By Contributing Writer, Kelly Crawford
The most serious enemy facing mankind today is the same one that has always been…the “Tempter’s Creed” known as secular humanism–a.k.a. the worship of MAN. We are now seeing the full-blown fruit of it in America as we bury the last shreds of our founding father’s faith and devotion to God’s laws, replacing it with our devotion to man’s law.
“Humanism is the second oldest religion known to man. It goes back to the Garden of Eden…Its first article of faith is the belief that all things, including every word from God, must be put to the test of man’s reason and experience: ‘Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ “ R.J. Rushdoony
Humanism is the belief that all things exist for man’s good and betterment, and therefore man determines right and wrong; Christianity is the belief that man exists for God, and as such, He knows what is best for us. (The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.)
The two are antagonistic in nature. But there is a MAJOR problem…many Christians have unknowingly begun to follow the doctrine of humanism, wounding the body of Christ, rendering themselves impotent–and even worse–accomplice to man’s destruction.
Satan tempted Eve with the power to “be as gods, knowing good and evil”. Never has the church been so divided about truth, and more and more pastors are falsely teaching that truth is relative, and we can determine for ourselves what constitutes good and evil rather than looking to the laws of God given to us for instruction and life.
It’s difficult to simply make a list of how humanism has infected us. We may be tempted to point the finger at others–you know, the biggies like the churches who have ordained homosexual pastors, and recognize the humanism there. But if we look closely, we may see it in our own lives.
“Humanism in the church sees Christ as our great fire and life insurance agent, not as the Lord.” -Rushdoony
We want everyone to get saved, pour all of our resources into that mission (which we falsely believe we control), and then we breathe a big sigh of relief and don’t dare tell the new convert “Thus saith the Lord” in case we might offend him and he leave the church (would a real convert leave in such a case?)
We don’t live our theology out of our fingertips (nor are we taught to); our lives often do not reflect the reign of the sovereignty of God in every area. And when they don’t, we serve the religion of humanism, deciding for ourselves “what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
We see it in our view of children (being anti-abortion does not make one pro-life), our view of marriage (reduced to self-fulfillment), our view of education (giving authority to the state which usurps the family’s), and on it goes, each area adversely affecting another.
That the Lord desires to rule in the hearts of His children because it brings them LIFE is a fact to be reckoned with. But He will not barge in and take control. He wants submission to the authority of His lordship. And those who refuse that submission will self-destruct by the very nature of God and the laws He set forth from Creation.
“See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land… I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy descendants may live…” Deuteronomy. 30: 15-19
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About Kelly Crawford
Commented on GC, but wanted to leave a note of praise here as well. Loved this post! So much truth!
Amen, amen and amen!! Reading Everloving Truth by Baucham right now. Humanism…relativism…we don’t even realize how much we are affected by it.
I couldn’t agree more. Modern secular humanism is completely incongruent with Scriptural teaching–and it is unbelievably prevalent in our culture! I work (on a volunteer basis) with teens, and even the ones who are firm in their faith have trouble keeping relativistic thinking out of their arguments and discussions on various matters.
In addition to the points Kelly brought up, one of the most glaring results of this that I see in conservative Christian circles is disregard for the poor. We may run a soup kitchen, but we cannot stop there–we must also seek justice and protect the dignity of the less fortunate–even those whom we might think “got themselves in that position.” To my interpretation, this would also include prisoners.
Great article, Kelly, as always.
This is a very good article. But it is also discouraging. Or maybe, I am just discouraged personally by this truth. Humanism is so prevalent (I have to be proactive to avoid its trappings in my own thinking) and obedience, a life lived after the Spirit and not after the flesh, is so rare that I don’t see any change in the church possible. Only God can refine us. He does and he will. Even a “holy” life can be humanistic in that it serves our own agenda. (vain glory)
If we could but see Jesus! That He would become more and we would become less.
Excellent article on an extremely timely matter. In the election debate, it really is brought to the forefront. If we really only acted in each other’s best interest…