In Reply to: Re: Speaking of humanistic posted by susie on October 04, 2004 at 20:46:20:
One of the arguments I used to use when preaching the Christian message to an unbeliever concerned whether or not that message was the ultimate truth. I used to argue that if it turned out in the end that I had devoted my life to something that wasn't true I would still have led a good life and so I couldn't really lose by being a believer. On the other hand, if the Christian message turned out to be true then unbelievers were jeopardising their eternal future. It was a feeble argument that I deceived myself with. The fact of the matter is that I wasted 20 years of my life, and there is really nothing I can point to in that period where I accomplished any real, tangible good. In hindsight, I would hardly describe my life in TF as a good life. Belief in the imminent end of the world and in an afterlife, especially TF's version, meant that we could simply write this world off as hopelessly doomed and instead live according to the false hopes of religion. I'm not expressing this as well as Kurtz does in chapter 14 - Is there life after life?. I've reproduced a few paragraphs that express more clearly what I'm trying to say.
"A key objection which the humanist levels against those who cling to the doctrine of immortality is that it undermines ethics. One is unable to be fully responsible for himself and others, to be creative, independent, resourceful, and free, if he believes that morality has its source outside man. The reflective, deliberative, probing moral conscience is too vital to be deferred to the transcendent. We are responsible for what we are, and by the compassion for other human beings and our desire to see that justice be done, we can achieve the good life here and now if we work hard enough to bring about. It is not the hope of salvation or fear of damnation that moves us to seek a better world for ourselves and our fellow humans, but a genuine moral concern without regard for reward of punishment. Morality is autonomous.
"In the humanist view, the believer has committed a grievous mistake: he has wasted much of his life. Life is short, yet it is rich with possibilities, to be lived fully with gusto and exuberance. Those who are morbid, fearful, timid, unwilling to seize destiny are often and able to experience fully the bountiful joys of life.
"All too often those who believe in immortality are full of foreboding; laden with excess of guilt and a sense of sin. All too often the pleasures of the body, sex, and love are repressed, and a variety of opportunities for creative enjoyment are denied. Many such individuals have thus bartered this life for a future life; but if the promissory note is unfulfilled -- -- as I think it is -- -- then they have lost some important values in life. In retrospect, their lives have often seemed barren; they have missed many chances, failed to do what they really wanted; they could not seize the opportunities because of deep-seated fear and trembling.
"Many theists believe that without immortality life would have no meaning. How puzzling and contradictory to so argue. It is a confession of their own limitations as persons. For it is, the humanist contends, precisely the doctrine of immortality that impoverishes its meaning. If one believes in immortality, then little counts here. It is all preparation; life is but a waiting room for transcendent eternity. This life often is not fully cultivated, for only the next one counts. But life has only the meaning we choose to invest it with. All it presents are opportunities, which we may choose to capitalise upon or let pass by.
"Does belief in immortality satisfy a necessary psychological need? Interestingly, many individuals without belief in immortality fear death less and are able to accept it and face it with greater equanimity than those with such a belief. Such unbelieving individuals are able to develop confidence in their capacities as humans, an independent moral conscience, a commitment to social justice or species welfare on this planet. Such individuals need not be without transcendent ideals, ideals larger than they. They may believe in contributing to a better world and be deeply concerned about the future of humankind; and they have a sense of obligation to ideals that are as powerful as any the immortalist possesses.
"Humanists may indeed believe in immortality in a metaphorical sense: they are devoted to the good works that will last them. But they strive for them not in order to be rewarded or punished, but because while they live they find their goals worthwhile. They are moved now to do what they think will contribute to a better future for their children's children's children, even though they may never live to see it. They need nothing beyond that to support or sustain their moral dedication. Thus a thoroughgoing secular humanism does not need a doctrine of immortality to give life meaning or to provide morality with a foundation.
"Nevertheless, it is apparent that the quest for transcendence expresses a passionate desire within the human breast for immortality and permanence. This impulse is so strong that it has inspired the great religions and paranormal movements of the past and present and goaded otherwise sensible men and women to swallow patently false myths and to repeat them constantly as articles of faith."