What Christians Ought to Know About Humanism
Not long ago, I had an email conversation with an old friend of mine who is a Christian evangelist. (Yes, I know, how is THAT even possible? Long story, but let's just say that, while we have very different beliefs, we've come to respect each other...and I think we just enjoy challenging each other's views)
Well, the topic of Hedonism came up, and it occurred to me that my old friend was having trouble distinguishing between the vast difference between Hedonism and the best label I have found to date to describe my personal life stance--Humanism.
So, I thought I would share some of that conversation as a way to let some light into what Humanism is to me:
Hedonism is a philosophy of making life ALL
about pursuing the immediate gratifications of carnal pleasures, which is VERY different
from Humanism. Humanism is not against enjoying carnal pleasure, but the Humanistic life
stance puts some basic limits on when it's appropriate to do so:
1. We should not indulge in any carnal pleasures that hurt others, or which involves
others or puts others at risk without their full, informed consent. Carnal pleasures of
this sort are never OK.
2. Life should be about living it to the fullest, which means, making the most of our
talents and opportunities; finding out what our dreams are and working hard to make them
come true; and doing our part to make this world a better place than it was before we came
along. So, sometimes, we Humanists will defer immediate gratification, carnal or
otherwise, for a greater one later on (no, not in some next life, but maybe not the same
day, week, month or year of this life) like going to college to get a degree, researching
for a book, gathering evidence for a scientific discovery, practising to learn how to play
an instrument. The list is endless.
Carnal pleasures, when carried on in a balanced and responsible way, are great, but real
joy comes mostly from having completed a good work, fought and defeated an evil, bringing
healing and help to others in need, etc. A party to celebrate afterwards is great, but
life is not ALL about partying.
Some Christians attack Humanism, saying that it "glories Man instead of God."
But I would not put it that way. Humanism simply recognizes that, if anything is going to
get better for us and all the rest of the world, it is the responsibility of us humans to
make it happen. "Glory" (which, I gather is just a religious sounding way of
saying "broad recognition") for what good we do might come some day, but only to
the extent we, as a species, get down to the business of taking good care of ourselves and
our world. As a Humanist, I embrace that responsibility, and do not shirk it off by
waiting for some deity to do every thing for me, for humanity, and the environment, while
I passively do nothing. Humanism isn't about "worshipping Man," but it's about
Humans (women and men) taking better care of ourselves and the one, precious world we know
we have.
Another attack on Humanism by some Christians is that we claim human nature is basically
good (of course, they would say humans are "evil" by nature, having fallen from
grace when Adam sinned in the garden of Eden). Again, I wouldn't put it that way about the
basic moral state of human nature, not in terms of "good" or "bad."
Instead, I would say that human nature evolved into what it is today, generally speaking,
in response to our needs to survive in the ancient world we evolved from and lived in for
millions of years. What is often thought of as "bad" about us now is when our
natural inclinations fail to help us survive better in the modern world, which has so
dramatically changed in such a short time. Way too short for Natural Selection to have had
time to change us accordingly.
Some Christians say that Humanism is against the Bible, and therefore, against "the
real truth." However, I would say that the burden of proving that any or all of the
words in the Bible are true lies on the shoulders of those who make this claim.
But we don't really hear anyone providing proof in terms of objective, verifiable...in
other words, scientific evidence, that that any of the miraculous claims of the bible are
true. Instead, we mostly hear only unsubstantiated claims. Sure, one can make such claims
with a very authoritative voice, and sure, a LOT of people will respond to the
authoritative manner in which these claims are made. An authoritative voice or manner of
delivery doesn't make it true. Something is either true or not, regardless of how
authoritatively it's presented or how many believe.
So, the real question is "How to know what's really true?" And what I have found
is that the best way to know the truth is through Science! A scientist is someone who
says, "Prove it! Show me the hard evidence." We would say that the Doubting
Thomas of gospel fame did the right thing, he didn't believe until he saw for himself.
On the other hand, if one subscribes to "Believing is seeing," then guess what,
you open yourself up to being fooled! And this is particularly difficult to do sometimes,
especially when we want to believe something, such as there being life after
death, or that those who do very bad things in this life, and who seem to get away with
it, will for sure be punished in a next world.
But if we will hold back our emotions--which can easily be manipulated so we'll swallow
whole what we want to be true--for what IS true, regardless of whether we want it to be or
not, and you demand proof, then we are much more likely to get to the real truth.
This is why I say "Doubt saved me!" Not only do I not believe until I see, but
even then, I continue to question, just on the off chance that someone is trying to trick
my vision with smoke and mirrors. I encourage doubt, challenge, questions...because in
this way, we are much more likely to find whatever cracks there in the foundation of any
assertion.
That which survives challenges, doubts, questions is most likely the real truth. Any claim
short of that is shaky.
But religion does just the opposite. Religion is afraid of challenge, doubt and question.
And for good reason!
Deep down, religion knows it cannot stand up to scientific inquiry, and that on the day
all of us humans demand hard evidence to back up any claim before we sign onto it, is the
day religion will die. Frankly, I long for that day, and the sooner the better!