Upcoming Events
Events Archive: 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2010 Download Events Calendar (PDF)
Welcome to the Humanist Society of Victoria events portal. In our effort to help create a better society, Humanists get actively engaged in social and political action. We liaise and work co-operatively with many kindred organizations. In this section, you can find upcoming events on a range of issues directly and indirectly related to the humanist cause.
The Humanist Society of Victoria also conducts monthly public lectures on a variety of topics and monthly member discussion meetings. The discussions start at 11:00 am on the second Sunday of each month and are held in Hawthorn East, Victoria.
For an introduction, contact Stephen Stuart on (03) 9857 8318 or at info@vichumanist.org.au
I’m an Ex-Mormon (video)
Sunday 17 November 2019, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Melbourne, Victoria
For this meeting of the Ex-Religious Support Network (ESN), we will view and discuss a short video created by ex-Mormon, Chris Johnson. Chris served in Japan as a Mormon missionary, proselytizing the ‘Book of Mormon’. He began to lose his faith when a promised, deeply personal miracle did not happen. That failing led him on a journey of discovery of how the religious mind is biased towards self-affirmation. After conducting a number of parallel enquiries into the truth of the ‘Book of Mormon’ and of the Bible, Chris’ doubts amplified to the extent that his life began to fall apart. He climbed through the abyss to rebuild his life, seeing the world through different eyes and developing more meaningful relationships. Come and hear his fascinating story and share your experiences leaving religion. To maintain Meetup member privacy, this meeting is private. To see venue details, join the ESN Meetup Group.
Jehovah’s Witnesses Protest Melbourne 2019
Friday 22 to Sunday 24 November 2019, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Outside Marvel Stadium, 740 Bourke St, Docklands, Melbourne
Up to 60,000 members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith will be gathering for an international religious convention, themed LOVE NEVER FAILS! To coincide with the religious convention, a peaceful protest will take place adjacent to Marvel Stadium to draw to attention to the religion’s harmful practices. These include shunning and social ostracism, child abuse and child protection issues, failure to join the National Redress Scheme and adverse treatment of former members. The aims of the protest are to inform the community of the church’s harmful teachings and policies, to protect the community from the religion’s harmful practices and to warn the community about the 1000+ alleged child abusers within the organisation in Australia. Read Event Details …
The Problem of Evil
Tuesday 10 December 2019, 8:00 pm
Melbourne Unitarian Peace Memorial Church
110 Grey St, East Melbourne (Find on Google Maps)
The existence of evil, pain and suffering is considered by many philosophers to be the most vexed question concerning the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient and morally perfect deity. Why would a loving God permit wanton acts of cruelty and misery on the scale witnessed throughout human history? Leslie Allan leads a discussion on common theistic responses to this problem, exploring how each approaches the problem and outstanding issues. He then examines a theistic defence designed to show that the problem of evil is not a problem at all.
Bio: Over a decade, Les studied philosophy and history of religions at La Trobe University. In his working life, Les’ career spanned electronics, information technology, training and development and business improvement. He is currently Vice President of Humanists Victoria and owner of Rational Realm, a web site dedicated to exploring the boundaries between science and philosophy.
Casual Get-together at Café and Gardens
Saturday 14 December 2019, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Melbourne, Victoria
For our last Ex-Religious Support Network (ESN) get-together for the year, we’ll meet at a café located in beautiful gardens close to the Melbourne city block. Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the gardens or get a bite to eat and a drink at the café. The café offers a range of snacks and hot and cold drinks. Be sure to bring a hat and some sunscreen if you plan on enjoying the sunshine. The gardens are family-friendly, so you can let your children play in the beautiful green surroundings. We’ll meet on the seats in the open air area at the rear of the café. Look for the guy with the name-tag “Les”. ESN is a private Meetup group. Membership of the group is required to see the event details. To see venue details, join the ESN Meetup Group.
