Humanism/Church

Roy Hershberger

I used to believe that humanism (in its many forms) and institutionalized Christianity (in its many forms) where millions of miles away from each other philosophically, but the more I learn about both the narrower that division becomes. Imagine the chagrin of both sides when they find themselves being compared to one another. Of course neither one would seriously consider such a charge because they see themselves as polar opposites, but just how far apart are they?
     The word humanism can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but for the most part it is in reference to a philosophyical idea that places an emphasis on human thoughts and interests rather than on the thoughts and interests of God. In an unadulterated form its basic intent is to remove God from the picture of everyday exsistance. Obviously institutionalized Christianity does not intentionally attempt to make God irrelevant in this same manner, but many modern “Christian” (including fundamentalist and evangelical) beliefs are humanistic in nature because they stem from human reasoning. These beliefs tend to place human methods of organization and human thought above the Kingdom of God and the teachings of Christ. The result is that “Christian” groups and denominations end up practicing their “Christianity” through human will power, human forms of government, and human wisdom. The body of Christ, which is meant to be a living breathing organism, is then effectively reduced to nothing but a cold dead institution.
     What is an institution for? Does it not boil down to authority, power, and who will make the ultimate decisions? Institutions form in order to provide an organized structure of authority which will hopefully result in accomplishing certain goals or tasks as efficiently as possible. This works fairly well for government, business, schools and universities, even “Christian” or so called perachurch organizations. But when it comes to the body of Christ is this an acceptable methodology? God can still work through “churches” who organize themselves in this way, but is this how Christ meant his body to function? Is it the best way?
     I have come to the conclusion that the modern methods of organizing and institutionalizing the body of Christ will allways result in a corrupt religious system. No matter how sincere or sold out to God the “church” leaders and congregation may be the humanistic system they have adopted will have a tendency to bring out the old human nature in even the most spiritualy pure.
     The scriptural model of multiple elders (no professional clergy or dominate leader) and gathering together in small groups in homes (trash the building program) is certainly not without its own problems, but it is far superior to current popular methodology. It is the first step toward a solution to the problems in the body of Christ. Frankly, trying to bring true and lasting reform within the existing modern “church” structure is destined to have only marginal results. The old humanistic system must be completely scraped if we are to witness powerful and genuine change. As I stated before, I am in no way saying that God can not work through the systems of men, but we must realize the limitations of an organized church built through the weakness of human wisdom. Should we believe that Christ sees his body through a stained glass window? Clearly he does not consider the structures of men, why are we so engrossed by them?
     There are more believers everyday who are beginning to understand the problems of the institution we have called the “church.” They are realizing that following Jesus Christ is about relationships, how we view the world around us, and how we live out our lives. They are discovering that it is not about programs, ritual, and buildings. If you are not convinced that rethinking the concepts of “church” buildings and humanly organized institutional structure is important I can only challenge you to keep an open mind and pray for understanding. Clearly no thinking person can deny that there is need for some kind of reform. The only thing that remains is to seek God on how to go about the process of necessary change.

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