"Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, 'He catches the wise in their craftiness,' and again, 'The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.' So let no one boast in men.'"
1 Cor. 3:18-21
It was the religion of paganism that destroyed the ancient cultures of the gentile world. Romans 1 explains how they refused to honor their Creator and became futile in their thinking. They began to worship "Nature" instead of their Maker and created a culture that justified all forms of immorality. God severely punished Israel for falling into the popular religion with all of its corruption. In modern times we have a revival of the same religion in what is called "humanism." It has nearly destroyed us over the last one hundred years. Walk with me as we talk about how this philosophy has changed us, our families, and our churches.
As I look around and painfully look at the state of our nation, its government, education, media, and entertainment, I cannot help but blame all on humanism. You see, humanists have had a significant influence on each of these institutions. Humanists strongly support atheism, agnosticism, evolution, materialism, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, divorce, homosexuality, and sexual permissiveness. These views are in conflict with the Bible teaching of faith in a Supreme God, His creation, His Judgment, heaven, hell, the sanctity of life, marriage, and all the principles of righteousness.
It pains me to see how many are ignorant of Humanist Philosophy. Few acknowledge the depth of this humanistic influence in our society. Many simply refuse to understand the reality of that influence. That is why I feel compelled to do this study to help some of my readers become more aware and acquainted with these evil tenets, the doctrines of Humanism that have infiltrated our society with powerful force. We are going to uncover its teachings with the light of the Truth of God.
Today, many are confused about the real meaning of humanism because the word has many different meanings and because Humanists hold different beliefs. Some equate “humanism” to a humanitarian concern for others. Other times it refers to a philosophy that lauds man but, at the same time, denies, detracts, and belittles our God.
In our study, we will be examining:
- The war of worldviews.
- The beliefs of Humanism.
- Faith in Man, Not in God.
- Evolution and Materialism.
- Situational Ethics.
- Sexual Permissiveness.
- The impact of these beliefs in areas of our society.
- Government.
- Education.
- Entertainment.
- Media.
- How the Bible teaches Christians to respond to Humanism.
I. THE WAR OF WORLDVIEWS:
There have been seven men named “John” who have had a significant effect on us through their philosophies: John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, Jean-Paul Sartre, John Dewey, John Steinbeck, and John Lennon were men of renown and colossal importance. They had tremendous influence in the unfolding world of Western civilization and the modern world. Take, for example, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who were men who set the course for modern political philosophy. Jean-Paul Sartre had a significant influence on culture and entertainment. John Dewey is the father of modern secular education. John Lennon and his band sold more albums than any other musical band in the history of mass media. All these men were born into “Christian” families in Europe and America.
Between circa AD 400 and 1400, the Gospel of Christ invaded the entire Western world. The early Christian faith made a tremendous impact on language, art, architecture, music, education, hospitals, healthcare, charity, science, political freedoms, the treatment of women, the sanctity of life, the rejection of pagan practices (child sacrifice, widow burning, and chattel slavery). It was impossible for more than a thousand years to find any pagan practices (cannibalism, homosexuality, body mutilation, and tattoos) in Europe. These pagan practices completely vanished from Christian societies. After a while, everything began to change for the worse.
A little later, after the fifteenth century, a new religion called “Humanism” worked its way into a new mindset or outlook in the Western world. The evil influence of humanist philosophers began to mold the minds of many brilliant writers, educators, musicians, and artists. Then later, this mindset produced the trajectory for the liberal arts universities. After a hundred years or so, these concepts permeated our culture. Today, this religion is remarkably established and is thoroughly organized with institutions, buildings, ethical systems, social theories, and cultural products.
How did we get there? Through philosophical agendas that revolutionized humanist ideas and incorporated them into our lives. Next, through writers and artists who incarnated these philosophical concepts in literature and art, which were then introduced into liberal arts universities. There is no more powerful and influential way of infiltrating these concepts or new ideas in our culture than through our educational systems. How else do you suppose one could reverse all Western civilization without changing each consecutive generation of preachers, church leaders, political leaders, and teachers through our universities? For example, take how far we have strayed from our educational system of the New England Primer's first lesson, which was about God's creation to our modern lesson entitled “Heather Has Two Mommies,” a pro-homosexual curriculum for first-grade children used in our public schools.
After the fall of the Roman Empire (circa AD 475) and centralized government, smaller governments that once were friendly to Christians emerged in medieval Europe. Today, we are seeing a return to the same decentralization of information and media resources. Likewise, we are witnessing the gradual collapse of monopoly that our famous universities have had over Western thinking and economics. It is time to rebuild and reform the wrongful concepts and systems of educational thinking that make up the Western world!
Philosophers (Jean-Jacques, Rousseau, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Dewey) revived the thinking of the Greeks and Romans. They set a new direction. They drank deeply from the wells of humanists and ancient writers, developing their own kind of humanism for the Christian West, even though Christian thought and reasoning had conquered the pagan thinking from AD 475 through AD 1200.
Indeed, humanist philosophers, along with their concepts, challenge the Christian faith, leading many to misery, emptiness, and destruction. Humanism's beliefs are not built on God's Word and, therefore, will not prevail. Humanism's influence is destructive and dangerous. As Christian, we are called to battle with such absurd ideas and arguments. Notice what Paul declared,
“4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
"9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him. (Titus 3:9-10)
"8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." (Col. 2:7-8)
"20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith." (1 Tim. 6:20-21)
Therefore, we must destroy “arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” in Christ. There is no room for fear! Our only fear must be toward God. We must tear down all the unfruitful works of darkness for the love of our family, the church, and our neighbor. Humanism's ideas are exceedingly powerful and dangerous. We must battle these false ideas, understanding their philosophers' writings and the dangers shown in their worldviews.
Karl Marx and Mark Twain were talented writers who abused their talent toward wrong ends. These men openly opposed all Biblical views of Truth and ethics. For instance, Marx's ideas entirely oppose the Biblical view of history, ethics, sociology, politics, and economics. It is vital that Christians not absorb the Greeks' academic pride, skepticism, and cynicism of such philosophers. Their method of writing always communicates a wrong worldview that is not Biblical. We must be cautious! Why? Because we find ourselves in the middle of a war of ideas between Truth and error. We must be extremely careful not to partake in the unfruitful works of darkness. That's what humanism is. As the Christian faith declines and fails to engage in the battle against these false concepts, humanism wins drastically, leading many to abandon their faith with terrible consequences.
Each faithful Christian must battle all error boldly and meekly to defend and present the Truth of God (2 Timothy 4:2; 1 Thess. 2:2; 1 Peter 3:15; Eph. 4:15).
Atheism, Humanism, and Postmodernism have permeated our world, developing into a secular humanist movement and postmodern worldview. Today the church is suffering from a lack of focus on God and His Word.
II. FAITH IN MAN, NOT IN GOD:
- The Humanist Belief:
The philosophy of secular humanists is that man is an autonomous being who lives his own life, defines the limits of his own nature, and can choose and shape his own destiny via his “intellect and judgment” alone. That is, he has authority to be whatever he desires to be.
The word “autonomous” means “self-law.” Thus, an autonomous individual is a law to himself or self-governing. So, an “autonomous man” can successfully govern himself outside of other influences such as God. And though God created man with free will to choose between good and evil, God never intended for man to choose evil but rather to always choose good. Since God is the source of all goodness (Matt. 19:17), determining what is good requires forfeiting this notion of autonomy (choices outside God's will), which is error and is wrong. Therefore, the concept or notion of autonomy is a move away from God.
Ultimately, this thinking from a God-centered (theocentric) perspective of life to a man-centered (anthropocentric) view of life resulted in ensuing philosophies whose primary focus was on discarding God altogether, focusing completely on man. Such philosophies were styled as “existentialist” because they emphasized man's physical existence as a being. Physical existence is in opposition to the essence of God and His Truth.
Before modern philosophy, medieval philosophy focused on God's essence as the starting point of intellectual inquiry (religious or scientific). However, modern philosophy created a gap between religion and science. The atheistic writings of Baron D'Holbach contributed enormously to this. In fact, the D'Holbach explanation of atheism is the foundation upon which humanism rests today. Thus, contemporary humanism is the legacy of atheism. Consider the following quote:
“An atheist is someone who destroys human chimeras in order to call people back to nature, experience and reason. He is a thinker who, having meditated on matter, its properties and ways of behaving, has no reason to imagine ideal forces, imaginary intelligences or rational beings in order to explain the phenomena of the universe or the operations of nature – which, far from making us know nature better, merely make it capricious, inexplicable and unknowable, useless for human happiness.”
(Baron D'Holbach, Paul Heinrich Dietrich. System de la Nature (1770) in McGrath, Alister. The Twilight of Atheism. New York: Double Day, 2004. 30)
You see, the more mankind moves away from God, His highest Truth, and the source of all scientific truth, the more he will make his own truth and values. Thus supporting these notions, the concept of the “autonomous man.” To them, the only obvious truth is speculative truth. And of course, this generated what is called “existentialist philosophy,” where truth is subjectivity and is no longer perceived as being objective and absolute; originated from an infinite and eternal God. Their thesis states,
“The highest truth attainable for an existing individual is an objective uncertainty held fast in an appropriation-process of the most passionate inwardness.” (Kierkegaard, Soren. Concluding Unscientific Postscript. tr. David F. Swenson and Walter Lowrie. Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1968. 182)
With this statement, they make man the center for the fulfillment of truth. And any principles of morals man might have, come only from him. That is to say, that “man makes his own truth and “man makes his own values.” Therefore, God is entirely excluded from all truth. To them, the only truth is that man is entirely and fundamentally a material being that is no different than an animal. They based all this on their extensive systems of philosophy. Of course, this is accepted by humanists today!
We must understand that any philosophy system that relies on atheism and the view that man is a mere animal entails the communism of Karl Marx, the nihilism of Frederick Nietzche, and the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre. We must stress that these philosophers have but one thing in common: embrace “humanism” to support their system of philosophy. Take heed! Consider the following quotations from some of these philosophers.
“For one thing is needful: that a human being attain his satisfaction with himself – whether it be by this or by that poetry and art; only then is a human being at all tolerable to behold.” Friedrich Nietsche
“Atheism is humanism mediated with itself through the supersession of religion; communism is humanism mediated with itself through the supersession of privately property.” Karl Marx
“There is no other universe except the human universe, the universe of human subjectivity.” Jean-Paul Sartre
All these philosophers are nothing but anthropocentric (man-centered) whose philosophies are summed up in the ancient expression of Protagoras, i.e., “man is the measure of all things, of things that are that they are, and of things that are not that they are not.”
And since, according to them, there is no God, humans must set the standard for what is right and wrong, good and evil, holy and profane. Their second Humanist Manifesto supports anthropocentrism, which they derived directly from their atheistic philosophical traditions. Notice what this second Humanist Manifesto affirms:
“We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human need and interest. To deny this distorts the whole basis of life. Human life has meaning because we create and develop our futures. Happiness and the creative realization of human needs and desires, individually and in shared enjoyment, are continuous themes of humanism. We strive for the good life, here and now. The goal is to pursue life's enrichment despite debasing forces of vulgarization, commercialization, and dehumanization.” (American Humanist Association. Humanist Manifesto II. Washington D.C. 1973)
From the above thoughts, man is autonomous. He rules himself and determines his own standards in matters of morals, ethics, happiness, and the purpose and meaning of life. Notice what Corliss Lamont, a self-professed humanist and author of the book “The Philosophy of Humanism” has to say about the autonomous man:
“Third, Humanism, having its ultimate faith in man, believes that human beings possess the power or potentiality of solving their own problems, through reliance primarily upon reason and scientific method applied with courage and vision.
Fourth, Humanism, in opposition to all theories of universal determinism, fatalism or predestination, believes that human beings, while conditioned by the past, possess genuine freedom of creative choice and action, and are, within certain objective limits, the masters of their own destiny.
Fifth, Humanism believes in an ethics or morality that grounds all human values in this-earthly experiences and relationships and that holds as its highest goal the this-worldly happiness, freedom, and progress--economic, cultural, and ethical—of all mankind, irrespective of nation, race, or religion.” (Lamont, Corlis. The Philosophy of Humanism. New York: Frederich Ungar Publishing, 1949. 13)
Thus, according to Lamont, man can absolutely solve all his problems through science and human reason alone. Man is the master of his own destiny. Man has the freedom to make that destiny what he wills. And that all values of ethics and morality must come from man alone since he is solely a being materialistically grounded in earthly experience.
Evidently, their philosophy of humanism is solely grounded on materialism. It excludes or rejects heaven, hell, God, ultimate spiritual reality, and the belief that all these things are necessary to define man's nature, purpose, and ethical standards.
Their flawed philosophy, that man is autonomous to define his own morality and ethical standards, is nothing but a direct consequence of Kierkegaard's subjectivism and one of the fundamental tenets of the atheistic philosophies of Nietzche, Marx, and Sartre. Notice what they have to say about it:
“Finally, at the highest stage of morality until now, he acts according to his standard of things and men; he himself determines for himself and others what is honorable, what is profitable.” (Nietzche, Friedrich. Human, All Too Human: a Book for Free Spirits. University of Nebraska Press, 1996. 65)
“This communism, as fully developed naturalism, equals humanism, and as fully developed humanism equals naturalism; it is the genuine resolution of the conflict between man and nature, and between man and man, the true resolution of the conflict between existence and being, between objectification and self-affirmation, between freedom and necessity, between individual and species. It is the solution of the riddle of history and knows itself to be the solution.” (Karl Marx. The Economic and Philosphical Manuscripts, tr. Gregor Benton. Paris, 1844)
“This humanism, because we remind man that there is no legislator but himself; that he himself, thus abandoned, must decide for himself; also because we show that it is not by turning back upon himself, but always seeking, beyond himself, an aim which is one of liberation or some particular realisation, that man can realise himself as truly human.” (Jean-Paul Sartre. Existentialism and Humanism. tr. Philip Mairet. Brooklyn: Haskell House Publishers Ltd., 1977. 23-56)
So, according to Nietzche, man's highest stage of morality is to act according to his own standards. Marx says that humanism/naturalism is the solution to all conflicts between man and things. Sartre says that there is no other legislator but man himself; he must choose right and wrong. Thus, humanism teaches that ethics, morality, and good are what man determines or makes. And according to Nietzche, all that exists is solely man's efforts in that regard or man's power or might. As he says, “What is good?--All that heightens the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself in man.”
Sadly, contemporary humanism is born out of all these atheistic philosophies, each claiming to be humanism. From Nietzche, contemporary humanism gets is disdain for the other-worldly. From Marx, modern humanism takes the desire to solve all social problems. From Sartre, contemporary humanism gets its subjectivity concepts of what they call freedom. Therefore, humanism is nothing but a combination of atheism, subjectivism, communism, and existentialist philosophy. Period!
Humanists reject the God of the Bible and His Word. They oppose, at all cost, “Christianity.” There is nothing left to the imagination when it comes to the tenets of humanism. This system of philosophy is well defined. We must understand its goals, aims, and objectives as well as its flawed teachings. Humanism is subtle, disarming, and it is atheism. Their Human Manifesto II makes that very clear. Their Human Manifest I comprises fifteen theses covering ethics, religion, man's origin, destiny, etc. This Human Manifesto II comprises seventeen principles grouped under five major areas: religion, ethics, the individual, a democratic society, and the world community. Their writers were opponents of God and His Word. These humanists still believe that traditional theism, especially faith in the Almighty God, is unproved and outmoded faith.
They have brazenly taken aim at God, religion, the supernatural, and the gospel message with the sole intent to shoot and kill. How in the world did we give them permission to do that?! How could such humanist philosophers and forged humanist ideas have produced such social and cultural consequences that we see today?! How were they able to exert such tremendous influence over the minds and lives of billions of people around the globe?! How could a few philosophical highbrows pack such a punch? How did they gain so much influence with their destructive ideas?!
Throughout history, God has brought down civilizations such as Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Rome. The prophet Isaiah prophesied:
"Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ 11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.'" (Isaiah 46:9-11)
You see, God uses powerful evil forces and influential men to accomplish His will in the destruction of large and powerful empires that exalt themselves with pride. Our schools and universities have indoctrinated our people, especially our young, with Emerson's transcendentalism, Dewey's pragmatism, Darwin's evolutionary materialism, Nietzche's psychology, and Sartre's existentialism. And if that were not enough, a new group of cultural leaders emerged in the second half of the 20th century taking upon themselves the task of mainstreaming secular humanism into mass media and culture.
Sadly, this rampant philosophy has permeated every aspect of our life. Satan is the reason why such a philosophy of humanism has infiltrated the hearts of so many without them even knowing. This philosophy of secular or contemporary humanism has penetrated our churches, schools, and homes, as well as our minds and hearts. It has invaded completely every aspect of our lives, especially in the teaching of the Scriptures. It grieves me to see generations abandoning God's Truth and going after these man-made doctrines shifting their Christian worldview and exchanging the doctrines of God for apostasy, the abandonment of Biblical Christianity.
The evil influence of these so-called philosophers over the last few centuries is remarkable! How in the world have such a small number of men had such a powerful effect on people and cultures around the world?! The only logical answer I see is that men have rebelled against the Voice of Thunder and have willingly ignored all respect and reverence for God. When men do not recognize or accept the Voice of Thunder and His authority, that authority which rings out through His Word, it is clear that they have a profound irreverence for the Word of God. Because of that irreverence, they will attack any careful observance of social expectations of a Biblical worldview. Notice that the church is not immune from the influence of the humanist worldview. It is sad to see churches accommodating these positions and practices of humanism.
It grieves me that so many people are not aware of humanism's atrocious concepts, its teachings, its own systems of cosmology, soteriology, ethics, and even eschatology. All of it stands against the Bible. So how well can a Christian respond to such atrocious teachings? How can we, as Christians, oppose humanism? Let’s look for some answers. Let me suggest several ways that we can address this crisis today.
- Influence in Society:
- Government:
The Humanist priority is to centralize power in the state. Centralized control mechanisms in the political state, the educational programs, and the mass culture is nothing new. Since the Tower of Babel, the worldly man is inclined to build towers and make a name for himself (Genesis 11:4). The humanist man wants to be god, and he will often use the state as his surrogate to achieve this.
Nothing served this vision better than the modern democratic form of government when people discovered that they could vote to redistribute the wealth of the rich, spending other people's money on themselves. They then approved the centralization of huge pools of power and money in large governments. They hoped to trade their freedom for security and prosperity but were wrong big time. They failed to acknowledge that socialist governments, at some point, will always run out of other people's money. The promise of security and prosperity was just a pretense. The truth is that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. They have failed because they trusted in a government with huge deposits of centralized power. They were unable to acknowledge a biblical view of economics, law, government, and salvation. All this was to their disadvantage.
Humanists' supreme desire is to centralize governments. For them, patriotism and nationalism must be forfeited for the sake of developing a one-world government, or “globalism.” On the other hand, for Christians, patriotism and nationalism are logical consequences of national governments. These are produced primarily at local governing levels.
While it is true that many God-fearing people in our society still govern themselves by the Word of God, looking first to God for answers to social problems, is it not also true that our society seeks to govern itself more according to the wisdom of men and looks to state and federal governments (not to God) for answers to social problems? Would you not agree that our society is becoming more humanistic when assessed by the criterion of civil government?
The 20th-century political leaders sought to generate governments whose primary foundation was the ideas of Marx, Rousseau, Dewey, and Darwin. These leaders followed the footsteps of their great philosophers and apostate thinkers.
Without a doubt, the 20th century will always be remembered as the century of government tyranny. The 20th century brought another lethal threat to man, the omnipotent state. Philosophies of humanism formed public policy, developing into brutal tyranny under the influence of dictators such as Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler, and Pol Pot.
Our nation held a Biblical vision (centered on God) in the beginnings of the civil state in America and a strong biblically-based civil government for almost 160 years of American history. However, by the latter part of the 18th-century, politics started shifting away from the Bible as a source of law by which the government should function. Power began to flow steadily into a more centralized federal government. Progressives like newspaper editor Horace Greely (1811-1872) fought and won almost a total turnover of benevolent welfare to the state. Greely was an egalitarian humanist who saw private charity as a threat to socialism and wealth redistribution.
Now, in 1848, Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto moved forward along the printing presses in Germany. Eight decades later, at least half of Marx's socialist agenda had influenced America. By 1930, humanist socialism or statism has secured control of American politics. They began to surrender more power and money to a centralized state. Meanwhile, the state sought to control the sphere of the family significantly.
Many of these changes promoted the state as savior and sovereign. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society, and other government welfare programs have communicated one central message: to trust the state to take care of you (the citizenry). Slowly but surely, their people began to trade their liberty for the hollow promise of security. How about that!!
There is nowhere in the Bible that expects the government to relieve the poor and those in need. This way of thinking is absent from the Gospel of the New Testament. From a Christian view, the role of government is to simply punish those who do evil and praise those who do good (1 Peter 2:14). On the contrary, the Scriptures mention the Christian's interaction with the government supporting monetarily them not vice versa (Matt. 22:1; Mark 12:17, Luke 20:25; Romans 13:6-7; 1 Peter 2:17). Therefore, it is not Biblical to suggest that the public is entitled to government welfare programs. Such programs frustrate the teachings of Christ found in the Gospel. It is wrong for the government to step in and supply what the Christian must provide for himself and his loved ones. This undermines the Christian’s sacrificial offering of his faith (Phil. 2:17. 4:18).
Governmental programs supplant the church's benevolent arm and her duty to edify the saints and evangelize the lost. It is counterproductive to morality for the government to become a charitable aid society. We've seen this clearly to be true in the failed welfare system of the previous decades.
Rebellion against God is very dangerous and brings about many dangerous social implications. However, there is a limit to what political leaders can do to carry humanist notions into the mainstream. It takes something more powerful than politics to move society towards humanist ideals. And that is precisely where the cultural machines take over.
- Education:
It is a total declaration of war! Our children are under attack in the classroom day in and day out, yet many parents do not even know the war has begun!! When parents show concern about this danger, educators deny it and ridicule them. Despite their denials, it is evident that humanism is indeed the predominant philosophy or religion of modern public education.
The faculties of American colleges and universities are predominantly humanist. Most of the teachers who go out from their studies in the colleges to responsibilities in primary and secondary schools are basically humanist.
John Dewey, probably the greatest influence in modern education, endorsed the first "Humanist Manifesto." At least 33 of 58 original signers of the "Secular Humanist Declaration" were educators. Shirley Hufstetler, first secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, was on the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies board of directors.
Today, Bible stories and biblical worldview doctrines are simply not part of our children's training in our government school system. Our schools' primary curriculum avoids at all cost a biblical God. Instead, they teach their pagan religions of evolution, egalitarianism, socialism and environmentalism, new age beliefs, and ethical relativism. All gods are allowed into the pantheon, except the only true and living God who commands, “thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”
The Bible, prayer, and all references to God have been banned in school classes and activities. So what is the philosophy that dominates our schools? Humanism!!
Humanism is the dominant view among leading educators in the U.S. They set the trends of modern education, develop the curriculum, dispense federal monies, and advise government officials on educational needs. Indeed, they hold the future in their hands. As Christian taxpayers, we are paying for the overthrow of our own position.
Charles Francis Potter, an original signer of the first Humanist Manifesto and honorary president of the National Education Association, has this to say about public school education:
“Education is thus a most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American public school is a school of Humanism.” (8)
Not only are the leading educators of America promoting humanism, but so are those who write our children's textbooks. A sociology textbook on ethics states:
"There are exceptions to almost all moral laws, depending on the situation. What is wrong in one instance may be right in another. Most children learn that it is wrong to lie. But later they may learn that it is tactless, if not actually wrong, not to lie under certain circumstances." (9)
Today many leading educators no longer see their job primarily as to be teaching necessary skills. The philosophy of education has undergone a fundamental change. Educators now perceive their jobs as the complete "resocialization" of the child--the complete reshaping of his values, beliefs, and morals. Teaching is now being viewed as a form of therapy, the classroom as a clinic, and the teacher as a therapist whose job is to apply psychological techniques to shape the child's personality and values.
The question we must ask is: By what standard do these educators propose to reconstruct society, and whose morals will they teach? I can assure you they won't be Christian principles. The humanist teaching rules today and is void of absolutes; there is no basis for distinguishing between right and wrong. The only wrong is holding an absolute.
The humanist view on education is not the only threat we face today. The humanists became entrenched in the late 1960s and during the 1970s. During the eighties and nineties, we have had a new threat, the New Age movement, whose sole purpose is the influence of our young. The January/February 1983 issue of The Humanist carried this article titled "A Religion for a New Age." The author stated:
“I am convinced that the battle for humankind's future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizersof a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the sparkof what theologians call divinity in every human being. These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level preschool day care or large state university.” (20)
Humanism, as a religion, represents a real threat to our Christian heritage, but Eastern philosophical ideas, by comparison, are deadly to our way of life. A publication called Instructor Magazine carried an article entitled "Your Kids are Psychic! But they may never know it without your help." The article says that "teachers, in particular, are in a position to play an exciting role in the psychic development of children" (21). The article defines psychic ability as the practice of telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and retrocognition.
So what should parents do?
- Do your own investigating.
- Accept the fact that the primary responsibility for your child's education rests with you, the parent, not the government (Eph. 6:4; Deut. 6:49; Prov. 22:6). Choose to home educate (homeschool) your own children!
- You must be responsible, even when they are at school.
- If your child is lost because of the influence of the schools, while you did little or nothing about it, God will hold you accountable.
- Inform yourself about the kinds of humanistic teachings that are in the schools.
- Get to know the teachers in your children's school. Be a classroom assistant, etc.
- Entertainment & the Media:
- TV, Movies & Music:
Since 1900, unprecedented technological and sociological changes have resulted in new venues of communication. Powerful television and radio networks have always had a significant influence on the minds of the masses. These networks controlled the distribution of music, news, and storytelling through film and television. And while there were a few alternative sources and small Christian networks here and there, the mass of media communication was always controlled by a handful of networks. Such were heavily regulated and limited by the Federal Communications Commission.
It wasn't long before the cultural trajectory was uniform. This was true whether any young man living in Chicago, Illinois, South Dakota, or anywhere else might have access to the same music, movies, television programs, and worldview. Not to mention, this cultural machine was aided by large age-segregated public schools, teen culture, and the willing public. The timing was just right for this new media. Why? Because of the breakdown of the family and literacy. Fewer people could read Nietzche's big words with understanding, but now they didn't have to.
Mass media replaced the church and the home as a major source of information, worldview education, and cultural formation. For a thousand years, the preachers in the churches and the fathers in the homes were responsible for forming the culture. Farmer boys like Almanzo Wilder and pioneer girls like Laura Ingalls sat with their parents around the fireplace during the winter evenings. All this changed with the advent of electronic media. Today every kid has an iPhone, iPad, iPod plugged into "the matrix."
The band called Dead Kennedys recorded “Religious Vomit,” saying, “All religions make me wanna throw up. All religions make me sick.” (Christian Inquirer, 7 &8/82)
XTC recorded “Dear God,” in which a child starts a letter to God. He blames God for war, family problems, famine, disease, and death in the song. The song ends with the child saying, “if there is one thing I don't believe in, it is you, God.” (Media Update, 9 & 10/87, p.9)
News media are not off the hook either. AFA Journal and TV Guide reported that 90% of Americans believe in God or a higher power, and 80% pray regularly. Americans contribute nearly fifteen times as much money to religious groups as they spend to attend major league baseball, football, and basketball all combined. Our public institutions have become primarily non-religious. And this is exactly what humanism wants.
- The Bible Teachings:
- There is one Supreme God.
- The Bible is the Word of God.
- He demands that we obey Him.
- God will hold us accountable for the way we obey His Word.
- He will reward us according to our works.
- There is life after death, and that our present actions will determine our destiny after death.
- We must teach our faith to others since they will also be accountable to God for their actions.
- We must also teach our children that they might grow in the knowledge of God and serve Him faithfully.
- God Does Exist & The Bible is His Word:
- Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
- Psalms 14:1 - The fool has said in his heart, "there is no God."
Many Scriptures support these two conclusions. Consider them:
- Romans 1:20: “20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
- The only logical explanation for the existence of the universe and everything in it is that there is a God who made it (Psalms 19:1; Acts 14:15,17; 17:24-31).
- In Isaiah 41:21-23; 42:8,9: God often predicted the distant future in detail to prove His deity (John 13:19; Jeremiah 28:9). Man cannot predict the future infallibly (James 4:14; Proverbs 27:1).
- Bible writers did so time after time. Because they were guided by God, as they spoke (Ezekiel 26:3-14; Deuteronomy 28:15-64; Matthew 2:1-6; 21:1-9; 26:14,15; 27:9,10,38; Acts 2:24-32; Isaiah 53)
- John 20:30,31: The only logical explanation for the miracles recorded in the Bible, especially Jesus' resurrection, is that these events were brought about by God to confirm that these men were His inspired messengers.
- These events could never have happened by human ability, yet historical eyewitness testimony confirms that they occurred (John 5:36; 11:38-48; Hebrews 2:3,4; Acts 14:3; 1:3; 2:22; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8).
Did miracles really happen? It is fallacious to say that miracles have never occurred. Though many today claim fraudulent or false miracles. The Bible clearly teaches that miracles have ceased (1 Cor. 13:8-10). The Bible supports the truthfulness of those events. Many have challenged the Bible's claim for miracles. Those who question the Bible's miracles argue that no witness is credible enough to believe since there is no probability of the occurrence of miracles. For one to be open to accepting credible testimony about the existence of miracles by some, he must grant God the possibility of working in the world miraculously. If God indeed created the heavens and the earth, why would it be improbable for Him to intervene in His own creation?
Paul records in 1 Cor. 15:1-8 that the twelve apostles, a crowd of about 500, Peter, James, and of course, Paul himself all saw Jesus after His crucifixion and death. The evidence is there!
Surely we can conclude, given all the above considerations, that these men were credible witnesses and that the attacks of skeptics and atheists are not sound, strong, or logical.
Therefore, we, Christians, must stand up against the humanist philosophers and attack their ideologies with the Word of God. We must take a stand and defend the existence of God. It is our duty and love toward our Creator that mankind might be able to have a proper relationship with God; that they will follow God's example of love toward mankind since He has demonstrated His love toward us through His Son, our Lord, and Savior (John 3:16; Romans 5:8-9; Matt. 5:44-48).
It is tragic when man willingly fails to believe in the existence of God. It renders him without any real motivation to obey his Creator and treat others the way God has dealt with us.
Moreover, we must defend the resurrection of Christ earnestly. It is the paramount foundation of the New Testament, where man's manner of behavior is learned and dictated. It is also the foundation for all of Jesus' authority and Lordship (Matt. 28:18). It is the foundation for morality (Colossians 3:1-17). It is the foundation for our hope (1 Cor. 15) and eternal life (John 20:30-31). It is the foundation for final judgment (Acts 17:30-31). We must understand that Christ's resurrection is the source of authority, a biblical doctrine of inspiration that compels us to respect the inspired Word of God. The resurrection of Christ proves that man must obey and respect the Word of God, especially the Law of Christ. Without the resurrection of Christ, there would be no authoritative instruction as to how man ought to behave toward his neighbor.
Humanism has nothing to offer mankind except a bunch of failed promises, sorrow, destruction, and death. The autonomous man is constantly destroying both his life and the lives of others. No wonder our Lord Jesus said, “25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt. 16:25)
- Man Must Trust in God and Not Himself:
- Genesis 1:26,27; chap. 3: Man was created good but sinned and became corrupt.
- Matthew 7:13,14; Romans 3:23: All people have committed sin throughout history, and most have lived generally corrupt lives.
- Wars, hatred, crime, and immorality have characterized people of all time periods. These should not be blamed on God, but on people who choose to disobey God (Romans 5:12; 1 John 1:8-10; Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9).
- It follows that man cannot solve his problems himself. He must trust in God's wisdom to guide him.
- Proverbs 14:12: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."
- Proverbs 3:5,6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Does the Bible contain the solution to mankind's problems? Yes! Of course, the solution does not come through government-imposed laws but through man's application of God's Divine Truth revealed in the New Testament Gospel of Christ. The Word of God provides everything man needs to be complete. It does not provide a solution that relies on the government to erase humanity's problems and bring peace and prosperity to the world. In fact, Jesus said the poor will always be with us. Eradicating poverty is impossible!! (Matt. 26:11) You can make all men poor, but you can not make all men rich. Why? Simply because the root of these problems is sin. It does not help to indulge those who fall into sin.
The solution to all social problems rests on the teachings of the revealed Word of God, the Gospel of His Son. That is why we must teach men the will of God for their lives. It is the only way we may live in a society with less sin and more righteousness. There is no other way!
- One man coveting his neighbor's possessions (it is the foundation for materialistic consumerism).
- One man committing adultery with another man's wife (causes divorce, broken homes, and scarred children).
- One man committing fornication (causes teenage pregnancy, venereal diseases, psychological traumas).
- When murderers, thieves, and rapists are not punished the way they should be, lawlessness and anarchy increase in society.
Humanism says we should reject the idea of God and solve our problems ourselves. This idea is not new. Only the name is new. Trusting in self has been the primary attitude of men throughout history, and it has always led to tragedy. Trusting in self is not the solution to man's problems but the cause of them! (Romans 1:20-32)
We still need to consider the other tenants (beliefs) of Humanism, such as Evolution and Materialism, Situational Ethics, and Sexual Permissiveness. When we have finished this discussion, we need to consider the necessary conclusions that reasonable men will have to draw. Part Two will immediately follow.
Luci
