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Thank God, I'm a Humanist
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It was at a pool party for the restaurant where I worked, that
I began to notice how nice it was being a Christian Humanist.
At this party, a group of hardworking people gathered away from
the restaurant and talked about ... the restaurant. Now this isn’t
bad, it’s just sad. The only thing that draws this group of
people together is the restaurant where they work. This may be one
reason patriotic themes are so popular. They unite people from a
thousand walks of life in a sense of honor and homage to their homeland.
Likewise, catastrophes have the same binding effect. People who
would never orbit the same strata are now side by side helping and
comforting the wounded and hurting.
The desire for unity goes beyond this. It extends to every area
of life when you think about it. From sport teams, gangs, political
parties, ethnicities, to religion, people desire to belong, to be
a part of something bigger then themselves.
At the local stadium you could easily find a corporate executive
in a tieless Armani next to a wino with toothless dentures giving
each other high fives and pats on the back. In any other situation
the only thing exchanged would be a quarter.
So what does it tell us, this desire to be a part of something
big... really big.
C.S. Lewis writes that we desire God because He exists. We couldn’t
desire Him unless He exists. One can’t desire a hubblescantriwan
(hint: I just made it up), but one can lust and salivate for a hot
dog (these two things have their similarities, though; the first
no one knows what it is, and the second no one knows what its made
of).
That’s why I find it a pleasure to be a Christian and an
American. But I’ll go a step further and say that’s why
I’m glad to be a humanist. Now this seems to be an untenable
position for a Christian, especially since Webster’s dictionary
defines humanism as "any system seeking to advance mankind,
especially without recourse to the supernatural." But I am
unwilling to yield this ground. For too long secular humanists,
scientists and arrogant snobs have held the ground that they alone
care about humanity. "Religious folk care only for the pie
in the sky, I care for the suffering man in the here and now. "
Forget for a moment whether or not there is a hereafter (which
as Pascal noted is a safer bet to bet on the hereafter - if you’re
wrong you merely die, as opposed to the man who bets that there
isn’t a hell). Let’s consider only the here and now. Suppose
that the man, Jesus of Nazareth was merely human and nothing more.
His teachings on the hereafter and beyond here were a large part,
if not his entire mission. But in this mission he taught many other
things. Revolutionary ideas calling for sacrificial love, forgiveness,
loving enemies and turning the other cheek. CS Lewis would contend
with this thought. He writes "any honest man will believe the
claims of Christ if they are true, even if it is no earthly good,
while any honest man would refuse them no matter how much good they
were if they were false."
I cede this point to Mr. Lewis, but I would add that in the effort
to "advance humanity" who here is really honest?
If all we are are accidents of evolution then why not do what
the French musak group Bloodhound Gang suggest; "you and me,
baby, ain't nothing but mammals, so let's do it like they do on
the Discovery Channel."
How ennobling. Allowing mankind to sink to such hedonistic lows,
regardless of whether or not this should be our natural state, is
so anti-ennobling. We are not honest, otherwise we would let each
of our fellow mammals live their short puny lives in utter disregard
of the consequences - because honestly there aren’t any. "...
for tomorrow we die" Let’s be dishonest. Life is awesome
and as a humanist, I want to raise humanity to a noble and glorious
state. A state where there is peace, prosperity and joy. A realm
where the streets are literally paved with gold. Why do I desire
such a place? I have no idea. Will you pass me the hot dogs and
hubblescantriwans. Nevertheless I want this place. A heaven on earth.
For that is what every humanist desires. But we also want something
more. We want to be the gods of this realm.
A dishonest humanist is someone who's concern drives them to find
the answers to the ills and ailments that rule and destroy peoples
lives. That is why I thank God, I'm a humanist. A Christian humanist.
I am a humanist in the sense that I want the betterment of people,
of humans. My concern is for humans. I hate war, violence, poverty,
famine, deceit, and injustice. I hate the genocides that are occurring
in Serbia, Kosovo and the Sudan. I hate the murder of religious
people in China, the Middle East and the strife that exists between
people of all religions.
In a way the greatest humanist is humanities creator. The Creator
who lived among us and gave his life so that we could live forever.
Talk about life insurance and working for a better tomorrow. But
his effects reach from the eternal or other-worldly to the here
and now.
So what did this great humanist seek? Mere pie in the sky? Hardly.
He sought a world were the lion would literally lay down with the
lamb. For Jesus is called the prince of peace and this prince spouted
a philosophy (as George W. Bush rightly asserted) that brings peace,
love, forgiveness. A literal heaven on earth.
The only catch is that this heaven can only be had by submitting
and seeking help from the supernatural. Jesus said that if we "seek
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness then all of these
things (previous verse mentioned family, possessions, and peace)
shall be added unto you."
A secular humanist, therefore is a limited humanist. To a certain
extent an emasculated humanist, but still noble they'll admit. The
only problem is that they rule out God, or the divine in there search
for answers. This is fine if there is no God, but if there is then
the secular humanist has cut off a very valuable resource. One might
say an all powerful resource. And in so rejecting, have forfeited
their claims of concern for humanities welfare and betterment.
Take the doctor who resists prescribing penicillin, because of
its miraculous powers, preferring instead to bleed his patient.
If he had not known any better, than he can be forgiven, if he had
known then he is a monster.
I know humanists may think it unfair, my stealing their thunderous
moniker, but let's be dishonest. If the welfare of humanity is our
real concern, then we should not be so proud as to resist seeking
help. Wherever its source.
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