Christians, are my humanist beliefs really so evil ? Please tell me what is wrong with them according to you.?

Question

We are committed to the application of reason and science, to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems. This must be combined with sensitivity and compassion

We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance to achieve an open and pluralist society

We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life

We are committed to the separation of Church and State

We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be able to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed healthcare and to die with dignity

We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics are amenable to critical, rational guidance

We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species

We attempt to transcend any divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity

We believe in individual happiness; in developing our creative talents to their fullest, and in the realisation of the best that we are capable of as human beings

We are deeply concerned with the moral education of children. We want to nourish reason and compassion

We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences

We are sceptical of untested claims to knowledge, but we are open to new ideas and seek new departures in our thinking

We affirm Humanism as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service of others.

wlvrne1964

I agree with you. Humanism shares many of the same values as christianist and other religions however the supernatural and dogmatic elements are gone.

Answer 1

Why do some people think that every Christian considers what everybody else believes as "evil"?
I don't consider your beliefs to be evil, nor will I thump you over the head with my Bible to try & prove a point.
Many of your beliefs are espoused in Christianity.
The main difference is, you put humanity at the forefront.
Christians believe God & Jesus should be at the forefront.

Answer 2

Humanist ideals are actually not in accordance interior the church by way of fact they overlook that it quite is the main extreme to each guy and woman, it quite is salvation after dying. even with the incontrovertible fact that, logically it is likewise incorrect. If there's a God and the after life, then we'd desire to constantly attempt to ameliorate our problem here in the international, however the genuine concentration might desire to be upon our salvation and the afterlife that lasts for eternity. An occasion being that we'd desire to constantly no longer imperial our salvation for the sake of achieving a humanist purpose. If there is not any after life, those targets do no longer make experience different than, because it sort of feels to savour ourselves whilst we are alive. even with the incontrovertible fact that, all actual everyone seems to be going to be afflicted by organic motives whether actual everyone seems to be suitable. At that's essence, life without something after it quite is un-relaxing. So the only logical process action is to dedicate suicide as painlessly as a threat- non life is a minimum of no longer suffering. A humanist additionally must be a realist and for this reason shouldn't presume that issues are going to get extra helpful- probability is whether or no longer actual everyone become a humanist many motives of suffering are actually not likely to be alleviated quickly if ever. technologies isn't the respond, all people can see that new technologies remedy problems yet additionally create them, which require extra technologies etc. So interior the tip humanism on my own, even with the incontrovertible fact that noble a number of that's targets may be is valueless. it quite is the two faith and afterlife that take priority or annihilation as painlessly as a threat. "If God is ineffective then each thing is authorized" - Ivan Karmozov

Answer 3

Sounds good but all ideologies from Communism & Marxism to Capitalism start out noble but eventually goes horribly astray as human factors of selfishness, greed & power-hunger starts 2 creep in. And it will because no matter how dedicated some members 2 a creed are, there will always be some other members that will have or eventually obtain different agendas due 2 the human factors mentioned above. Then they will be others who have no ideologies & doesnt care about yours but will use yours 2 prey on people. Its just the way life is.

Answer 4

I wont say they are evil, just doomed to failure. If through reason and looking inside, humanity can make the best decisions, then I would also be a humanist. When you look at some of the most atrocious actions done by man, they all were done by people believing that they were acting reasonable and in good interest. The one thing that dooms humanism is human nature. We are inherently greedy, prideful, power-hungry. Humanism might seem to work for a few college grads sipping lattes at the coffee bar, but in the real world a humanistic view where the only decisions people make is what seems reasonable to them and looking inward for defining what is good would result in chaos.

Answer 5

Simply put, the theory that you can do whatever you want as long as you harm no one is bunk. Everything you do impacts another. It's like a pebble thrown into a lake. The ripples spread far and wide and impacts things on the water and shore.

Doing drugs not only impacts the person, but the family and friends of that person. Having an abortion no only impacts the woman but the unborn child, the father, and the family of the woman and man. Euthanasia not only impact the person wanting to die, but his or her family, medical caretakers, and family & friends.

Some humanist beliefs are not evil. I think science and discovery can also improve human life & caring for the planet is what we are suppose to do per the word of God. But there are some things such as cloning or using human embryos for stem cell research which are not part of God's design and we are treading into the God's realm when we do so.


I believe God wants us to improve our lives and protect the planet, but He does not want us to play God. Some humanists theories puts us in that position and it is wrong.

Answer 6

SH, I think to a large degree the values of Christianity and humanism overlap. (I read your list and thought, “Yep, I believe in that. And that. And that. And THAT. And…”)

We have a lot in common. The majority of the things you mention are good ones.

Yes, you will find some Christians who disagree on some of your points (for example, some seem hell-bent on what amounts to me as the establishment of a theocratic government in the U.S.), but in general Christianity promotes many of the same values. [The few where they differ (such as euthanasia) result directly from the "God" vs. "No god" dichotomy, and what role man plays next to God.]

You might even disagree that Christians are not committed to the “application of reason and science,” but I advise you to keep looking past the generalizations. You will discover many intelligent and educated people who are part of the Christian faith – people with intellectual integrity.

I think any differences come down to how your goals are implemented, and why ultimately they should be implemented. You do it because you think it’s good for humanity; Christians do it because they believe that God exists and that all these ideas were his original undistorted plan for human relationships. Whatever good is done serves the purpose of drawing people and God closer together; it’s relational in nature.

Sure, if I had not experienced that Christianity was the “truth,” I would easily be a humanist due to my nature. What’s funny is that to me Christianity is “humanism, but moreso” – it’s a natural extension of all the values you would promote, but embodying them even more fully than a person could without God.

Do you know what difference God makes? Pure humanism means I am subjected to no one but myself. There are many good things I would do, but there are sacrifices I am not willing to make; and since I am not submitted to anything but myself, in the end the price is often too hard and high for me to consistently pay. It assumes I am perfect enough that I never have to be sumitted to someone/something else.

Because I believe in God, faith is not just intellectual but relational. Being bound to God encourages me to go the extra mile, to give in ways I normally would not even as a “good person.” He also sets a foundation where, while I can feel sorry over my failings and purposeful infractions, I am not judged unworthy because of them but am given the freedom to try again.

While you can assume such things in humanism, there is no actual assurance of it. You are left to sink and swim on your own devices. You are doing good – but for no real purpose or justification, in a world that has no permanency.

I’m not sure how people can justify ultimately self-sacrificing behavior and truly stretch beyond themselves, in a world that is doomed, eventually, to die and perish and where there is no inherent meaning.

So what I see is humanism “borrowing” ideas from Christianity and just stripping out God in order to better fit the empirical mindset… which results in some inconsistent philosophy. Oddly enough, the more it borrows, the more it comes to resemble Christianity by doing so.

Answer 7

We Christians are concerned with, and are committed to, many of the same things that you are.

No doubt humanism has its good points. Having said that, there are things that humanism supports -- abortion, euthanasia, the removal of all touches of religion from the public square -- that we find repugnant.

We are well within our rights to say so -- and if achieving a "pluralistic society" is the major goal that you claim it to be, then you'd have to agree.

Answer 8

What you prescribe to be your beliefs seem very similar to what can be classified as a religion. Minus a higher deity. You worship Nature and to a lesser extent man. You are not Evil for what you believe. You are only evil when your beliefs lead you to do evil things.

I can list all of the higher aims and goals of any belief system and make them sound as Noble and altruistic as the beliefs that you have put forth. However, the devil is in the details. It is not what he believes that damns a man, it is how he acts upon those beliefs that bring about his downfall.

I try to live my life without judgment. Therefore I make no judgment about how you choose to live your life. I will say this. I put very little faith in science for every new theory tends to destroy an old theory and the nature of what is known is constantly changing. I would be very foolish to put too much faith in something so shifting and unstable.
I would also be foolish to put too much faith in man. People have a way of falling short of our expectations. They are often times fickle, petty, violent, Angry, Jealous, fearful, and self-righteous. I have even let myself down on many an occasion (hence, I do not have perfect faith in myself either).

Lastly, there is Nature. Nature is the most arbitrary and Chaotic of all forces. Only a fool would put any amount of faith in something that unpredictable.

This is why I put my faith in god. He has yet to let me down. He has helped me through some very difficult times. He has given me strength when I had none. He has given me peace amongst chaos. That is why I choose to put my Faith in him.

I don't see whay you believe as evil. Just misguided in some ways. Perhaps your beliefs may change over time as mine have over the years. I wish you all the best.

May God bless you.

Answer 9

Your 'beliefs' sound pretty good to me. Much better than the ranting of fundamentalists/fanatics of ANY other 'religion'. Stick to what you believe.
(But, there IS a GOD!)
Nicely put question, and good, thought-provoking answers. Why can't all questions be like this one?

Answer 10

No, humanism is not evil. As, a Christian I can still say that humanism has many good points to it. Only, fanaticism and ( I believe ) failure to acknowledge God leads to problems.