Religious and Philosophy Links
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Religion
by Reason and Design
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Welcome to the Aaltuit website. Here you'll find news, articles,
weblinks, lists and bulletins about the Aaltuit religion plus
information about related religions and philosophies.
We hope your visit will be informative, educational, useful and
perhaps even inspiring.
Humanist and Pantheist Roots
If you have never heard of Aaltuit, we are not very surprised. Aaltuit is a
new and evolving religion. It is rooted in many beliefs shared by other
progressive religions and philosophies, in particular,
Humanists, Pantheists, Transcendentalists, and Unitarian Universalists.
Aaltuit is, in essence, designed to formalize the best parts of the combined
wisdom found in all of the above in a way that appeals both to our intuitive
understanding and to more formal objective reasoning.
Like other humanists, religious or non-religious, we share a desire to be
both rational and compassionate, skeptical and open-minded, creative yet
responsible. We believe religion should be devoid of coersion, fear and
appeals to supernaturalism. We believe strongly in democratic ideals and
the dignity of each individual.
Like the pantheists, we sense a oneness with the universe that cannot be
easily objectified. We allow ourselves through our intuitive senses to taste
the awe and wonderment of a universe which cannot be so easily reduced and
dissected, at least not without hopelessly losing its true meaning and power.
We choose not to ignore what we do not fully understand even when some might
think this borders on the mystical.
Like the American Transendentalists of the 19th century, the Aaltuit religion embodies many
ideas found in humanism and pantheism. We also find much to admire in the
tradition of tolerance and free thought practiced by Unitarian Universalists.
However, Aaltuit is not a Christian religion. Aaltuit has no basis in a bible
or other dogma and we find many other traditional religious trappings to be not only
unnecessary but undesireable.
We'd like your input
As a new religion, Aaltuit has no great bodies of literature to call its
own. However, we feel free to borrow quite heavily from the excellence found
in many writings of the proponents of humanism, pantheism, etc. As an evolving
religion, we welcome essays and other writings that may help clearly define
our unique spin on some very old ideas. Hopefully, each time you visit this
website there will be something new from our more literary contributors.
For the artistically inclined, there is an opportunity to share your talents
by being the first to design Aaltuit's logo or symbol. Our websurfing
friends out there will want to give us your opinions about other weblinks of
interest to our readers. Those with hidden writing talents may want to share
your ideas and insights with Aaltuit members.
Some suggested topics for short essays might include:
The future of Aaltuit - what should it be?
How to choose a religion or personal philosophy
A woman's unique intuitive perspective
Music's role in religious experience
Reasons and methodology for transending oneself
What is a good person?
How religion improves/detracts from society and ourselves
Are intuitive experiences mysticism?
Non-objectifiable phenomena
Realizing our intellectualized concepts through actual living
Personal experiences with wonderment
Why I did not stay a Christian (Muslim, Jew, Buddhist)?
Why people need or want religion?
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Copyright
© 1999 by the Association of Aaltuit Life
For more information
about the Aaltuit Religion, please contact:
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Association of Aaltuit Life
P.O. Box 89638
Honolulu, HI 96830-7638
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Email
address: x@vbds.com
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Updated: 7/14/99
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A Few Quotations
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The good news is that there is something else.
The bad news is we haven't evolved enough to fully realize it.
Fortunately, that evolution is possible and is happening right now.
May we open our minds to greater experience, wisdom and connection.
May we look inward, seeking the spirit of which we are made.
May we all realize the beauty, the goodness,
and the truth
which is our very nature.
Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore, UU Fellowship of Port Charlotte, Florida
It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception,
is composed of others.
John Andrew Holmes
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead, 1901-1978
We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect; we
apprehend it just as much by feeling. Therefore, the judgement of the
intellect is, at best, only the half of truth.
Carl Jung, 1875-1961
We owe it to ourselves as respectable human beings, as thinking human
beings, to do what we can to make humanity more rational. Humanists
recognize that it is only when people feel free to think for themselves,
using reason as their guide, that they are best capable of developing
values that succeed in satisfying human needs and serving human interests.
Isaac Asimov, 1920-1992
We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and
the more we gain, the more is our desire; the more we see, the more we are
capable of seeing.
Maria Mitchell, 1878, astronomer
One of the attributes of love, like art, is to bring harmony and order out of
chaos, to introduce meaning and effect where before there was none, to give
rhythmic variations, highs and lows to a landscape that was previously flat.
Molly Haskell
The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend
a personal god and avoid dogma and theology. It should be based on a
religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and
spiritual as a meaningful unity.
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955
I am interested in a phase that I think we are entering. I call it
"teleological evolution"; evolution with a purpose. The idea of evolution
by design, designing the future, anticipating the future.
It would seem that an evolutionary view of human life will ultimately become the basis
upon which human values will be recognized and will be the determining
influence on human thought and human behavior.
As we move into the future, it becomes necessary for us to think the way
nature thinks ... [to perceive that] the process of evolution reflects the wisdom of
nature.
Jonas Salk, 1914-1995
And a Bunch of Humorous and Skeptical Ones
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