In Defense of Humanism: The Value of Man

Humanism--whether the Christian or the secular version--is based on the assumption that human life has value or importance.  And Christian humanism, at least, believes that this value is not just in human life in general, but in the life of every human being individually.

But is this belief rational? And is it Christian? Can one be true to reality as seen through the lens of common sense or revelation and still be a humanist?

Consider it this way. Each of us exists as an individual. We are, in ourselves, a person. But as an individual, we exist in many roles: a man may be a father, a husband, a son, an employee, a manager, a member in his church, a janitor in the church, a citizen, and a friend. Each of these roles is important in different ways, and most of our life is directed by the necessity of fulfilling these various roles.

I had an argument with a coworker about this concept. Their argument was that nobody really matters; that nobody really has value—because, in the end, each of us dies, and the world goes on. If a man dies, his family may miss him, but they will probably get along alright; his wife may remarry and get a new husband and father for her children. His employer will hire a new worker to take his job. The church will find a new janitor; the friends will still go on without him. And the nation will note the passing of a citizen as a mere statistic.

This is the argument against humanism from rationalism and common sense. In passing, we should note that it isn't entirely true, even on a practical level. A widow may find a new husband, even a better one--but then again, she might not. In the present economy, it isn't especially easy for most workplaces to replace workers, especially experienced ones.

But putting that aside, I think it is worthwhile to question the underlying premise of the argument. The premise is that the value of a person is determined by the relationships they fulfill. Is that true? Suppose a man, even while alive, is cut off from these relationships—fired from his job, cut off from his family and friends, excommunicated from the church—in that case, is he any less of a man? Is he worth less?

Before we attempt to answer that question, we should turn to the religious objection. There are various points from which some Christians would attack humanism, but one easy starting point would be Romans 12:3, where Paul tells his readers: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” There is a wordplay here that can be roughly translated into English as: “When you think of yourself, don't think too much of yourself.”

This is certainly a rebuke to pride and over-confidence. But should we interpret it as a rebuke to all sense of self-worth and normal confidence? Humanism believes that human life has value and importance; is the Bible calling instead for us to devalue ourselves and deny that importance?

These are the two objections to humanism and they are both answered by Paul's words--that we ought to think soberly "according as God." The various relationships and roles which a person fulfills do not determine the value or worth of a person. If you fill a bottle with a liquid, the shape of the bottle defines the shape of the liquid. But the shape of the bottle does not determine the value of the liquid. The important question is not the shape of the bottle but what the bottle is filled with. And the question of this essential value is found, not in any of our relationships with other people, or even with ourselves, but with God.

That is why the Bible teaches--and why Christians have historically (if not always consistently) believed in--the value and worth of every individual, regardless of their circumstances or place in society. That is why the church is still making a stand regarding abortion. Because if the value of a person is determined by their relationships, by their functions and roles, by what they can contribute to society—then that value will be relative, and some people will be valued more or less depending on outside circumstances. But if that value is determined by God, then that value is constant, and every person is equal in value since all are equally the creation of God, equally made in the image of God, and equally loved by God (in so far as a mathematical concept like equality can be applied to love.)

In one sense, man's relationship to God is constant because all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, but in another sense, there is more to it—because we can respond to God in faith and enter into union with God. Every person has the opportunity to enter into something unimaginably great; everyone truly has near-infinite potential. This is only by grace, but that doesn't change the point. If the value of man is determined by His relationship to God, and that relationship has incalculable potential, then the value of man is incalculable. 

This is the foundation of Christian humanism--the belief that the value of life is determined by God, not by society, not by circumstances, and not by a person's feelings. But some might object that this is only an abstract value. Yes, they might say, every person matters to God, but that is a spiritual matter--it has nothing to do with human life as we know it in the world.

However, we have to consider the context of Paul's words. Just verses before this, Paul called upon his readers to offer up their lives as a living sacrifice so they could be transformed by the renewing of their minds. And in the verses that follow, Paul will show the practical ramifications of that transformation--showing how the Christian, the man living by faith, will live differently in this world and in his relationships with others. 

Ultimately, all that matters is our relationship with God; our intrinsic worth, our spiritual status, and our final outcome are all dependent on that relationship. But if this relationship is where it ought to be; if it is truly the two-way street the Bible describes, then that will have an impact on every single one of a man's relationships. How a man acts to his parents, his wife, his children, his superiors, his subordinates, his friends, and his nation will be different as a result of his relationship with God.

But it is not simply a matter of some general feelings of love and positivity swirling around the man like a formless cloud and infecting his surroundings. Because our relationship with God is primary, it is the defining relationship--it is the one that informs and because the foundation for all these other relationships—not the other way around. Often a man will decide to turn against God's will because of one of these relationships—because of his family or friends. And, considered logically, that is exactly like chopping down a tree to save one of the branches. Because that is basically what the Bible pictures—we are like a tree, with our roots settled in God, and all of the other roles and relationships are branches of the central trunks, fed by the life-giving moisture from the roots, but also absorbing in sunlight which will go to strengthen the entire tree.

And in a tree, you don't have leaves or branches just floating in shapeless clouds around the tree. They are all attached and interconnected. And the various roles and functions we fulfill in life are all distinct but interconnected, like the various parts of a tree. Each one has its own structure, as each leaf has its own veins. The duties of a man to his children are different from those to his wife. His function in the nation is different from his function in the church. Of course, some of these roles might intersect; and some might change over the course of his life. But the general truth remains.

And I say all that to emphasize this point because this is one of the places where the church differs so radically from the world; this is one of the reasons why even Christian humanism looks like inhumanism to those on the outside. Take the opposition of the church to the LGBTQ+ agenda, an opposition that seems so irrational to the world. If love is good, then why does it matter what particular form it takes? If the relationships we have define us, then asking someone to change their lifestyle is asking them to be untrue to themselves. And if all this is just stuff that happens to us, then being not-straight is no different from having a certain hair or skin color—just an external, accidental fact of life.

But if all these relationships grow out of the central trunk of our relationship with God, and if that relationship is the fundamental thing that defines us, then each of these other relationships must adhere to the structure defined by God. The love of a man for his parents, his children, his wife, and his friends are each distinct and unique with distinct and unique duties and responsibility because these all are things that come ultimately from the will of God, which is the good, the perfect, and the acceptable.

That is why we shouldn't base our decisions or our self-worth or our value on the things we accomplish or the relationships we establish. In other words, we should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think but to judge ourselves soberly according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Do you see? The basis on which we should form our thoughts of ourselves is not our successes or our failures, not our virtues or our faults—but according to God and what God has given us. Notice the beginning of the verse--this entire exhortation is based on grace; Paul himself was only in a position to give this exhortation because of God's grace. And they may just sound like religious mumbo-jumbo until you remember the history of Paul prior to his encounter with God's grace.

Paul says we should judge ourselves as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Some take this to mean that God gives each person their own gifts and opportunity, and they should only judge themselves by how well they use what God has given them—instead of comparing themselves to the standards of others. However, Paul is talking specifically about faith, and it is hard to say that God gives some people more faith than others or, even, gives faith at all—we are the ones that have faith, though God is the one who gives us that capacity. So others take 'the measure of faith' to mean that God has given us faith as a measuring stick. Faith is our standard. What matters is not what we have done or said or accomplished or felt—what matters is our faith in God, and everything else matters only so far as it informs us regarding our faith.

This, then, is the foundation of Christian humanism. All human life is valuable--not on its own merits and not through the valuation of society--but because of God who is the source and the end of all life. And because the essential value of man lies in God, the rational course of action is to place God at the center of our actions and live our lives in light of that central relationship.