ARE YOU DISTURBED BY HUMANISM?

Robert L. Waggoner[1]

 

Some time ago I talked by telephone with an elder of a church in another state. He told me that humanism was no problem in his community. His implication was that Christians in that community were not disturbed by humanism because so far as he knew it had not come to that community.

My response is that whether or not humanism is recognized by any Christians in a given community, it is there! Not only does humanism exist in every community in America, it is also there regulating most individual and community conduct in all areas of life, whether social, civil, political, educational, or otherwise. The fact is – most people today do not even realize the existence of this primary contemporary philosophical enemy of Christianity. How can Christians effectively oppose an enemy they do not even know exist? When Christians know its characteristics, its methods of operation, and its consequences, then Christians will he much more capable of effectively opposing it.

Many preachers are now gaining a growing awareness of humanism, and some elders are also becoming aware of its existence, but most Christians in the pews are NOT yet adequately informed about it. Of church leaders who are aware of humanism, not many are really knowledgeable. The fact is - a majority of professing Christians are practicing many anti-Christian values of humanism today without even knowing it.

Humanism is neither new nor recent. However, its popular recognition by the name of humanism is comparatively recent. It has been known previously and in other forms by the more familiar names of secularism, naturalism, and materialism. (While many are familiar with those terms, many do not know what is meant by them.) Other terms, like hedonism, which is old, and feminism which is comparatively new, are also barely understood, while another designation, statism, is practically unknown by most Christians today. (One form of statism is communism, a totally humanistic and totalitarian form of civil government - as is also fascism.) All these terms - secularism, naturalism, materialism, statism, feminism, and hedonism - describe various aspects of humanism. And there are also other designations. That’s because humanism comes in many forms. They are all allied, and they are all anti-Christian. They are all forms of belief which regulate human behavior, both individually and collectively, and permeate every area of society, whether home, school, business, politics, the arts, major professions, or whatever - even the church!

It was in the late 70s that I first became aware of the existence of humanism. I well remember how I felt when I first read from one of our brotherhood publications that in the battle for the minds of men, humanism had already confronted Christianity in America, and humanism had WON! I couldn’t believe it. Here I was a preacher, and I hadn’t even heard of humanism. (Of course, Christianity is not dead in America. Christian values may yet arise and overcome humanistic values, but for the moment, the values of humanism are far more influential in America - in politics, in education, in major professions, in industry, in civil governments - in values by which Americans live, than are Christian values. Christianity is still influential, but humanism now occupies the high ground.) It’s true. Believe it.

Do you want evidence? Then look at the symptoms of humanism. They are all around us. Around a million and a half unborn babies are murdered by abortion every year. A third of all pregnancies in America end by abortion. The United States has the highest divorce rate in the world. A third of all children in America will have spent part of their childhood in a single parent divorced family. Divorce is the primary cause for the rise of poverty in this nation. Two thirds of all Americans no longer hesitate to gamble. Pornography has become an extremely large underground multi-billion dollar industry. Alcohol and other drug abuse continues rampant. Homosexual conduct is becoming acceptable as an alternative lifestyle. Euthanasia is also growing in social acceptance. Taxes, in one form or another, now take over forty percent of all family income in America. Parental authority for the nurturing, disciplining, and training of children is eroding as government agencies seek control over the lives of children. And the list could go on and on.

You see these things plainly. They portray the moral deterioration of America. These things demonstrate the results of humanism. Humanism is the primary philosophical worldview that has made these things prevalent in America.

While most Americans have not consciously rejected Judeo-Christian moral values nor consciously endorsed humanism, most Americans, including professed Christians, are generally indifferent and apathetic to the rise of humanistic influences. Humanism is now in control of all major professions such as law, medicine, media, the arts, entertainment, education, the social sciences, psychology, etc., and most levels and agencies of civil governments whether executive, legislative, or judicial. Humanism is indeed the dominant value system now operative in every community in America.

When I first became aware of these things I began to speak about them from the local pulpit. With growing frequency I spoke on various aspects of humanism and related topics. However, my growing convictions, and some circumstances which I now regard as providential, finally moved me to leave the local pulpit and to make myself available to speak about these things to much wider audiences.

Most folks are not much interested in humanism. They are interested, however, in their Christian homes. When I preach about humanism, I show how humanism now destroys many Christian homes and damages many others. That makes humanism relevant and significant to everyone. Most of my messages are not philosophical. They are informative and practical. Christian homes are made better by an awareness of outside forces now attacking them, and by the ability to counter attack with much greater effectiveness.

This ministry is a non-profit educational program. The purposes of this ministry are two-fold: to inform Christians about contemporary philosophical enemies of Christianity, how they operate and how they can be defeated by Christians; and to activate Christians not only to contend verbally for the faith, but also to be actively involved in policy making procedures and decisions effecting individual and community conduct, whether socially, politically, educationally, or otherwise.

If brethren where you live and worship do not think their lives are influenced by humanism, then they need to be informed. If brethren in your congregation do not recognize the existence of humanism all around them, then they need to be shown. If brethren do not understand the beliefs of humanism and how those beliefs result in immoral conduct, then they need to become knowledgeable. If your fellow Christians do not know what they should do to overcome humanism’s influence against their Christian homes, or how they should proceed in this battle, then, as a first step, you and the brethren where you worship need to invite me to present a seminar at your congregation.