Understanding The Times: Secular Humanism Part 1

Last night our family began watching and discussing a DVD series titled, Understanding The Times produced by Summit Ministries.  For years Carl and I have considered our girls attending the Student Worldview Conference that Summit hosts every summer, but for various reasons we did not send them.  The conference is an intensive two-week retreat designed to teach students how to analyze the various ideas that are currently competing for the hearts and minds of people.  As our children grow in Christ at home, at church, and at college, we also want them to know WHY they believe what they do, and therefore be ready and able to witness to this postmodern world.

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"  1 Peter 3:15

The DVD series is an abbreviated version of the material covered at the student conference.  It teaches about the four main competing worldviews: Secular Humanism, Marxist-Leninism, Cosmic Humanism, and Biblical Christianity.  Last night we watched part 1 (of 2) of the Secular Humanism DVD, and had a good discussion afterward.  Secular Humanism is a religious worldview in which "man is the measure"  -- mankind is the ultimate norm by which truth and values are to be determined... all reality and life center upon human beings... we act as God.  Secular humanists are atheists, believe there is nothing beyond the natural world, they are relativists (right or wrong is relative, not absolute), they teach evolution, believe happiness is found within one's self, they promote a non-traditional family, man-made laws that suit the culture, a one-world government, and socialism.  This is the predominant worldview being taught in our public schools and secular universities.  The DVD does a very good job of explaining how and when this worldview started, and the effects of it in our world today.

More to come as we watch and discuss this very interesting series!