Humanism and
Christianity
Absolute truth belongs only to one class of
humans—the class of absolute fools.”
Ashley montagu
Definition
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Humanism is a philosophy, world view, or life stance based on
naturalism--the conviction that the universe or nature is all
that exists or is real
Humanism serves, for many humanists, some of the
psychological and social functions of a religion, but without
belief in deities, transcendental entities, miracles, life after
death, and the supernatural.
Humanists seek to understand the universe by using science
and its methods of critical inquiry--logical reasoning,
empirical evidence, and skeptical evaluation of conjectures
and conclusions--to obtain reliable knowledge
Defintions Part II
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Humanists affirm that humans have the freedom and
obligation to give meaning, value, and purpose to their lives
by their own independent thought, free inquiry, and
responsible, creative activity
Humanists believe that humans can live moral, happy, and
productive lives on the basis of human reason and experience,
without relying on the supernatural.
Humanists believe in naturalistic ethics, that humans are the
ultimate source of morals, values, purposes, and meanings.
Moral values find their source in human experience; ethics
stem from human need and interest; the purpose and meaning
of life are what we make it to be.
Reason Versus Faith
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Faith weakens the intellect by destroying the value of reasoned and
empirical thinking.
Faith promotes dogmatism, since there is no method by which one can use
faith to decide among different points of view or even between truth and
falsehood.
Faith frequently results in censorship, because if contrary evidence might
induce doubt, faith holds that it must be suppressed--it obviously can't be
fought by using reason, since faith does not use reason.
Is there any way to justify belief and thus have reliable knowledge? There
is only one way known to us: the scientific method. We can justify belief by
performing empirical studies, using logical reasoning, and conforming to
the principles of statistical inference.
We have no reliable knowledge about the supernatural and cannot rely on
it. Humanists therefore accept what science says is true about our world.
This includes evolution
Humanist Manifesto
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The Humanist Manifesto II makes that clear: “As nontheists,
we begin with humans, not God, nature, not deity….
[H]umans are responsible for what we are or will become. No
deity will save us; we must save ourselves” (1973, p. 16).
Promises of salvation are “illusory and harmful,” ethics is
“situational,” and sexual activity between “consenting adults”
is acceptable no matter who or what is involved. Sounds like
“vice is nice” propaganda, doesn’t it? Abortion, euthanasia,
homosexuality, and even what some call the “last taboo”—
incest—are acceptable according to humanism. As one author
put it: “While humanity did not arise from the beasts,
Humanism certainly stoops to their level”
God is the Alien
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Paul Kurtz, former editor of The Humanist, addressed the
subject of “Christian humanism” and observed: “Humanism
cannot in any fair sense of the word apply to one who still
believes in God as the source and Creator of the universe.
Christian Humanism would be possible only for those who are
willing to admit that they are atheistic Humanists. It surely
does not apply to God-intoxicated believers” (1973, p. 177).
Humanist writer
Corliss Lamont has gone so far as to state: “Passing to the
New Testament, we see plainly that its theology, taken literally,
is totally alien to the Humanist viewpoint” (1977, p. 50).
Doctrine of Humanist Manifesto
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Religious Humanists regard the universe as self-existing and
not created.
Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has
emerged as the result of a continuous process. (evolution)
Moral values derive their source from human
experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no
theological or ideological sanction.
Traditional religions inhibit humans from experiencing their
full potentialities.
We can discover no divine purpose or providence for the
human species. We are responsible for what we are or will
become. No deity will save us - we must save ourselves.
Socialism and Humanism
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the strength of Socialism consists largely in its
protest against existing social wrongs to which the
Church is likewise opposed but which can be
finally righted only by the universal rule of Christ.
...
Socialism is vitally defective in that it places the
physical above the spiritual needs of mankind. It is,
as a philosophy, definitely materialistic. It insists
that better social conditions will produce better
men
Socialsim a serious Protest
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Socialism is... a serious protest against the social
wrongs and cruelties of the age, against the defects of
the present economic system, against special
privilege and entrenched injustice, against prevalent
poverty, and hunger, and despair....
social gospel" which discards the fundamental
doctrines of Christianity and substitutes a religion
of good works; but a true Gospel of grace is
inseparable from a Gospel of good works
Similarities
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There are many similarities between Christianity and
Socialism, both ideologies founded by Jews who in
their own lifetimes were hated by the authorities and
had to flee to other countries. Marxism has its own
“old and new testaments”: Das Kapital and State and
Revolution respectively. There are direct comparisons
between the letters of the apostles and those books
written by exiles to “believers”in other countries
giving advice etc. such as Lenin's “What is to be
done.
a new way of thinking
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We both want to change the world for the better, eliminate
poverty of both lifestyle and health (even though Christ said
that the poor would always be with us), restore and improve
the natural environment and bring an end to wars. Even though
we disagree on homosexuality, sex before marriage and
abortion,
As a Socialist I have to add that I think that at worst
Christianity gives succour to the “moral majority” and at best
is a comfort to people in old age.
In the words of the “International”:
This is the essential thought of Socialism: only we can save
ourselves and only we can do it for ourselves. The choice
before people at the start of this new century is between
Socialism and capitalist barbarism, and sadly, spiritual ideas
will have to wait for the time being.