Preaching the Faith of Secular Humanism

Is Secular Humanism a religion?

“Saying secularism is a belief system is like saying not going skiing is a hobby.” Ricky Gervais

In the previous blog we discussed a christian blogger called Abounding Joy. In an article entitled Preaching the Faith of Secular Humanism, the author proposed that secular humanism is a faith-based religion. Let’s see how he justifies that claim.

AJ: Since secular humanists do not believe in God, obviously they do not believe in a Creator.

MTP: Since secular humanists do not believe in gods, obviously they would not believe in any of the creation stories from all over the world. Many of those creation stories are no less believable than the one found in Genesis. The most common variety of “special creationism” asserts that, the Earth is very young, all life suddenly appeared and was created by God or gods, no organism has changed since the creation and different life forms were designed to function in particular settings.

 

 

For example, secularists would not believe that the Mayan God Tepeu the maker and Gucumatz the feathered spirit created the world with their thoughts and created man out of corn. Neither would they believe that Yahweh create the world in six days with his words and created man out of dust.

 

 

AJ: Secularists hypothesize (in spite of strong scientific evidence to the contrary) that life simply sprang into existence, through a process of chance events. Higher life forms came into existence, they believe (again in spite of strong evidence to the contrary) through the process of biological evolution.

MTP: Some Christians hypothesize (in spite of strong scientific evidence to the contrary) that the universe, the earth and everything in it were magically created in six days by a supernatural deity around 6,000 years ago. Scientists, on the other hand, have used scientific methodology to conclude that there is strong scientific evidence to support the hypothesis that life sprang into existence through a process of chance events. Secularists believe that evolution is based on strong scientific evidence, and that higher life forms came into existence, through a very long process of biological evolution.

AJ: Secularists believe these things on the basis of faith, as many of the more honest scientists who are evolutionists have admitted.

MTP: Many Christians believe the six-day creation story as it appears in Genesis to be 100% historically accurate. This belief is solely based on faith, as many of the more honest christians who claim to be creationists have admitted.

AJ: Many scientists who are evolutionists have explained that to believe in a supernatural God is not “scientific” (in their minds). Therefore, they hypothesize evolution to explain the existence of life. They hope to find evidence to support their hypothesis, but so far, the vast predominance of evidence points to a Designer Creator.

MTP: Many people, including scientists, have concluded that to believe in a supernatural God is not “scientific. Therefore, they would also hypothesize that the creation story as found in Genesis is also not based on science. Because science cannot now and probably never will be able to explain the ultimate origin or destiny of the universe, it leaves room for reasonable people to hypothesize about the origin of the natural universe. Scientists believe the universe to be the result of an extremely long and complex evolution under immutable laws of nature. There continues to be a vast predominance of evidence that points in that direction. On the other hand, Christians explain the existence of life in supernational terms. They hope to find evidence to support their creation hypothesis, but so far, no evidence exists that points to a designer creator.

AJ: Since, to secular humanists, God does not exist, any appeal to His authority would be considered to be foolish. The only authority that secular humanists appeal to is the authority of men who are perceived to be highly educated, brilliant, and wise.

MTP: Since, to secular humanists, gods do not exist, any appeal to the authority of an imaginary god, would indeed be considered foolish and futile. It is accurate that some secular humanists are highly educated, brilliant, and wise. Unlike theists, secularists do not feel the need to submit themselves to some higher authority, such as a pastor, a priest, a prophet, or a pope. Neither would a secularist recognize the authority of a supernatural deity.

AJ: Secular humanists believe the Bible to be simply a book of human traditions and ideas. To them, it has no authority. The only writings that have authority for them would be the writing of men whom they perceive to be especially brilliant and wise.

MTP: Secular humanists rightly believe that the Bible is simply a book of human traditions and ideas. Despite what christianity teaches, the bible is not inerrant, nor infallible. It contains errors, discrepancies, and contradictions. In addition, some of the stories found in its pages are truly disturbing. Secularists believe that, like the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, the bible contains some wisdom, but also, like the writings of Marcus Aurelius, the bible certainly has no authority to direct our lives. Secularist most certainly appreciate brilliant and wise men (and women) but would not agree that they have authority over them or anyone else. The writings of prominent secularists might be widely circulated and well read, but other secularists would not consider those writings as having authority over them.

AJ: Secular humanists generally reject the concepts of moral absolutes and of “sin.”

MTP: Secular humanists generally have strong concepts of objective moral absolutes which are not based on biblical teachings. Sin has been defined as “breaking, violating, or rebelling against God’s divine law by any thought, word, desire, action, or omission of action which leads to eventual death“. Secularists would reject such a concept that is based on offending a supernatural deity. Conversely, humanists stand for the building of a more humane, just, compassionate, and democratic society using an ethics based on human reason, experience, and reliable knowledge. They would judge the consequences of their actions by the well-being of all life on Earth.

AJ: In a situation in which Christians might see a need for repentance and forgiveness and forsaking sinful behavior, secular humanists would more likely see a need for every person to decide for himself what is right or wrong, and to try to build personal self-esteem regardless of an individual’s behavior.

MTP: Christian beliefs, which are strictly based on the bible, frequently put them in the situation where they feel guilty that they have “missed the mark” and somehow offended their God. For these offenses they must seek repentance and forgiveness for their “sinful” behavior” in order to stay in “right standing” with God. Their feelings of unworthiness are all part of a never-ending performance-based religion that often (daily) results in personal guilt and shame, rather than personal self-esteem and value. Humanists would not subscribe to such a guilt-based lifestyle, nor does their self-esteem come from pleasing a supernatural deity. Humanists would not say that every person gets to decide for themselves what is right or wrong. “It is possible to reject the religious concept of sin and still maintain strong moral values, beliefs and opinions.” *

AJ: While a Christian’s goals are determined by God and are influenced by the reality of an eternity after this life has passed, the secular humanist goals are entirely focused on this present physical existence.

MTP: A Christian’s goals are determined by the belief in an imaginary God and are influenced by “pie in the sky” stories of pearly gates and an eternity of blissful servitude. Such goals, which are not based on reality, have little or no connection to the real world, making them essentially moot and irrelevant. However, humanists derive their goals from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions. They assert that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny rather than relying on “pie in the sky” dogma. Such reality-based goals have a better chance of success in creating the “best possible life for everyone”, not just for “the chosen”.

End notes

*This comes from an essay by Phil Zuckerman entitled Atheism, Secularity and Well-Being.

Coming next:

In the next blog we’ll take a deeper dive to find out more about the author of Abounding Joy. We discovered that he spent 29 years as a public-school classroom teacher. We will look at what subjects he taught and why he believes it was his right to teach his “captive audience” about his faith in the supremacy of God, despite, of course, the first amendment.

 

From Where I Stand

Dale Crum