Notes on Humanism

I would like to suggests that today's Humanism has taken an ugly turn. It is the evaluation of the self, the cultivation of ego and ego's mad rush for power and notoriety. We have entered into a time where valued and promising ideas of what could be good, are stolen, mismanaged, and appropriated for the campaign against God. Humanism today would love to promote self and the human position against the obvious existence of the creator. And so the scripture is true where it says people will become lovers of themselves and they will worship the creature over the creator.




Humanism has not always been against God. This I suggest is a manipulation of thoughts to position the new order in a prominent spiritual articulation of what it means to be enlightened. The perception today is to be whatever and whoever you want to be; do who ever and whatever you want to do because it doesn't really effect our spiritual nature in a way of great importance. Humanism today proposes that we create our own world to which we each have our own perspective and values. Hence, we should adhere to the calling of self, the inner consciousness, and the path to enlightenment.  There is the idea in today's humanism that one has the power with in himself to give more, do more, be more, accomplish more for the benefit of humanity. The biggest problem with this perspective is suggesting that there is an alternative way to receive what your spirit longs for other than a relationship with God. Ancient teaching tells us that there is only one way, and few find it. I have a strong belief that the way is found when one is truly seeking for it. When one truly seeks for the only way, his eyes are opened to the great efforts made towards the blocking of the way. The noise, and the distractions become more and more obvious as tactics to keep people separated from knowing Jesus Christ, truly, personally, and intimately.



In the historical overview of Humanistic psychology one would find that it is the examination of the human being and his experience that raises the curiosity for further study. The humanistic perspective was recognized as a relevant discussion in the field of psychology through the classical interpretations of knowledge and knowing as presented by Socrates and Plato, to the enlightenment of the 17th and 18th century, and then traveling into the turn of the twentieth century (Schneider & Pierson, 2015). Thought leaders such as Edmund Husserel and Martin Heidegger paved the way with raising awareness of phenomenological mindfulness (Felder, Aten, Neudeck, Shiomi-Chen, and Robbins, 2014), while Maslow wrote the manifesto of self actualization catapulting Humanistic psychology into a relevant framework for even further discussion (Schneider & Pierson, 2015). However, it was noted that the turn of the 21st century Humanistic psychology did not gain as much notoriety in the academic arena due to its focus on personal growth and the reemergence of biological perspectives of understanding consciousness through cognitive science and neuroscience (Scheneider & Pierson, 2015). It is at this point where we see a shift of humanism being rejected by academic standards but welcomed by a world craving encouragement for better living and personal development. The movement of mindfulness, while connecting to ideas of mind-body-spirit, has threatened traditional western thinking about healing, well being, and consciousness. The threat to western culture and thinking is welcomed when speaking from a Christian perspective, however the implications of such a movement means that prophesy has entered a new phase of it's revelation. Due to the use of mindfulness practices to treat chronic pain (Felder et al., 2014), and the cultural relevance that it has taken to address stress, burnout, and depression; the world has leaned over to natural healing and concepts of spiritual awakening. Unfortunately, the movement consistently and contagiously leaves out the most important factor of such natural healing; God.




Oh, malfunctioned Humanism and your disfigured intentions . . . how did such a good idea turn to destroy the minds of so many people?




"Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment seat."





Hadley, S., & Thomas, N. (2018). Critical Humanism in Music Therapy: Imagining the Possibilities. Music Therapy Perspectives, 36(2), 168–174. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/mtp/miy015




Schneider, K. & Pierson, J. F., (2015). The handbook of humanistic psychology: theory, research, and practice (2nd Ed.) [GCU Digital Resource version]. Retrieved from https://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/sage/2014/the-handbook-of-humanistic-psychology_theory-research-and-practice_ebook_2e.php




Felder, A. J., Aten, H. M., Neudeck, J. A., Shiomi-Chen, J., & Robbins, B. D. (2014). Mindfulness at the heart of existential-phenomenology and humanistic psychology: A century of contemplation and elaboration. Humanistic Psychologist, 42(1), 6–23. doi: 10.1080/08873267.2012.753886




McDonald, M., & Wearing, S. (2013). A Reconceptualisation of the Self in Humanistic Psychology: Heidegger, Foucault and the Sociocultural Turn. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 44(1), 37–59. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1163/15691624-12341244