The Deceit Of Humanism

Everything that God created has a purpose which is an assignment from God. Everything created was made to bring glory to God. Everything we do should result in the praise and glorification of God. Like everything else, we were created by Him and for Him. Have you ever made something which spoke back to you and refused to do what you created it to do? Now, I understand that you may have made something that didn’t work, but the keyword in my question is “refused.”

When I was in the Cub Scouts we were given a project to make billfolds for ourselves. When I completed the task, I was proud of the little billfold that I had made - it even had my initials on it. The purpose of the billfold was to carry money, identification and whatever else you needed and didn’t want to lose. Now, my little billfold carried out it’s purpose very well, though I never had much money to carry in it.

But what if it refused to do what I had made it to do? What if it refused to carry my money and decided for itself that it preferred to carry peanut butter? What a mess that would be! And not only a mess, but it would be extremely frustrating to find that my money was always gone.

This analogy may sound a little silly, but the Apostle Paul used a similar example, -“Who are you, O man, who answers back to God? For who resists His will? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? Or does not the Potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?” (Romans 9:20-21)

One concept that stands in opposition to the truth that all things are created and have been given the assignment to bring glory to the Creator God, is the philosophy of humanism. Since I will be discussing this subject in this article, I will include here the opening statement of the First Humanist Manifesto.

“The time has come for widespread recognition of the radical changes in religious beliefs throughout the modern world. The time is past for mere revision of traditional attitudes. Science and economic change have disrupted the old beliefs. Religions the world over are under the necessity of coming to terms with new conditions created by a vastly increased knowledge and experience. In every field of human activity, the vital movement is now in the direction of a candid and explicit humanism.

In order that religious humanism may be better understood we desire to make certain affirmations which we believe the facts of our contemporary life demonstrate. There is a great danger of a final, and we believe fatal, identification of the word religion with doctrines and methods which have lost their significance and which are powerless to solve the problem of human living in the Twentieth Century. Religions have always been means for realizing the highest values of life. . .

We hold that the universe exists for no purpose. We are the result of a blind and random process that does not necessitate any kind of meaning. Life is only worth living if we ourselves make it worthwhile and enjoyable. . .We maintain that no objective or universal values exist. A person may be moral if he or she creates a system of values and lives according to them. We maintain that no one is obligated to be moral. Obviously, if no moral absolutes exist, you can’t demonstrate that anything is wrong or evil. Thus, in a humanist society, no one can really judge or condemn the choices or actions of others.”

Do you recognize any of this? If you look at the state of Europe and of America today, I think you would agree that the western world has succumbed to the philosophy of humanism. Unfortunately, this thinking is not regulated to the world but has crept into the Christian Church. Modern Christianity is permeated with humanism. It seems everything we do is designed for our fellow man. We are so afraid to offend the sinner we forget that our holy God is offended by their rebellion against His will and purpose for their lives. Today, you will find far more Christians who are more sympathetic towards sinners than toward the Creator who made them or the Savior who gave His life to save them.

The love of God is designed to turn sinners from their wicked practices, yet many conclude that God will accept them just as they are. The truth is, God created people for life, and sinners stand in stark opposition to their Creator.

By ignoring God and living in their sins, they deny God the works of His own hands and the love He so deserves. He gave them life, they lost it in their sins, so He gave His only Son to pay for their crimes, and yet the sinner chooses to live in death. This grieves the heart of God and denies Jesus the reward of His suffering. As the children of God, we should grieve for our Father, our Savior and the sinner who loves his sin, while remembering that God has done all He can do, and if the sinner will not repent he deserves to die in the Lake of Fire.