(Back to Home ... Introduction)

Aims

Current Version

We aim to create a community where people can thrive.

We want to attract the participation of people who:

are seeking to grow as individuals;
are seeking to help build a better world for everyone; and
are seeking to connect beliefs and actions, so the way they live can increasingly be an authentic expression of their most important beliefs and values.

We believe that people thrive:

when they love other people and belong to a loving community;
when their actions and beliefs connect; and
when their beliefs connect with reality.

We offer, as a consequence, a space where:

you can explore the questions which are important to you and seek to deepen your understanding of yourself, of society and of reality in general;
you can share any views you like (within the obvious limits, of course); and
you can have your ideas explored and tested by people who, like you, want to understand better so they can live better.

Draft Version

We aim to create a community where people can thrive, so the way they live can increasingly be an authentic expression of their most important beliefs and values.

Create. We want to attract the participation of people who:

are seeking to grow as individuals;
are seeking to help build a better world for everyone; and
are seeking to connect beliefs and actions.

Community. We offer a community where:

you can explore the questions which are important to you and seek to deepen your understanding of yourself, of society and of reality in general;
you can share any views you like (within the obvious limits, of course); and
you can have your ideas explored and tested by people who, like you, want to understand better so they can live better.

Thrive. We believe that we thrive:

when we love other people and belong to a community where we are known and loved;
when our actions connect with our beliefs; and
when our beliefs connect with reality.

'Plan' Version

Based on the aims in the 'Plan' document ...

Our objective is to provide, for people who are seeking to make the world a better place, a community where we can:

explore questions and issues;
articulate policies and values; and
propose solutions and strategies.

Our vision is to change the character of the society in which we live through offering our members three related facilities:

a community, where you can belong, be safe and be accepted;
a forum, where you can discuss questions and concerns; and
a platform, where you can express the things that are important to you.

Motto

"Mens sana in corpore sano societatis salubriter amet"

(According to Google translate, anyway ...)

In other words, we are working towards:

a healthy mind in
a healthy body in
a healthy society in
a healthy environment.

Personal Versions

Adrian

To be a Safe Space for discussion about spirituality, theology and truth (including the validity of those concepts) by people of any religion or worldview, who are prepared to change their views if presented with a convincing reason to do so, and who would like to apply their understanding to making a positive difference to the world. (Safe Space means being able to experience disagreement without considering disagreement with one's views as necessarily offensive or threatening).

Brian

I see this as a place for vibrant discussion, vigorous unashamed debate, harmony, disharmony, disagreement and agreement - a place where opposites can meet, without fear or favour from anyone. Our values include the freedom and respect of people, the upholding of justice and fair treatment for everyone. We can discuss social strategies, formulate campaigns, implement experimental art, compose new music, understand social dynamics, improvise comedy, explore science and technology, propose new economics, accept faith, deny faith - and much, much more. This is not an experiment - it is not a drill - you know the score. We believe passionately that this can help build a better world.

Don

(Summary)

Where I started.

This group is a catalyst (there are many others) for mobilising the church in Bristol. Basically, a grass roots, bottom-up approach.

Where I am now.

A group that will seek to bring about wholeness to our communities.
That includes us, as we all carry wounds and questions, we are all on a journey, this group could enable all of us to move towards wholeness, so that we each become more complete as people.
A mutual support group, to encourage each other.
A place for sharing ideas, including how to handle specific situations.

(More details here)

Mark

The first aim of this group is to provide a place where people can explore sometimes difficult ideas and questions relating to their world views, theology, politics or beliefs which may be hard to pursue within their existing communities (such as faith groups, political parties or other situations). To do this without fear of judgement, consequences or ridicule.

Secondly, and hopefully partly as a result of our growing understanding and trust for one another to find ways of making the world a better place through new activity, dialogue, personal growth and bridge building across communities, organisations and action groups already seeking a better society.

Paul

My personal aim:
I need to be able to ask questions which matter to me, and explore the key ideas which I think I understand, but cannot do this on my own. I need others who share a similar aim but see things differently from me, to help me get beyond my limited understanding, so that I can grow as a human being and live in a way that is, as far as I can manage, both truthful and loving.

My aim for the site:
To explore ways for society and the people in it to grow and change in a life-giving way so that we can all flourish while not all agreeing on the things we care about.

Or:

To enable people to have conversations about the things that matter to them, and

encourage people to have conversations about ways to make the world a better place, and

to do this with others who see the world differently from them.

Other

The author, Kate Crawford, speaking in an interview with MIT Technology Review (you can read 3 free articles) about her recent book, Atlas of AI, provides a good summary. In answer to the question, "What sort of world do you want to live in? What kind of future do you dream of?" she says:

I want to see the groups that have been doing the really hard work of addressing questions like climate justice and labor rights draw together, and realize that these previously quite separate fronts for social change and racial justice have really shared concerns and a shared ground on which to coordinate and to organize.

Because we’re looking at a really short time horizon here. We’re dealing with a planet that’s already under severe strain. We’re looking at a profound concentration of power into extraordinarily few hands. You’d really have to go back to the early days of the railways to see another industry that is so concentrated, and now you could even say that tech has overtaken that.

So we have to contend with ways in which we can pluralize our societies and have greater forms of democratic accountability. And that is a collective-action problem. It’s not an individual-choice problem. It’s not like we choose the more ethical tech brand off the shelf. It’s that we have to find ways to work together on these planetary-scale challenges.