Worldviews in Conflict

Part 1: Authority

By authority, we mean the source of the various aspects of the worldview; its authority and where it finds the ultimate base for its positions. Where is the worldview anchored? What defines it and limits it?

For Secular Humanism, the authority is the sum of human experience and knowledge. Many of the humanistic ideas are embodied in a 1933 document called The Humanist Manifesto, copyrighted by the American Humanist Association. This document has undergone several revisions, but the basic positions remain relatively the same. The original Manifesto　　espoused what was called "religious humanism". Of course, that term became more repugnant to humanists over time, so the word "religious" was dropped. Religious Humanism became Secular Humanism.

The sum of human experience and knowledge are the basis for Secular Humanism. Humanism desires to "come to terms with new conditions created by a vastly increased knowledge and experience", to quote the Manifesto. In other words, science is the ultimate authority for what humanists believe and teach. Because science (human knowledge) is the authority, humanism "asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values." Humanism as a worldview focuses on the physical, natural world, on what it can discover using human senses (sight, smell, touch, etc.). The only realm humanism can visualize is the natural world. This includes "labor, art, science, philosophy, love, friendship, recreation – all that is in its degree expressive of intelligently satisfying human living."

It could also be rightfully argued that humanism regards mankind as its ultimate authority. "Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams." The Unitarian Religion, which shares many of the humanist’s positions, argues that "for the answers to all his questions, the Unitarian looks: within himself. (Elements of the Unitarian Religon by Rev. Robert Raible, 1945)" Men are their own authority.

This is an extremely important concept to grasp if a person wants to understand humanism. Simply put, the humanist’s authority lies in the sum total of human experience and knowledge (science), and ultimately in each individual.

Contrast this with Biblical Christianity. For this worldview there is only one authority, the Holy Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Individual Biblical Christians may differ as to which translations are the best, but all agree that the Scriptures are the sole authority for all faith and practice, for everything the Biblical Christian believes and does. The authority is a book which claims to be the Word of God. Biblical Christians accept the Bible as the eternal, unchanging Word of God Himself.

This acceptance of a supernatural rather than a natural authority is one of the sharpest contrasts between these two worldviews. Humanism originally designated itself a natural religion, whereas Biblical Christianity remains committed to its position as a supernatural religion. Humanism limits itself to only those things that can be experienced in the natural life; Biblical Christianity encompasses life beyond the boundaries of the natural universe.

Interestingly enough, both Secular Humanism and Biblical Christianity do not regard themselves as "religions". Rather, each regards itself as truth, as life, as the only path for mankind to follow. For the humanist, truth is seated in human knowledge and experience, in the hearts and minds of men and women. For the Christian, truth is embodied in Jesus Christ, the living Word of God and in the book inspired by the Holy Spirit of God.

The contrast in authority, in summary, is fairly simple to discern. The humanist believes in himself and his fellow man as the ultimate authority for truth; the Biblical Christian believes in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as the ultimate authority for truth. Both worldviews are deeply committed to their respective authorities, and all the positions assumed by both worldviews grow out of this committment.

In the next article, we will examine the differences in the way each worldview explains the origins of the universe and of life.