Humanism Has Failed
ByThe Lost Soul of Humanism
One of the sadist statements made by humanists is to deny that human beings incline toward lawlessness. It is extraordinary when one considers recent history, and indeed current events, when human behaviour becomes so obnoxious as to provide no alternative explanation for its cause. The terror and purges of the communist movement where literally millions upon millions have died within countries that have embraced its philosophy has baffled historians and political scientists. Pol Pot murdered 31% of the entire population of Cambodia in the late seventies, and currently in North Korea killing still goes on, with compulsory worship of its leaders. Germany was a civilised society, but within a few years embraced teachings that led millions of Jews into the gas chambers, also putting to death through the concentration camp system its own citizens who dared to criticise the new morality of fascism.
The teachings of the Bible challenge the humanist position that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ behaviour, and man is just another animal along a continuous pathway of evolution. In such a culture if necessary he is disposable, and justifies euthanasia expressed in abortion, and the so-called mercy killing of the very sick and elderly. The abandonment of any controls to suppress pornography, the belittling of sexual ethics, including the nurture of homosexual lifestyles and destruction of traditional marriage also emerges from the secularist opinion that man has absolute control over his destiny.
It is extraordinary how the fallacies of evolution on which secularism is based are held with religious fervour by otherwise intelligent academics and other intellectuals. For example, the system of dating rocks along a geological timescale is closely linked to fossil records that are placed within an evolutionary timetable. The geological age has to conform to the fossils theory and not the other way round! All this is evidence is that man is in natural rebellion against the laws of God.
The Power of Law
Within the Western World one may look at any of the arts and recognise a deterioration away from loveliness and order towards ugliness and disorder . This is not confined to love purity and family life but within business and even political life. When the principle of absolutes of right and wrong are allowed to be filtered away at the level of government, the rest of the country will progress in the same direction. How does this work? Imagine a government decreeing that making profits without reference to social considerations is the national priority. It then signals this policy through direct or indirect legislation, and the principle is interpreted in turn by the courts. Because there is no natural innate goodness among business executives to hold a social conscience such a legal framework will rapidly encourage ruthlessness. Profit will come first, whatever the consequences to others. Some would suggest the UK and international banking system is within this category.
There are checks and balances imposed by governments to restrain some manifestations of lawlessness, such as criminalising predators of children through internet chat rooms, and holding images of children on the computer. Yet simultaneously pornography is permitted in its grossest form within all the media, including television, even though the routes of sexual abuse can be often traced to such material. Because there are no legal constraints in place explicit and grotesque violence with video games shared by groups of children over the internet create normality for such behaviour in real life, and are then associated with violence and murders committed by young teenagers. The hunger by young people for increasingly evil game activity reflects this fallen nature. Relaxation of gaming laws and extending the opening hours of public houses has rapidly brought about changes of behaviour destructive to individuals, families and communities.
The power to strengthen or weaken ethical standards therefore ultimately lies with government through the imposition of law and policy disseminated through the cascade of civil servants down to the local geographical and individual level. If the law assumes man is basically good and does not contain restrictions, then a whole population can exploit the legal weaknesses and move further down the corruption and lawlessness pathway.
Natural Rejection
There is a passage in the letter of Paul to the Galatians that highlights this natural principle of stubborn rejection of God-based morality. It is called ‘the flesh’ or ‘godless human nature’, and illustrates the natural inclination of the heart unless it is held back by social custom reinforced by law. The passage lists immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, divisions, party spirit, envy drunkenness, carousing and so on (verses 20,21 Amplified Bible). Another passage in the letter of Paul to the Romans clearly states that each person alive has no excuse for rejecting the evidence of God, because ‘The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen…so that they are without excuse’ (Chapter 1,verse 20).
It can therefore hardly be a surprise for whole countries to descend into brutality, immorality, confusion and suffering if its leadership is determined to follow systems of control that widen the parameters of right and wrong so that human nature can take advantage. In the past, western civilisation has been defined as such not just by freedom of speech and democratic process, but through a network of disciplines that subtly but firmly restrain outward behaviour across society. In the background has been common law and ongoing legislation that curbs evildoing and encourages what is good, with biblical ethical principles embedded as the touchstone.
Another element in national decline is little taken notice of but also is important to record, which is the existence of a fallen angel called Satan, whom Jesus Christ described as the prince, or ruler of this world (John 12:31). Adam, the first human, linked with Satan in rebellion against God and as a consequence the principle of natural lawlessness passed to his offspring, as already described. ‘Good luck’ circumstances that accelerate a downward cultural change are evidence of occultist supernatural interventions, and the extraordinary manner in which relatively peaceful and disciplined countries can rapidly become despotic and totalitarian is not through some computerised process, but has much to do with the manoeuvrings of Satan.
Where Does the Church Fit
The question therefore has to be asked as to the role of the Christian Church within a decaying culture, and the answer in some ways is surprising if a biblical stance is taken. Without doubt it cannot divorce itself from the country and community in which it is situated, because its true members have a unique and potentially powerful set of tools to address moral corruption in whatever form it takes. Firstly, every true Believer will have received a new inbuilt and miraculous change of heart, with not only total and absolute forgiveness for the outworking of his rebellious nature, but the ability to walk in uprightness before God overcoming the natural downward pull of the fleshly nature. In other words the capacity to do good within a broken society.
Uprightness comes from within, rather than being imposed from without. This was brought about through Jesus Christ, one of the Godhead actually becoming a sacrifice for the sins of rebellious human beings.. Then after crucifixion Jesus was raised from the dead, and now lives as an intercessor between God the Father and the forgiven person (Romans 8:27). The sinful fruit of their former nature have as it were been dropped to the bottom of the ocean! This remarkable intervention means that anyone who believes that Jesus as God took this action, has a sincere burdened heart to want to turn away from the lawlessness within, and turn back to God’s ways will become this new creation. And will be able to make a real difference in society.
Christians are told by Jesus to be salt and light (Matthew 14:1-16), and in the context of another command are to love their neighbour as themselves (22:39), which may be summed up in one word: involvement. Because Satan generates destruction in any way possible, particularly as he is described as ‘the father of lies’ (John 8:44), the faith filled Christian will now have a cleansing impact in the workplace or in any other way there is engagement with a broken world.
It is a sad fact that despite the immense public proclamation through the Festival of Light in the early seventies, the downward drift of morality and ethics has continued, and the question has to be asked that if Christians are in a unique position to influence these affairs what can they do in the present situation. The answer has to be twofold: firstly, intelligent prayer particularly for the secular authorities, and secondly engagement.
Firstly consider prayer. It is interesting that the injunction to pray is actually linked to frustrating endeavours by those who by nature reject social and moral structures in seeking to silence the Church testimony. This is particularly important in praying for public sector leaders, who do have a unique authority to restrain or encourage lawlessness. According to 1Timothy 2:1-3 petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving for those in positions of responsibility potentially will restrict interference in church activities, including secular attempts to change doctrines highlighting right and wrong and brining personal conviction. The Christian Church within the UK generally neither prays for or informs public sector leadership, and it is therefore no surprise that it is now under severe pressure from the authorities. The demand is for it to amend its so-called out-dated beliefs through the legally enforced infiltration of people totally opposed to what it has stood for over the centuries.
The second way of involvement is actual engagement with the political processes that are going on all the time. It has to be remembered that those in public office have an enabling ministering authority given them by God (Romans 13:1-4), and there is surely a Christian duty to teach politicians and civil servants biblical principles applicable in all their areas of influence, including management of industry and commerce. But this must be carried out in a culturally relevant manner.
There is little point in complaining about ministers or members of parliament for failing to act honourably in different scenarios if their background has no biblical Christian input. The time when a high proportion of children at least went to Sunday School is long passed, and the alternative source of knowledge in school assemblies has also faded into insignificance.
Is it therefore surprising that unregenerate but sincere politicians explore the apparent attractiveness say of communism, and consider with some tweaking how it would form a reasonable structure of governance for the future? Will the Church now take notice and no longer be silent?
Anthony Busk,
Chairman March of Repentance
