Uniformitarianism and Humanism
Just to review - Uniformitarianism.
Okay, we have already reviewed that. So lets take a look at Humanism. I am going to be excerpting some comments back and forth between people concerning weak and strong faith and Humanism versus Christianity.
A Christian has agreed that God is the final authority. God makes the rules. So a Christian then tries to follow the teachings of the Bible, which primarily boil down to the words spoken by Jesus Christ: Matthew 22: 34-40 -
But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
So a Christian is to love and obey God and strive to love his neighbor, others, as himself. This is not a self-centered, vain philosophy but one that should work to the benefit of mankind. It is a philosophy based upon absolutes. The moral code of the Bible is adhered to above the reasoning of men.
Humanism
Like Wikipedia, Humanism sounds pretty good on paper. However, there is no allowance for absolutes. The humanist judges for himself what is right and wrong for him. If God is on the throne of the Christian's life, then in the life of a Humanist it is man on his own throne and ultimately man is on his own throne, answerable first to himself, actually answers to no one. He may run afoul of the rules of society, but in his heart he makes the rules.
Of course, Humanists in general adhere in general to much of the moral code found in the Bible. However, in their philosophy they are not bound to that code or any other code. Many Humanists declare themselves to have the highest possible motives and that they live a life that is exemplary and useful to society. Yet a good Humanist can be completely self-centered and still qualify.
There are great Humanists and rotten Christians. Man is naturally selfish and very capable of screwing anything up. I ask you, though, which mindset and moral foundation is more likely to produce members best for society? Is it the one based on an absolute moral code whose adherents are told to seek the good of others? Or is it the adherents to their own code who are told "to thine ownself be true?"
One commenter said this:
"My own experience has been very different from yours, you see. In shedding my faith I feel I have grown as a man; I have become more compassionate, more forgiving, more tolerant, more patient, more confident in myself and therefore more of a help to others; I have certainly become happier and more content."
and also this:
"Incidentally; I'm curious about something; on your blog you describe yourself as "an ex-humanist become Christian." But in this comment you say you practiced "a self-centered hedonistic lifestyle". To me this is a contradictory statement. In my humanist philosophy there is no room for hedonism or self centredness. Which Humanist thinkers did you consider as informing your ethical choices? Or do you just use "humanist" as a sort of catch-all pejorative for anyone not attached to a religious philosophy?"
These comments puzzle me a bit. Then again, before I became a believer I thought I was a pretty good guy. Afterwards I looked back and saw how self-centered my life had been. I can still be pretty selfish, blah, but I seek to avoid that and try very hard to live a life pleasing to God. But at any rate, Christianity is supposed to be as I have described it. I have seen it twisted into a legalistic and prideful mockery of true faith. Humanism can be a philosophy that benefits others, but it can also be an excuse for the worst kind of debauchery and horror. It appears that Humanism has room for any moral code one chooses and therefore can easily produce any kind of man.
I'll put it this way. The Christian is to base his life on the teachings of the Bible. What is the foundational guide, the absolute, for a Humanist?
Okay, we have already reviewed that. So lets take a look at Humanism. I am going to be excerpting some comments back and forth between people concerning weak and strong faith and Humanism versus Christianity.
A Christian has agreed that God is the final authority. God makes the rules. So a Christian then tries to follow the teachings of the Bible, which primarily boil down to the words spoken by Jesus Christ: Matthew 22: 34-40 -
But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
So a Christian is to love and obey God and strive to love his neighbor, others, as himself. This is not a self-centered, vain philosophy but one that should work to the benefit of mankind. It is a philosophy based upon absolutes. The moral code of the Bible is adhered to above the reasoning of men.
Humanism
Like Wikipedia, Humanism sounds pretty good on paper. However, there is no allowance for absolutes. The humanist judges for himself what is right and wrong for him. If God is on the throne of the Christian's life, then in the life of a Humanist it is man on his own throne and ultimately man is on his own throne, answerable first to himself, actually answers to no one. He may run afoul of the rules of society, but in his heart he makes the rules.
Of course, Humanists in general adhere in general to much of the moral code found in the Bible. However, in their philosophy they are not bound to that code or any other code. Many Humanists declare themselves to have the highest possible motives and that they live a life that is exemplary and useful to society. Yet a good Humanist can be completely self-centered and still qualify.
There are great Humanists and rotten Christians. Man is naturally selfish and very capable of screwing anything up. I ask you, though, which mindset and moral foundation is more likely to produce members best for society? Is it the one based on an absolute moral code whose adherents are told to seek the good of others? Or is it the adherents to their own code who are told "to thine ownself be true?"
One commenter said this:
"My own experience has been very different from yours, you see. In shedding my faith I feel I have grown as a man; I have become more compassionate, more forgiving, more tolerant, more patient, more confident in myself and therefore more of a help to others; I have certainly become happier and more content."
and also this:
"Incidentally; I'm curious about something; on your blog you describe yourself as "an ex-humanist become Christian." But in this comment you say you practiced "a self-centered hedonistic lifestyle". To me this is a contradictory statement. In my humanist philosophy there is no room for hedonism or self centredness. Which Humanist thinkers did you consider as informing your ethical choices? Or do you just use "humanist" as a sort of catch-all pejorative for anyone not attached to a religious philosophy?"
These comments puzzle me a bit. Then again, before I became a believer I thought I was a pretty good guy. Afterwards I looked back and saw how self-centered my life had been. I can still be pretty selfish, blah, but I seek to avoid that and try very hard to live a life pleasing to God. But at any rate, Christianity is supposed to be as I have described it. I have seen it twisted into a legalistic and prideful mockery of true faith. Humanism can be a philosophy that benefits others, but it can also be an excuse for the worst kind of debauchery and horror. It appears that Humanism has room for any moral code one chooses and therefore can easily produce any kind of man.
I'll put it this way. The Christian is to base his life on the teachings of the Bible. What is the foundational guide, the absolute, for a Humanist?