Hungarian Church Press, 1968 (20. évfolyam, 2. szám)
1968-06-01 / 2. szám
'1ICP Yol XX Special Number 1968 No 2 12 -(07654) are used without due. attention to their precise meaning, such as, for instance, "humanism", "humanizing" might easily become empty phrases, and this distoiti.cn might subsequently lead - in actual practice - to the utopian concept of the "permanent revolution"a c) Difference and Likeness The basic difference between the secular types of humanism and Evangelical humanism is, in our opinion, that the former regard man as the ultimate reality, either as individual or as communitye The s 15)reme norm of secular humanism is the homo and not deus» The history of European humanism characteristically shows the progressive replacement of the idea of God by the idea of manQ It is in this sense that we Can speak of "absolute humanism"„ This means that man is ultimately alone with his world« This humanism "is the attempt of man to live by his avm resources and to find the realization of his own meaning in his own be ing" 010) For Evangelical humanism, God is the ultimate Reality, the Alpha and the Ctaega; man is only man in relation to Him0 And the God of the Bible is not the motionless being (ens), but the Lard revealing himself in the history of Jesus Christ. - hence our relation to him is not a stationary relationship (analógia entis) implicit in our nature, but the historical act of faith and obedience. So, with regard to Christianity, we may speak of a "relative humanism"; man is only human in the relationship cf faith and obedience. The innermost tendenoy of secular humanism is to exalt man; the divine attributes are in fact ascribed to man. The Evangelical humanism does not assert the divinity of man but the humanity of God, Man is "exalted" by virtue of the fact that the One, "being in the form of God",humbled himself and emptied himself0 The dignity of man is grounded in his fellowship with Christ who humbled himelfo. We have been investigating the points of similarity and dissimilarity bdween the secular types of humanism and the humanism of the Gospel, As to the point of likeness, as the basis and goad, of common action, we may make this summary statement; It is by no means easier to point to the common humánum in the defence of which those believing in heaven are united with those who do not believe than to point to what is opposed to the humánum, what threatens every type of humanism by threatening man himself, the very existence of man« Tliat is to say, it is easier to find the common "Nay" than the common "Yes", Yet the common "No", at ary rate, calls for and presupposes common affirmations. The latter, however, are hidden under the traditional terminology or dogmatism on both sides0
