I once had an economics professor in college that made one statement that stuck with me long after the meaning of GNP and fungability slipped from me.
“Economics is a dismal science. ”
No matter our efforts, we cannot escape the realities of a finite world.
I believe religious debate without faith is also a dismal process. We attempt to approach it much like the old 60 minutes segment – Point-Counterpoint. Unfortunately many of us take the Saturday Night Live approach when our faith is lacking– “Jane, you ignorant slut.”
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Secularism?
I never really gave the concept of secularism much thought. In my younger days, I always thought of it in terms of separation of church and state which I agree with in its basic form . But secularists have pushed far beyond that now and continue with surface only arguments intended to strip the world, or at least our little part of it, of the Christian religion.
Christianity seems to offend the secularists, agnostics and atheists at a much higher level than other world religions. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Not only is it an easy target since you are less likely to be killed due to a Christian’s principles of faith, it also evokes the most hatred because it requires the most from you. It requires you to struggle against all those human failings that keep us in this difficult world we live in. It is an easy target because it has a long human history and a turning point. Any human history is filled with those failings – destruction, greed, jealousy, fear and murder; all things that are so easy for secularists to target as justification to remove Christianity from public consumption.
Secularists often point to wars and violence perpetrated over religion as justification for their efforts. I contend that wars are fought for all the aforementioned human failings and the name of religion is invoked only to make it palatable to the participants.
As best I can tell, secular humanism is based upon the concept that religion does more harm than good and that discarding the chains of faith is liberating and an intellectual pursuit. Lack of faith in a higher power is without question, liberating. It liberates us from the pangs of conscience and responsibility. According to secularism, men are undesigned, unintended and totally responsible for themselves and their existence.
As such, Christians have allowed secularists to define Christianity in the modern world - to twist its principles and to meet the display of human weaknesses in its history with cries of hypocrisy. Christians are being abused by a re-definition of their own faith.
In today’s world:
Thou shalt not kill – means thou shalt not defend yourself or your faith against those who seek to destroy it.
Judge not lest ye be judged – now means that a Christian must be tolerant of everything that the secular world deems acceptable regardless if it offends you or your beliefs or that you perceive that it is destructive to your society.
Turn the other cheek – now means – do not challenge my actions or my beliefs
Love one another – now means that you must accept me and celebrate me as I am regardless if my actions are destructive or in contradiction to your faith.
Yet hypocrisy runs rampant (another human failing) I recently listened to a secular humanist in a radio interview - a very pleasant fellow interviewed by a NPR host who didn’ t have the desire nor the intellectual where with all to offer any serious questions. The interview did yield something however. This fellow admitted that secularists had a strong desire for a moral code and a yearning for some small meaning of life. Where did that come from? His goal through his writing is to establish some rules or goals for secularism that included love of mankind and a responsibility to society. Kind of sounds like religion doesn’t it? Just without the responsibility.
Christianity seems to offend the secularists, agnostics and atheists at a much higher level than other world religions. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Not only is it an easy target since you are less likely to be killed due to a Christian’s principles of faith, it also evokes the most hatred because it requires the most from you. It requires you to struggle against all those human failings that keep us in this difficult world we live in. It is an easy target because it has a long human history and a turning point. Any human history is filled with those failings – destruction, greed, jealousy, fear and murder; all things that are so easy for secularists to target as justification to remove Christianity from public consumption.
Secularists often point to wars and violence perpetrated over religion as justification for their efforts. I contend that wars are fought for all the aforementioned human failings and the name of religion is invoked only to make it palatable to the participants.
As best I can tell, secular humanism is based upon the concept that religion does more harm than good and that discarding the chains of faith is liberating and an intellectual pursuit. Lack of faith in a higher power is without question, liberating. It liberates us from the pangs of conscience and responsibility. According to secularism, men are undesigned, unintended and totally responsible for themselves and their existence.
As such, Christians have allowed secularists to define Christianity in the modern world - to twist its principles and to meet the display of human weaknesses in its history with cries of hypocrisy. Christians are being abused by a re-definition of their own faith.
In today’s world:
Thou shalt not kill – means thou shalt not defend yourself or your faith against those who seek to destroy it.
Judge not lest ye be judged – now means that a Christian must be tolerant of everything that the secular world deems acceptable regardless if it offends you or your beliefs or that you perceive that it is destructive to your society.
Turn the other cheek – now means – do not challenge my actions or my beliefs
Love one another – now means that you must accept me and celebrate me as I am regardless if my actions are destructive or in contradiction to your faith.
Yet hypocrisy runs rampant (another human failing) I recently listened to a secular humanist in a radio interview - a very pleasant fellow interviewed by a NPR host who didn’ t have the desire nor the intellectual where with all to offer any serious questions. The interview did yield something however. This fellow admitted that secularists had a strong desire for a moral code and a yearning for some small meaning of life. Where did that come from? His goal through his writing is to establish some rules or goals for secularism that included love of mankind and a responsibility to society. Kind of sounds like religion doesn’t it? Just without the responsibility.
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