I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      The invisible religion of humanism has crept almost unnoticed into our nation and transformed it by a slow, progressive evolution rather than a radical revolution.

B.      In this lesson, we will consider how this progressive spread of humanism has happened and how it continues to spread among us.

II.      THE SPREAD OF HUMANISM

A.      Humanists have employed the "big lie” propaganda technique, which involves the frequent repetition of a blatant falsehood to affect belief in the public.

                                                             1.      This technique was employed by the notorious Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.

a.       In his autobiography Mein Kampf, Hitler revealed his mind on this matter in a passage that was critical of Jews.

i.         While condemning the Jews for their "unqualified capacity for falsehood,” he wrote, "All this was inspired by the principle – which is quite true in itself – that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility.”

ii.        He reasoned that by emotionally corrupting people, "the broad masses of a nation…more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie.”

iii.      He wrote that the masses "would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.”

b.       When the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) made a psychological profile of Hitler, they listed one of his primary rules as "people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.”

                                                             2.      This technique has been employed by Satan since the beginning of the world.

a.       Jesus called Satan "a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44), for he has always lied.

b.       All the lies that have spread through the world since the beginning of time have emanated from Satan and have been propagated by Satan’s continual influence and repetition.

B.      Consider some of the big lies of humanism that have been successfully spread in our nation.

                                                             1.      LIE: Belief in God is irrational.

a.       Humanists have convinced many people that there is no evidence of God or anything that is spiritual in nature.  Even some who claim to be Christians have been deceived to the point of denying that Jesus is the Son of God and that He was raised from the dead.

b.       However, the Bible shows that belief in God is rational.  Notice Romans 1:18-20 – "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

                                                             2.      LIE: Darwinian evolution is a fact of science.

a.       Humanists cannot demonstrate Darwinian evolution by evidence and science, so they use propaganda and intimidation.  People are convinced to believe that evolution is a fact simply because scientists and professors say so and not because there is genuine proof.

b.       The truth is that evolution is a faith, not a fact of science.  In fact, there is much more scientific evidence for the Bible’s account of creation (Gen. 1-2) than there is for evolution.  Of course, Christians believe in creation by faith, not science (Heb. 11:3).

                                                             3.      LIE: Men in government and science have the answers to life’s questions and the solutions to life’s problems.

a.       Humanists press people to trust in man’s knowledge while rejecting God’s revelation.  They teach that Christianity is the cause of many problems, not the solution.

b.       The Bible teaches that all answers are found in God.  Jesus said, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).

                                                             4.      LIE: Sexual deviancy is natural, normal, and moral behavior.

a.       Humanists have portrayed fornication, adultery, and homosexuality as harmless lifestyle choices that should be tolerated, respected, promoted, or even celebrated.  They also endorse the related sins of divorce and abortion.

b.       This lie purposefully ignores the truth about these sinful behaviors, for they have resulted in a scourge of condemnation, suffering, and misery in our nation.  See Romans 1:24-32.

                                                             5.      LIE: The elimination of Christianity from government and the public (so-called "separation of church and state”) is necessary for liberty and civil rights.

a.       Humanists have used the false interpretation of "separation of church and state” to prevent government institutions from acknowledging God.  See Lesson 2.

b.       In truth, government institutions exist because God established them (Rom. 13:1-7).

C.      These lies have been spread by humanists in many ways, but their most potent tool has been public schools.

                                                             1.      In the previous lesson, we noted that the first humanist manifesto of 1933 declared the humanists’ intentions to take control of all institutions.  They have been very successful in achieving their goal, and they have been especially effective in infiltrating the public school system.

                                                             2.      Through the years, the courts of our nation have eliminated voluntary Christian religious activities, prayer, the reading of the Bible, the posting of Bible passages (such as the Ten Commandments), the teaching of creation, and other similar activities from public schools.

                                                             3.      The result is a modern public school system that cannot cultivate faithfulness to God in children.  By law, public schools can provide nothing but a purely secular humanist education.

                                                             4.      Consider the words of some prominent humanists regarding the American public school system.

a.       John Dewey (1859-1952) was a signer of the first humanist manifesto and is known as the "Father of Modern Education” because on his tremendous influence on public schools.  Notice the philosophy that he spread through the public school system:

i.         "Faith in the prayer-hearing God is an unproved and outmoded faith.  There is no God and there is no soul.  Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion.  With dogma and creed excluded, the immutable truth is also dead and buried.  There is no room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes.” – attributed to John Dewey in Teacher Magazine, September, 1933

ii.        "I believe that every teacher should realize the dignity of his calling; that he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of proper social order and the securing of the right social growth.  I believe that in this way the teacher always is the prophet of the true God and the usherer in of the true kingdom of God.” – John Dewey, from his 1897 book My Pedagogic Creed

b.       Charles Francis Potter was a signer of the first humanist manifesto.  In 1930, he wrote the book Humanism: A New Religion, which stated, "Education is the most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American public school is a school of Humanism.  What can the theistic Sunday Schools, meeting for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?”

c.        In 1983, John J. Dunphy wrote "A Religion For A New Age” in The Humanist Magazine.  He said, "I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: A religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being.  These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the education level: preschool, day care, or large state university…The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new – the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a world in which the never-realized Christ ideal of ‘love thy neighbor’ will finally be achieved.”

III.   CONCLUSION

A.      By corrupting the minds of youth, humanism transforms generations so that they may never know anything else but humanism.  Christians desperately need to guard their children, their families, and themselves from this growing tide of godlessness in our culture.

B.      In the final lesson of this series, we will consider some ways to combat and refute the religion of humanism.