Humanism first of the giants
We have always wanted to do things our way. The problem is living with the consequences
A number of years ago, a brother in Messiah wrote a book called The Last of the Giants, referring to Islam. Though Islam may become a part of it, I see humanism as the last of the giants that the Church must confront. As I thought more about this, I realized that humanism was the first of the giants as well.
The invasion
How can we define humanism so that we can better discern it? If we go back to when it first invaded mankind, we see it in its purest form. Humanism was Satan’s weapon of choice when deceiving Adam and Eve in Eden. In Genesis 3:1, 4-5, we read: “Now the serpent was more cunning (+crafty) than any beast of the field which YHWH God had made. And he said unto the woman, ‘Has God said? …” After Eve answered, the Adversary went on to say, “You shall not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17) your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as God, knowing good and evil.”
Here we see two characteristics that define humanism at all times and in all cultures throughout history. First – the denigrating of God’s Word: questioning what God has clearly said and creating doubt about His Word. “Has God said?” Second – the exaltation of man: “You shall be as God!”
Anytime we find these two, we are face-to-face with the spirit of humanism. Today this spirit is in what I see as its final revival, which will lead to the appearance of the Ultimate Humanist – Mr. Anti-Christ himself. We will deal with this later.
When Adam and Eve sinned, God’s likeness in them became distorted. Man was still created in His likeness (Gen. 9:6), but now it was marred through disobedience. And that distorted likeness has been passed down through the generations. Genesis 5:1-3: “This is the book of the generations of Adam (In Hebrew, adam can be a personal name or can mean “mankind, humanity.”) In the day that God created man (adam), He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them.” So, since they were made “male and female”, the adam talked about in this verse is obviously humanity.
Verse 3: “And Adam lived 130 years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth.” The likeness of God in Adam had been distorted by sin, so all who are born from Seth onward now possess that same distorted likeness. Thus we see the truth that “all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Rom. 3:23). So, while mankind is still made in God’s likeness, there’s something not right – something twisted. This is why Yeshua says we must be born again, born from above. The result of that new birth is that we who were dead in our sin natures, are now “quickened” – made alive again – in Messiah. (Rom. 5:12-19; Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13)
The Flood
The humanistic exaltation of man runs throughout the book of Genesis, as is clearly seen in the first ten chapters. Eventually God wiped out all the living creatures upon the land with the Flood of Noah’s day. Most people think the reason God spared Noah was because he “was righteous in his generation” (Gen. 6:9). But context is so important in reading Scripture, and the context shows that Noah’s righteousness is a result of God’s grace, as the verse says just before Noah’s righteousness was declared, “And Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen. 6:8)
“There is none righteous; no, not one” (Rom 3:10-12; cp. Psa. 53:1), unless by God’s gift of grace. That’s why Noah was righteous – and that’s why we are also seen as righteous in Messiah Yeshua (2 Cor. 5:21). While Noah was born in the distorted image of Seth, God dealt with him according to His grace, and so Noah was seen as righteous in the eyes of the Lord.
This is one of the foundational differences between the worldview of a Bible believer versus that of a humanist. Bible believers see man as inherently sinful, yet capable of doing good – although good works will not change the sinful nature inside. Humanists see mankind as basically good yet capable of doing wicked and sinful deeds. According to God’s Word, people must be born-again, which will result in an inward change. But according to humanism, a person must be educated, which will result in an outward change.
The Tower
After God cleansed the earth with the Flood, He gave Noah certain commands and made a covenant with him and with the earth (Gen. 9:1-17). Apparently, God wanted Noah and his sons to spread out, multiply and replenish the earth. But man had other plans. We read of Nimrod, one of Ham’s descendants, who was a mighty hunter before God and who built a city in the plain of Shinar known as Babel (Gen. 10:9-10). Later, we learn that a tower was built there, which we now know as the Tower of Babel.
Why did man do this? Genesis 11:1-4 says, “And the whole earth was of one language, and of the same words, and…as they journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and dwelt there. Then they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly’. They had brick for stone, and pitch for mortar, and they said, ‘Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top is in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, so that we are not scattered across the face of the whole earth‘.”
They were not trying to be arrogant and build a huge skyscraper to physically touch God’s abode, or His throne, but as with many other pagan towers dedicated to false gods, it was on its top where the pagans felt they had a better connection with their gods. And often kings and priests went up there to sacrifice and be ordained as ‘sons of god’ for their specific roles in their societies.
Although it was God’s will for man to spread out upon the earth (Gen. 8:15-17; 9:7, 18-19), man said “No, we’ll do it our way.” Note that in the King James Version, the first time we read “Let us,” it is when God says, “Let us make man in our image and after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). Yet the first time we read it on the lips of man is when they say, “Let us build a tower!” (Gen. 11:3-4) There is a much-needed lesson here for believers, which is that unity – even a religion-based unity as in Babel – is not necessarily of God. In the Church, unless it is the unity of His Spirit (Eph. 4:3), and we are commanded to test every spirit (1 John 4:1), it is a humanistic unity, which might feel right and even comfortable, but is deceptive and demonic!
Genesis 10:8-10 tells us that Babel was first built by Nimrod in the land of Shinar. We also find Shinar in Zechariah 5:11, where a woman, representing wickedness, is put into a basket and then carried to, and planted in, the land of Shinar in a house built specifically for her. Shinar today is where Iran and Iraq are located. Shinar today is the headquarters of fundamentalist Shi’ite Islam and the source of much of the “wickedness” that the world is experiencing and is the area from where the threats of annihilating Israel – God’s restored nation and His people – are heard almost daily! T
he word babel, in whatever language they were speaking, likely meant the gate of Bel, or Baal, their false god. In Hebrew, bavel means confusion. Later, Babel – or as it is better known today, Babylon – became part of the Chaldean and Babylonian empire of Nebuchadnezzar, to which God exiled the Kingdom of Judah. Alexander the Great conquered this area, and the city of Babylon is where he died at the age of 33. As Daniel prophesied, his kingdom was divided into four (Dan. 11:4), with the area where Babylon was located becoming part of the Seleucid dynasty. It was out of this dynasty that Antiochus Epiphanes, the first type of the Antichrist, arose.
Humanism or truth
The most dangerous aspect of the spirit of humanism in both Western civilization and the Church is that it challenges the concept of ultimate truth, especially in the area of morals. If man is the final arbiter of morality, then whatever I or my society see as acceptable is moral, and if it is opposed to what you think, or what the Bible says – so what? There is no ultimate truth. Relax! “Don’t worry; be happy!”
But God’s Word and His Son make truth a requirement. God is zealous for truth. If I say, “John chapter 17,” many in the Body might think “Ah, Yeshua’s great priestly prayer. Unity! How wonderful to be in unity – just like He and His Father! This is what we all need to be striving for.” Yet do you know that before Messiah Yeshua prayed for unity, He prayed, “Sanctify (purify; set apart) them by Your truth; Your Word is truth” (John 17:17). This book that we call the Bible – this is truth, the ultimate truth – and there must be no compromising with the truths which are clearly revealed in it.
It is fine to have some questions about what God really meant here or there, or about whether the King James, or whatever version, must be seen as 100% correct and might not have been translated with a better word or phrase, especially for our day and age. Also there is truth in the universe not covered by the Word of God, truth that has been revealed by science, and medicine, and mathematics.
Believers must see that the Bible in its original languages is God’s revealed truth, and we need to align our thinking with His as much as possible. God’s Word reveals God’s view of truth, and what we see today is that which was prophesied in the New Testament [NT] for the last days. If people continually refuse to receive the gift of truth, then God Himself will send them a strong delusion so that they will choose to believe what is false (2 Thess. 2:10-11). While He does not deceive people, just as He does not tempt people with evil (Jam. 1:13), He allows opportunity for people who do not love the truth to deceive themselves.