Man Over God (1)
What Is Humanism?

…the man of sin…the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thes. 2:3, 4).

Humanism is a philosophy and religion that puts man over God.  It holds that man is the highest authority and has the answers to life’s problems.  Hence, it is atheistic and arrogant.  How could anyone believe man has the answers when man is the one creating the problems?  Only the blindly arrogant man.  Humanism is ungodly and unstable.  With man as the standard of right and wrong, all types of immorality are permissible; and the standard changes from one generation to the next.

Humanism has had a tremendous impact on our nation.  It has pushed its doctrine aggressively and effectively, mainly through the public education system.  This was their stated objective in 1933 when they published the first Humanist Manifesto.

Religious humanism maintains that all associations and institutions exist for the fulfillment of human life…Certainly religious institutions, their ritualistic forms, ecclesiastical methods, and communal activities must be reconstituted as rapidly as experience allows, in order to function effectively in the modern world.

As noted in the quote, they view it as a religion.  In their official magazine, The Humanist, one author wrote the following about their evangelism.

I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by the teachers who correctly perceive their role as proselytizers of a new faith…These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preacher, 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 education level—preschool day care or large state university” (Dumphry, John, “A New Religion For A New Age,” The Humanist, Jan/Feb. 1983, p. 26, as quoted by James P. Needham in Florida College Annual Lectures 1985, pp. 13, 14).

As a religion, humanism has many denominations through which it works.  Nearly every institution of higher education is dominated by humanists.  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Organization for Women (NOW), Planned Parenthood, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) are all rabidly humanistic.

Humanism is not new, however.  It has been around for thousands of years, though it was not known as “humanism.”  In the next article we will look at the fact that humanists were around in ancient times and how their modern descendants are just like them.

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 1:9

Showtime
Worship In The Age of Showbusiness
By Dan Chambers