important is our work. This isn’t the story of what we believe, but the story of how we each come to terms with it in our lives. This is a place to talk about that.
Welcome aboard.