I wrote the following short essay in long-hand on January 1, 2005.

I need to preface this by saying that it was written as a stream of consciousness, with very little stopping along the way. I'd only really worked out the first sentence or two before putting pen to paper. I realize I'm making large leaps in some places, but ... hey, you get what you pay for.

I've stewed on it off and on over the past few months and I'm still not sure what I think of it. I'd been reading about Erasmus and humanism, and thinking about how things had progressed from the Erasmian sense of humanism into the "secular humanism" of today. Particularly, I'd been considering the thought that secular humanism has essentially become a religion in its own right. I freely admit I'm rather separated from such things in my day-to-day context, and that some of my understanding of "secular humanism" is based on stereotypical (and thus perhaps erroneous) conceptions.

I've gone back and forth (and back, and forth, and back again) on whether I should post it, but I'm feeling bold right now, so here it is. Feel free to leave comments to tell me what you think.

Ok, that's enough with the disclaimers. On with the show.

Humanism as Religion

Self-determination, self-preservation and no self-condemnation combine to empower man. These convince him that he has no need of God. For when man is his own source of knowledge, his own source of power, and his own source of authority, he has truly replaced God.

Man needs God for atonement. Man needs God for redemption. Man needs God for salvation. When man has devised a system to provide these qualities, he has truly replaced God.

Man removes his need for atonement, redemption and salvation by removing sin from his nature. First man posits a "blank state" at birth; waiting to be filled. Next the humanistic doctrine of innate goodness convinces man that goodness and purity (the non-judgmental humanistic equivalents of atonement and redemption) are available inside of all with simple application of effort.

Man relies on science as the sole basis of knowledge. Man relies on his own posited "innate goodness" to provide moral guidance.

Man is doomed.

Man needs God. We will die without Him.

We have become too smart for our own good. We have forsaken faith in an effort to become omniscient on our own. We have dethroned God and replaced him with rationality. We have deduced our way down an erroneous chain of logic and ended up wholly corrupt.

In denying God and enthroning reason we have taken the ultimate final step. We have enshrined reason as a god and forsaken Christ.

Christians must persevere in these days. Faith is simply that: faith. Faith is not holding to obvious falsehoods in the light of overwhelming evidence; faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you cannot see.

Humanism and its enshrined reason have betrayed this. These presuppose that all is rational and all is knowable; that through the application of reason and intellect man can do whatever he chooses. Thus there is no mystery. If a problem arises -- trivial or serious -- rational man believes he can address it adequately.

This is the sin of Adam and Eve.

We have come full circle.

Come, Lord Jesus. Come.