A Message From the Family of Tom Parsons

“The tree of life awaits in the garden God planted for His children. It has been there through all the years sin has scarred this earth and its inhabitants. Today I am sitting down beneath that tree and talking face-to-face with the One Who came to this earth to die for my sins. He is explaining what I need to know, and helping me forget what I do not. He is wiping all my tears away. He is welcoming me to His place. And I will never be Windsor’s child, or earth’s child again. Not ever. I am forever Heaven’s child.

Will you be?”

-Thomas M. Parsons “Windsor’s Child”

These are the words of my father, who wrote these in the future tense. He would approve of my slight adjustment considering his present state.

It has taken me six months to “hijack” Dad’s websites to let his visitors know that he is with Jesus now. Dad went quietly to his forever home early one morning as he slept, just hours after he had faithfully worked on this website and his other projects, just hours after interacting with friends and family and just days after seeing a doctor who proclaimed him healthy.

Dad would want you to know that death sometimes comes like the thief in the night. You can’t always plan for it, even if you are proclaimed healthy. Dad was ready for death. He knew death had no chance against the resurrection power of Jesus, whom he knew as his Savior to defeat the power of sin in Dad’s life. We miss him, we think about him every day, and we would give anything for one more conversation with him. But we don’t have to wonder where he is. We don’t have to mourn as those who have no hope.

I hope that Dad’s death will cause you to think about your own. Someday it will come, and it could even be today. Be ready like Dad was ready. Don’t let the power of death cause any more than a temporary absence.

The verse that led Dad to Christ was John 3:16, written in his yearbook by a friend who knew the Lord. For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Believe him and be saved today.

Dad’s books are still available on Amazon.com, and as for the other authors he represented, if you email us we can put you in touch with the authors. For any inquiries or other questions, you can contact us through his email or by leaving a comment.

“I may die … but that is okay, because one thing is certain. My last day on earth will be my first day in Heaven.”

Worldviews in Conflict

By Thomas M. Parsons

Part 6: The Nature of Man

To the Secular Humanist, human beings are the highest life form that has evolved over millions of years of evolutionary history. Mankind is the best evolution has formed, at least so far. But evolution is not finished; it continues unabated in its striving to produce ever more complicated and efficient life forms. Man is at the top of the chain today, but tomorrow, or many millions of tomorrows from now, something better is likely to evolve.

Because evolution is seen as a long, slow process that, generation by generation, makes improvements in its creatures, human beings are seen as neither "good" nor "bad", but progressing. Moral judgments based on religious or traditional values are irrelevant, because they are rooted in philosophies that the scientific mind has rejected as inadequate to meet the needs and challenges of modern man.

However, humanists believe that there is something in man that does strive for a better life for all who inhabit planet earth. This is the essential "goodness" of human beings, the desire to progress toward the goals of peace, health, and personal fulfillment for all. In this sense, humanists claim that human beings are essentially "good" since they seek this progress for themselves and others.

According to The Humanist Manifesto, humanism has as its principle goal "a free and universal society in which people voluntarily and intelligently cooperate for the common good." This, proclaims the humanist, must be the goal of every human institution and every human being.

Biblical Christianity sees human beings in a much different light, because it bases its statements solely on the Scriptures. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" proclaimed the Apostle Paul, rephrasing an Old Testament teaching. This teaching of sin and its consequences pervades both the Old and New Testament teachings. The essential nature of human beings is that they are sinners in rebellion against a holy God and thus doomed to failure and death.

The Bible also teaches that human beings are incapable of progressing toward higher goals because of the inhibiting factor of sin within them. A "free and universal society" to a Biblical Christian is an impossibility because it ignores the fundamental fact that every human being is inclined to serve himself, not others. "Voluntarily and intelligently cooperating for the common good" is a nice-sounding, lofty phrase, but Biblical Christians know instinctively that what actually happens is that every sinner thinks "What’s in it for me?"

Biblical Christians understand that no amount of education, political or social motivation, influence of the arts, or scientific knowledge can change the fundamental sinful nature of every human being. Biblical Christians understand that the source of all evil in the world – crime, wars, illness and even death itself – is the basic human sin nature. Sin motivates people to steal what belongs to someone else, to lie, to murder, to start wars, to promote all the negative and hurtful things that happen in this world. Disease is the result of sin, and death is the result of disease, crime and war.

There is no remedy for this sin nature, according to the Biblical Christian, except that which the Bible proclaims: personal faith in Jesus Christ and His work of redemption in paying for the sins of all human beings with His death on the cross.

When the question is Are human beings basically good or basically bad? the humanist answer is People are basically good, while the Christian who believes the Bible answers, people are basically bad because they are sinners.

Worldviews in Conflict

By Thomas M. Parsons

Part 5: Economics

Essential to every worldview is its view of which economic system works best to meet the needs of people. There are basically two economic systems available – capitalism and Marxism (Communism). Few nations on earth embrace either a pure capitalism or a pure Marxism; most nations use a blend of these two.

Capitalism is built on the concept of a free market, which means the exchange of goods and services is relatively free from government control and intervention. People bring their goods and services that they have created to the market and others purchase them with wealth. The one who receives that wealth then goes the market and purchases the goods and services of others using the wealth he or she has received. In this way, wealth is constantly being redistributed in the market place.

The great driving forces of capitalism are human need and human creativity. People need a variety of things to live. Food, clothing, shelter, transportation, education, health care, and a great many other things are needed to maintain life at a satisfactory level. Thus, those who are producers of goods and services are encouraged by the system to create items that meet the needs of people and for which wealth can be traded. Ambitious producers can gather wealth to themselves by keeping a close eye on what people need (and want), and on other producers so they can continue to improve their product and lower their prices (both of which benefit the consumer). Capitalism provides a strong incentive for new and improved products and prices that can be afforded by more consumers.

The downside of capitalism is that it can produce greed in both producers and consumers. Producers can gain control of the market for a certain product and charge high prices that only a few consumers can afford. This increases the producer’s profit, but leaves many consumers out of the market for that product, even if it is something they genuinely need. Conversely, consumers can counterfeit ideas and product designs, and sell them at very low prices, thus cutting into the profits of the legitimate producers and distributing inferior products in the market place, while putting wealth into the hands of the counterfeiters.

Also, capitalism can produce a greatly lopsided distribution of wealth, with most of the wealth in the hands of a minority of individuals who know how to play the market to their advantage, but leaving a large number of people with less than enough wealth to provide what they and their families need.

Marxism is based on the theories of Karl Marx who developed his theories in the nineteenth century. He envisioned a different model than that of capitalism. Instead of a free market place being at the center of the distribution of wealth, he conceived of a government office being at the center. The government would own all the wealth of the society. This would include all lands, buildings, goods and services as well as the creation of those goods and services and their distribution. This government office would determine what its citizens needed, how much was to be produced and who was to produce it and what the government (not the consumer) would pay for it. Each citizen would be given an appropriation of goods and services at the discretion of the government office in charge.

The goal of Marxism, which is also known by the name Communism, is to "take from each according to his ability and give to each according to his need." Marxism seeks a more equitable distribution of wealth where no one has more than needed or less than needed.

Criticisms of Marxism include the charge that it tends to rob the rich to pay the poor, that it kills incentive for producers to produce more and better goods and services, that it tends to raise prices for all, and that it tends to concentrate the wealth in the hands of those government officials who run the system.

Many economic models in use in the world today try to combine these two systems. Many countries have a market place which is partially under the control of the government. This is a regulated market place. Consumers and producers are able to meet together in the market place and buy and sell as they please, but there are rules they both must follow. The fewer regulations there are, the more the system operates as a free market system. The more regulations there are, the more the system becomes socialistic in nature.

Secular Humanism strongly favors a socialistic economic system. The Humanist Manifesto of 1933 and more contemporary revisions of that document agree that "a socialized and cooperative economic order must be established to the end that the equitable distribution of the means of life be possible." Humanists desire a system where individuals "voluntarily and intelligently cooperate for the common good."

The socialistic views of humanists seek government control over the market place in several important aspects. They want to control the wages which are paid to workers by producers. They want to control the prices of goods and services by controlling the amount of goods and services produced and thus available. They want high levels of taxation that are especially heavy on the rich and less demanding on the poor. They want the government to use the money produced by these high taxes to establish government programs that keep an open flow of wealth to those deemed to be too poor to provide for themselves.

Secular humanist socialists do not envision a totalitarian state such as that demanded by Communism; they see a free society voluntarily cooperating in the redistribution of wealth away from the wealthy toward the poor.

Biblical Christianity does not clearly endorse any economic system. The church in Jerusalem in the early days of church history did try a form of limited socialism for a time (Acts 4:32-37). This was voluntary and limited to the members of the church. They sold possessions and gave the money to the church leaders to be distributed to those in the church who had needs. No government was involved in this; it was strictly a local church practice. Apparently it was abandoned after awhile for unknown reasons. Possibly it simply failed to work.

When left to itself, humanity tends to gravitate toward the use of a free market. People in both the Old and New Testaments owned land; many became wealthy. Abraham accumulated great wealth in his lifetime. Lazarus, Martha and Mary were wealthy friends of Jesus. A wealthy man, Joseph of Arimathaea, provided the tomb in which the body of Jesus was placed following the crucifixion.

But Jesus also taught that Christians were to minister to the poor and assist them using their own wealth. Jesus often healed poor people; on two different occasions He fed thousands of men, women and children miraculously because He saw their need and had compassion on them.

Biblical Christianity insists that people are sinners because that is the clear teaching of the Bible. Sinners, it is argued, can never "voluntarily and intelligently cooperate for the common good." Inevitably sin in the form of greed will lead many to take advantage of power and opportunity in any economic system to gather wealth to themselves at the expense of others. Capitalism is known to produce arrogant and corrupt producers who selfishly hoard wealth for themselves. Marxism is known to produce arrogant and corrupt government bureaucrats who selfishly hoard wealth for themselves.

Those who conduct their lives on a Biblical Christian worldview generally favor a capitalistic system with some limited government controls. The freedom of capitalism appeals strongly to those who have been made "free indeed" by Jesus Christ. The checks and balances of capitalism tend to keep producers providing a quality product for a lower price, which also appeals to Biblical Christians. The fact that Marxism and Communism are strongly associated with atheism (Marx himself was an atheist), tends to cause Biblical Christians to distrust the more moderate forms of Marxism known as socialism.

Worldviews in Conflict

By Thomas M Parsons
Part 4: History

Some people assume that every worldview has the same view of history. After all, history is the past; it has already happened. It cannot be changed.

But the truth is that the facts and events of history are interpreted by the worldview of the interpreter. Why did this event take place? What significance did it have? These are questions raised by students of history, and answered by the worldviews they hold.

"Using technology wisely, we can control our environment, conquer poverty, markedly reduce disease, extend our life-span, significantly modify our behavior, alter the course of human evolution and cultural development, unlock vast new powers, and provide humankind with unparalleled opportunity for achieving an abundant and meaningful life." (Humanist Manifesto II)

This statement indicates the idealism of Secular Humanism and reflects its view that history is the continuing story of the dominance of human beings on this planet and their search for a better world for themselves and their children. Humanism takes an optimistic view of history in that it sees history as the striving of humankind for a perfect world, a "heaven" on earth, if you will, although humanists would no doubt reject that wording.

Humanist historians are challenged by the frequent wars and outbreaks of violence in the world, since these tend to denigrate their basic concept of the goodness of human beings and their ability to right wrongs peacefully and create an earthly utopia. In fact, in 1933, humanists were quite optimistic when they assembled in Chicago and wrote the first Humanist Manifesto. They saw humanism as the only logical means available to human beings to "face the crisis of life in terms of his knowledge of their naturalness and probability." The Manifesto also stated the humanists’ goal of "a free and universal society in which people voluntarily and intelligently cooperate for the common good."

Then came World War II. The Korean War. The Viet Nam War. The rise of Islamic terrorism. The War on Terror. Random and senseless shootings in public places like schools and malls. All of these things tended to put a damper on humanistic optimism concerning the history yet to be written. And yet, with these events now thoroughly embedded in the historic records, humanists continue to see history as the story of mankind’s long, slow advance to the perfect society.

Secular Humanism, because it denies God’s existence, cannot attribute any historical event to God. All of it must be seen as the work of humans, and as the work of natural, not supernatural, forces. Biblical Christians, on the other hand, see history much differently.

A Biblical Christian worldview sees God at the center of all of history. A Biblical worldview sees history as the unfolding of the story of God’s relationship to His creation. History includes creation, the fall from perfection, death and decay as the results of sin, God’s intervention in history to provide redemption for mankind through His own Son, Jesus Christ, and the eventual return of Christ to this earth to reign over His own earthly Kingdom.

A Biblical worldview understands that there will be "wars and rumors of wars, nation rising up against nation" because Jesus said this would be the case (Matthew 24:6). Because of the Bible’s insistence that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), Bible Christians know that the world is never growing into an earthly utopia because outside of Christ, human beings have no way to squelch the raging sin that resides within them. Where the humanist sees history as an up and down line that tends to go up more than it goes down, Bible believers see history as an up and down line that tends to go down more than it goes up. Humanists like to be called progressives because they see history as advancing upward, making progress toward humanism’s goal. Bible Christians are realists; they understand the reality of the human sin nature and the tendency of human beings to make the wrong choices apart from God.

Bible Christians generally view the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas as a good thing because he brought with him knowledge, medicines, technology and the Christian faith to people who lacked all of these things. Likewise, the historical spreading of America from its beginnings on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to eventually reaching the shores of the Pacific is viewed by Bible believers as a good thing because it also meant the gospel of Jesus Christ was taken to new peoples who had never heard of the grace of Christ available to them to redeem them from sin.

Secular Humanists generally regard these events as bad things. Columbus, they say, brought diseases for which the native peoples had no immunity. He and others like him also brought ideas and philosophies that tended to corrupt the native peoples’ simple and pure lifestyles. Humanists claim that the motivation for this movement across the continent was greed for land, for power, and for religious selfishness and domination.

Since at one time, history books tended to reflect in a very general sense a Bible-based viewpoint, and now they tend to reflect a humanist-based viewpoint, humanists have been busy rewriting history books to reflect their view that religion destroys, corrupts and causes violence and wars and fears, and impedes the inevitable flow of mankind upward to an earthly utopian society. While Biblical Christians agree that religion often is divisive and the cause of violence, they also insist that Biblical Christianity is the only truth that exists and that, in obedience to Christ, they must "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19).

In summary, humanists put man at the center of and as the driver of history; Biblical Christians put God in that powerful position, even to the pointing to the word itself: His story.

Worldviews in Conflict

By Thomas M. Parsons

Part 3: Morality

Every worldview embraces a moral system by which it makes judgments concerning what is acceptable and what is not, what is beneficial and what is not, what ought to be done and what ought not.

Secular Humanism has constructed a moral system that is generally identified as a relative moral system. This means that the moral laws are open to change and evolve over time as the needs of human beings change. The Humanist Manifesto declares that "modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values." Humanists reject any source for moral laws other than what human beings find enjoyable or in some way beneficial to themselves.

The relative morality of humanists has produced cultures in which virtually everything is acceptable, even valuable, to the human experience. Since humanism began growing in acceptance in western culture at the beginning of the 20^th century, the acceptance of things once thought to be immoral has spread like the ever increasing circle that pushes out on the surface of water after a stone enters. Thus, adultery, once thought to be a shameful sin not to be discussed in polite society, is now not only acceptable, but normal, even necessary to human health and well-being. Abortion was once forbidden in western culture; it was considered to be even worse than murder since its victims had no way to defend themselves. Now, abortion is considered to be a woman’s right to be defended vigorously against those who ignorantly cling to outdated moral values.

Homosexuality is another issue that has been dramatically changed by the spread of humanism. In the 1920s and 30s in America, there was a popular and gifted lyricist who collaborated with Richard Rodgers to produce many musicals and songs that are still known today.. This lyricist was a homosexual, but he and his associates worked hard to keep this a secret for fear of public outcry against what was considered to be abnormal and immoral behavior. Thus Lorenz Hart, writer of hundreds of clever and still-remembered lyrics lived his secret life until his early death at the age of 48.

Today, of course, the homosexuality of Elton John and Ellen Degeneres are public knowledge and have not limited these talented people from pursuing their very public careers. Secular Humanism stands firm in its belief that homosexuality is a natural phenomenon and that it should not be judged negatively by others. Humanism also is now involved in the promotion of homosexual marriage as a basic human right that should not be denied to anyone by the government, by the public, or by the church.

Biblical Christianity, of course, looks to its authority, the Bible, for the basis of its moral positions. Since the Bible is regarded as the eternal, unchanging Word of God, its moral pronouncements are deemed to be absolute. Thus Biblical Christianity embraces a system of moral absolutes, judgments which God has already made and revealed in His unchanging Word.

Because its moral system is deeply rooted in God’s eternal Word, its moral pronouncements do not change, indeed, cannot change. Adultery, condemned in both the Old and New Testaments, is still a sin today according to Biblical Christianity just as it was throughout history, a threat to the stability of marriage and family relationships.

Also, Biblical Christians cannot accept abortion on any level because the Bible clearly identifies human life as such in the womb. To destroy an unborn baby is murder according to the absolute morality of Biblical Christianity. The destruction of more than fifty million (50,000,000) babies in the United States since Roe. v. Wade is deemed as more than significant cause for divine judgment on America by Biblical Christians.

Homosexuality is regarded in the absolute morality of Biblical Christianity as the ultimate insult to the Creator of male and female and the blessed relationship these are to enjoy in marriage. The Bible could not be more clear in its condemnation of homosexuality, naming it as a major sin in several verses in both the Old and New Testaments. Biblical Christians regard the acceptance of homosexuality as promoted by Secular Humanists as another indicator that America and other nations are sitting on the edge of serious judgment from God.

Absolute Morality. Relative morality. These are the polar extremes embraced by Biblical Christianity and Secular Humanism. Secularists believe there is no authority other than human experience that should judge a person’s morality. Morals are relative, which means they change to fit man’s evolving culture and needs. In an absolute moral system, as embraced by Biblical Christianity, morals eternally pronounced by God are not negotiable or subject to change. In modern western culture, Biblical Christians who look to the revealed Word of God as their authority and Secular Humanists who look to the human experience for authority are locked in a no-compromise battle over the moral issues of abortion and homosexuality. Biblical Christians cannot yield on these divinely revealed moral issues, and secular humanists insist that people are free to decide whatever moral laws they find beneficial to themselves. As always, these two worldviews divide over the matter of authority. Did God say it? Or is man free to decide for himself?

Worldviews In Conflict

Part 2: Origins

Secular Humanism takes it cues concerning the origins of the universe from the only realm it recognizes – the natural world. But clues that explain the existence of the universe without a supernatural cause have been found only after a long and difficult struggle.

Examining the strata of built up layers of dirt, scientists believe they have found a record of gradual change in the various species of life that inhabit this planet. Thus, Secular Humanists believe that life has evolved over the space of four billion years to what it is today, and that it is continuing to evolve. The process that drives the evolution of life, according to Charles Darwin, is natural selection. The healthier and stronger individuals tend to survive the longest and pass on their characteristics to the next generation. Thus, over many generations, individuals become healthier and stronger as they inherit the strong genes of their ancestors, and the weaker genes die out.

Secular Humanism accepts the current scientific explanation of the beginning of the universe at more than thirteen billion years ago. At that time, all the material in the universe was concentrated in a relatively tiny point of intense heat. Then this point began to expand, increasing the space between all its particles. This process continued until there was an explosion that sent particles far and wide in an ever expanding circle out from the central point. This is referred to as the Big Bang.

Scientists are constantly seeking to redefine and improve their conception of the beginnings of the universe. Secular Humanists, because they are so intently tied to science, tend to accept whatever scientists say about the beginnings and existence of the universe.

But there is one part of the history of the universe that scientists generally do not discuss or seek to define, and Secular Humanists generally follow their cue. There is an important question that science cannot answer because it is entirely beyond the realm of that which is knowable by natural means. The question is, where did the material come from that expanded from that small point into the vastness of the universe as we know it? If science says this material always existed and always will, in other words, if they say that this material is eternal, than they are saying this material is God. They do not wish to say that.

To further complicate the picture for the Secular Humanist, who simply follows science on the issue of origins, is the fact that if the material of the universe is not eternal, than it must have originated at some point. But where did it come from? Did this material come from nothing? How could that be? Even Secular Humanists have difficulty imagining a universe coming from nothing. As a result, scientists and the Secular Humanists who follow them cannot answer and usually simply ignore the question about the origin of the material of the universe.

For the theory of evolution to work, vast periods of time are required. Currently, many scientists believe the universe is about thirteen billion years old. They do not comment about what might have been there before this point in time.

The Biblical Christian, however, takes his cues from the Bible, primarily from the Genesis account of creation. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." God is eternal, the only existence that always is, that has no beginning and no end. The materials of the universe were created by the eternal God from nothing. They did not exist until God created them. Light. Water. Air. Space. Stars. Planets. Everything was created by God out of nothing.

The life that is found abundantly on one particular planet we call Earth and Home, all came from the creative hand of God. According to the Biblical account the different species of life – plants, animals, humans – were individually created by God, each "according to its kind" (species), as the Genesis account states.

The Biblical account states clearly that God created everything within the space of six twenty-four hour days, and that He rested on the seventh. There was nothing but God. One hundred and forty-four hours later, there was everything that God had created from nothing.

The Biblical account is not hesitant about answering the question science and the humanists seek to ignore. Where did the material of the universe come from? God created all of it out of nothing. Then in six days He fashioned it into all the structures of the universe, concentrating His special creative efforts to populate one particular planet with life in abundance. And He did it all for His glory.

The Secular Humanist believes either that the universe is eternal, which is difficult for them to fathom, or that it created itself out of nothing, something that is even more difficult for them to fathom. The Biblical Christian, on the other hand, believes that the eternal God created everything out of nothing for His own glory and pleasure. Because God completed His creation in six days, vast amounts of time are not required for the universe to reach its present state. Some creationists put creation at about six thousand years ago. This is based on an arbitrary time structure imposed on Bible history by some scholars. Other creationists suggest the universe may be about ten thousand years old. The Bible does not actually state the age of the universe.

It has been said that it takes a great deal of faith to believe that God created everything out of nothing in six days. It has also been noted that it takes even more faith to believe that everything randomly evolved from nothing over the space of thirteen billion years. Once again, both the Secular Humanist and the Biblical Christian must depend on faith to answer one of the most important questions facing the human race: How did we get here?

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.