Here's Allan Hayes's First Person column from today's Leicester Mercury:
Believers and atheists are having dialogue
In his column last week, Bishop Tim wrote: "I long for the time when people of faith and committed atheists do not feel the need to insult each other or to accuse each other of holding a particular position because of some inadequacy." That time is now, and it has been here for many years: atheist and religious people have been having amicable and constructive discussions in Leicester and nationally for a long time. I am surprised that he seems unaware of this.
I would welcome a public discussion with him. Nothing shows better the need for such discussion than his later remark:
"It was Shakespeare who wrote in Macbeth of life as 'a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing'. That, I suppose, sums up the atheist position."
"Told by an idiot": Is this not a little insulting?
A wonderful opportunity is to hand: the bishop would be very welcome to attend, and even run a workshop at, the coming national Sea of Faith Conference to be held at Leicester University (July 22 to 24, www.sofn.org.uk). He would meet some very agreeable and non-insulting atheists (I happen myself to be a trustee and local convener for the network); some of them would be Christians.
But what does being an atheist tell us about a person? Does it imply that he or she is not a good person? Of course not – I am sure that the Bishop will agree with this.
As for meaning – Bishop Tim is concerned about this – well, I think that we make meaning for ourselves and for one another. At 78 years of age with children and grandchildren and a wonderful world, my life is full of meaning and I still have much to do and be remembered for.
And, making more use of Shakespeare, this time from Hamlet: I am free of "the dread of something after death, the undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns".
The Sea of Faith Network, now a national organisation with international connections, is in fact a local product – another example, along with the Secular Society, of Leicester radicalism. It was conceived in a pub in Barrow-on-Soar in 1987 by a group of (mainly) Anglican clergy. Most of its annual conferences have been at Leicester University. Controversial from the start, with its assertion that "religion is a human creation" it has stood for a more open attitude towards the exploration of theological issues.
I prefer to describe myself as a humanist, committed to the welfare of humanity and the view that we are solely responsible for our own well-being and future: I am a trustee of the national body, the British Humanist Association.
Today I've been sorting out some papers that have been piling up over the past few weeks and months (well, it is Bank Holiday Monday) and came across an interesting questionnaire that I picked up at the Amplified Leicester Showcase (see blog entry, 15 Apr). It's a lighthearted test, developed from one used at The Future of Work Perspectives, presented by the Institute for the Future. If you find the jargon off putting, consider it as being somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I've done it; would you like to test yourself, faithful reader? For each topic, grade yourself from 1 (not at all confident) to 3 (highly confident).
MOBBABILITY
The ability to work in large groups, and to organise and collaborate with may people simultaneously.
INFLUENCY
Knowing how to be persuasive in multiple social contexts and media spaces, and demonstrating awareness that each context and space requires a different persuasive strategy and technique.
HIGH PING QUOTIENT
Responsiveness to other people's requests for engagement, propensity to reach out to others in a network.
PROTOVATION
Fearless innovation in rapid, iterative cycles.
OPEN AUTHORSHIP
Ease with creating content for immediate public consumption and modification.
EMERGENSIGHT
The ability to prepare for and handle surprising results and complexity.
MULTI-CAPITALISM
Fluency in working with different capitals (e.g. natural, intellectual, social, financial, virtual).
LONGBROADING
Thinking in terms of higher-level systems, massively multiple cycles, and the very big picture.
SIGNAL/NOISE MANAGEMENT
Filtering meaningful information, patterns and commonalities from the massively multiple streams of data and advice.
COOPERATION RADAR
The ability to sense, almost intuitively, who would make the best collaborators on a particular task.
What's your score?
21-30 Congratulations, workplace superhero! Your colleagues don't always understand what you're talking about, but never mind. William Shakespeare was right when he wrote, "We are advertis'd by our loving friends." Keep on amplifying. If you're not in demand in the job market yet, you soon will be.
11-20 You're a workplace semi-hero! What's stopping you from reaching the pinnacle? As Clay Shirky said, "When we change the way we communicate, we change society." You're not afraid to experiment but some of the above qualities make you uncomfortable. Identify those weak spots and take more risks.
0-10 How to improve your score: 1. Hang out with amplified people to watch, learn and ask questions; 2. Experiment and don't be afraid to fail; 3. Spend time messing about online; 4. Don't be Thomas Watson, IBM Chairman, who said in 1943, "I think that there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Find out more about Amplified Leicester:
http://ampleic.ning.com/
Find out more about the Institute for the Future:
http://www.iftf.org/about
