In an age where human achievement reaches unprecedented heights — from artificial intelligence to space exploration — a fundamental question emerges that challenges the very foundation of modern thought: Can humanity truly be the measure of all things? While secular humanism proclaims human reason, dignity, and potential as supreme, biblical Christianity presents a radically different perspective. This article examines why God remains ultimate while man, despite his remarkable capabilities, remains finite and dependent — a truth that humanistic philosophy consistently attempts to obscure or deny.
Humanism’s Rebellion Against Divine Order
The Philosophical Foundation of Human Supremacy
Humanism, in its various forms, places humanity at the center of existence. It elevates human reason as the ultimate arbiter of truth, human experience as the primary source of meaning, and human potential as essentially limitless. This worldview fundamentally opposes biblical teaching in several critical areas. Humanism inherently rejects the concept of absolute divine authority over human affairs. Where Scripture declares that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10), humanism proclaims that human reason alone is sufficient for understanding reality and determining moral standards.
Moral Relativism vs. Divine Law
Biblical law presents absolute moral standards rooted in God’s unchanging character. Humanism, however, promotes moral relativism where humans determine right and wrong based on cultural context, personal preference, or utilitarian outcomes. This directly contradicts the biblical assertion that God’s law is
... perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple; (Psalm 19:7)
The Autonomy Deception
Perhaps most provocatively, humanism promises what the serpent offered Eve in Eden:
... your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5)
It suggests that humans can achieve moral and intellectual autonomy, requiring no divine guidance or intervention. This fundamental lie continues to seduce each generation, promising freedom while delivering bondage to sin and limited understanding.
The Practical Consequences of Humanistic Thinking
When societies embrace humanistic principles as ultimate truth, the results consistently demonstrate human limitations:
• Moral Chaos: Without absolute standards, societies oscillate between competing moral frameworks, unable to establish lasting justice or peace.
• Technological Hubris: While celebrating human innovation, humanism often ignores the ethical implications of technological advancement, leading to unforeseen consequences.
• Social Fragmentation: Elevating individual human experience above communal divine purpose creates isolation and meaninglessness.
Biblical Theology: The Supremacy of God and the Reality of Human Limitation
The Infinite Nature of God
Scripture presents God as possessing attributes that are qualitatively different from human characteristics, not merely quantitatively superior.
Divine Omniscience:
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure. (Psalm 147:5)
Human knowledge, no matter how advanced, remains finite and subject to error. God’s knowledge encompasses all reality — past, present, and future — simultaneously and perfectly.
Divine Omnipotence
God’s power is not merely greater than human power; it is the source from which all power derives.
Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. (Jeremiah 32:17)
Divine Eternality
While humans exist within time, God transcends temporal limitations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2)
The Created Nature of Humanity
Theological anthropology reveals both human dignity and limitation. Humans possess unique dignity as image-bearers of God (Genesis 1:27), but this dignity derives from God, not from inherent divinity. The image is a reflection, not the source of light itself.
Dependent Existence
for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ (Acts 17:28)
Human existence is entirely dependent on God’s sustaining power. This dependence is not a design flaw but a fundamental aspect of created reality.
Moral Fallibility
The doctrine of sin reveals that human moral judgment is compromised.
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
This reality makes human moral autonomy not just impossible but dangerous.
The Divine-Human Relationship
Scripture presents the proper relationship between God and humanity. Submission and Worship:
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture,
and the sheep of His hand ... (Psalm 95:6-7)
True human fulfillment comes through recognizing God’s ultimate authority. Redemption, Not Self-Improvement: The Gospel message declares that humans cannot save themselves through reason, morality, or achievement. Salvation comes through divine grace:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)
The Provocative Truth: Human Greatness Depends on Divine Submission
Here lies the most challenging truth for the humanistic mindset. Human greatness is achieved not through autonomy but through submission to divine authority. History’s most noble human achievements — from the abolition of slavery to the development of universities and hospitals — emerged from societies that recognized divine authority rather than human supremacy.
The very human faculties that humanism celebrates, reason, creativity, and moral sense, are gifts from God that function properly only when aligned with divine purpose. To claim these gifts while rejecting their source is both logically inconsistent and practically destructive. Furthermore, the humanistic promise of unlimited human potential is ultimately deceptive. No amount of human progress can overcome death, provide ultimate meaning, or satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. These realities point beyond human capability to divine necessity.
The conflict between humanism and biblical Christianity is not merely philosophical but existential. While humanism offers the appealing promise of human autonomy and unlimited potential, it ultimately delivers disappointment because it asks finite beings to fulfill infinite roles. Biblical Christianity, by contrast, offers true human dignity and purpose by placing humanity in a proper relationship with the infinite God.
The ultimate question is not whether humans can achieve greatness, but whether they will acknowledge the source of that greatness. In recognizing God’s ultimacy, humanity discovers not limitation but liberation — freedom to fulfill their created purpose as image-bearers who reflect divine glory rather than attempting to usurp divine authority. This is the uncomfortable truth that our culture desperately needs to hear. Human flourishing depends not on rejecting divine authority but on embracing it. Only when we acknowledge that God is ultimate can we discover what it truly means to be human.
Soli Deo gloria!
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