The Satanic Origins of Humanism, Part I

As we begin to think about humanism, we first need to understand exactly what it is that we’re talking about. Most historians consider humanism to be a relatively recent development. During the Renaissance, the word humanism was created to refer to an educational program—the humanities. It was created to differentiate the classical curriculum of Greek and Latin from the then newer emphasis on science and mathematics. So at this point the word wasn’t used to signify a philosophy or a worldview, but it was used to refer to an educational program.

It was not until the Enlightenment came about several hundred years later that the word humanism came to refer to a philosophy. Now as you know, the 17th-18th century Enlightenment is known as the age of reason. So humanism came to be used to refer to the Enlightenment philosophy in which human reason became the philosophical basis for human dignity. Whereas it was once understood that human dignity and value was based on the fact that man was created in God’s image, humanism says that man is valuable because he is the only being which has the ability to reason.

Protagoras is considered by many to be the founder of humanistic philosophy. His motto was homo mensura—which means man is the measure of all things. Protagoras said man is the measure of all things, of things that are, that they are; and of things that are not, that they are not. And so this is a philosophy in which man is elevated to the place of God. While the Christian worldview is one in which we say let God be true and every man a liar, humanism says that the human being is the final judge of all things. In the words of R. C. Sproul, in the case of humanism, "there is no ultimate distinction between a supreme being and a human being because the human being is the supreme being."

Most historians see humanism as are relatively recent development; they see it as having come about during the enlightenment. And I think that most philosophers probably recognize Protagoras’ motto "man is the measure of all things," which goes back to around 400 BC, as the philosophical basis for humanism. But as Christians, we ought to recognize that humanism is much older. When Adam and Eve determined that they had a right to decide whether or not to obey God, Humanism was born. When Satan tempted Eve in the garden, he said, "you will be like God…” And it was Satan himself who said:

I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.' (Isaiah 14:13-14)

Adam and Eve determined to follow the devil’s example. Therefore, a more appropriate description of humanism might be Satanism. For as we are Christians who seek to follow Christ’s example, so too those who follow Satan’s example can be described as Satanists. If I might bottom line this for you, I would do so using Van Til’s implementation of the word humanism. He uses the word synonymously with the word autonomy. And that’s what this is all about—human autonomy.