God, Human Rights and Equality: Why secular humanism cannot survive
Monday, August 16. 2010 George Thindwa, Executive Director of Association for Secular Humanism took his turn in the Nation to proclaim triumph of secularism. He claimed to have statistics as high as 75 percent of population in different developed nations claiming Christianity is shriveling.
Taking my turn, I will not use the Bible, but the same limited human reasoning and events to justify why God exist even in secular thinking. Without God, the very foundations of Governments would collapse, so too fundamental freedoms. To the contrary, belief in God continues to grow not only in Africa, but even in the West.
The biggest absurd claim is that the belief in God or any supreme deity has shriveled. He misses the fact that it is not only Christians that believe in God and it is not only individuals that believe in existence of God, even the Governments and nations subscribe to the existence of God.
The Malawi national anthem firmly subscribe to the God and its first stanza calls for God to Bless our Land of Malawi, so too the American and British Anthems. South African anthem is an African anthem, it calls to God to bless the continent of Africa.
Nowhere has it been shown that people want to do away with their faith, or even change their expressive belief in the existence of God through their National Anthems. This alone indicates that God continues to triumph even in nations someone would want to portray as loosing its faith in God.
Further, the argument that in America religious belief is on decline as it is in Europe has no basis and justification, as more people, more churches and more religious programmes have come into being in the past decade than any other period.
The Global Financial crisis, earthquake in Haiti, Hurricanes such as Katrina in New Orleans and the Tsunami in Indonesia contrast to Thindwa’s claim has brought more people closer to God than before. September 11 attacks actually saw Americans and many other nations dedicate themselves to God.
The proclamation that “Africans interpret the horrors of everyday urban life in supernatural terms” is as misplaced as the empty illusion of triumph of secularism. Katrina was not in Africa, Tsumani, London July 7/7 bombings, Moscow bombings, China earthquakes, September 11, Haiti earthquake, Chile earthquake and even Pakistani floods have all been linked to religion or supernatural powers and they are not in Africa!
The attempts to link falling church attendance to declining faith in God doe not exist as more people access, just like decline in Newspapers in the media industry, get God’s messages through television, internet and live television shows have grown in viewer audiences in the past.
Secularist advocates should not try to mislead Malawians that dwindling traditional church attendance equals to decline in belief in God or supreme deity. To the contrast even in Malawi traditional churches like Catholics and Presbyterian have lost most of its youthful membership to Pentecostals or emerging groupings which still proclaim belief in God.
It is a direct insult to state that Christianity is fading in the first world and surging less in the less developed third world, as most of the statistics that are used to declare country’s as atheist cannot be backed anywhere.
The attitude of those that have been educated to believe they have better answers than the entrenched beliefs, has led many to bring disorder to society in which has been built firmly over the years and using biased statistics.
Most of the secular members are well educated as it is stated and more importantly in country’s like Malawi well better off that their priorities in life have different that they take pleasure in debating the existence of God.
Using the same United States of America, the USA Today on February 25, 2008 reported Pews Forum’s U.S religious landscape survey results that only 1.6 percent Americans are atheist. 1.6 percent out of 300 million population surely do not constitute triumph.
Perhaps background to people like Thindwa is important as people of similar thoughts in America have gone this path below. Today Gay marriages banned through a popular proposition 7 referendum are very contentious in the very state considered the most liberal-California. Atheist there tried everything but God prevailed.
Micheal Newdow strong conviction of triumph in secularism in 2004 sued the State of California to remove the phrase “Under God” from the pledge of allegiance; he only ended up raising debate on the belief and existence of God. The results were disastrous for secularism.
Gallup Poll (2007) reported that 9 in 10 Americans believe in God, a Harris Poll done in2003 reported 90 percent of Americans believe in God, a Newsweek poll (2007) reported 91 percent and a Fox News Poll of 2004 capped it at 92 percent. This are the most credible data sources in the USA which secularists can choose to ignore and live in own given illusion.
Interestingly much of media coverage in the United States, just as it has happened locally within the past year seem to go to minority group of atheist who want to force their views on the majority. Television Malawi had a field day despite the continuous rejection of secularism by the majority of callers.
The absence of God
The formation of Governments from Capitol Hill in Washington DC to Capital Hill in Lilongwe, the belief in a democratic society, human rights and equality are all firmly premised in the existence of God. Without God these will not exist at all and society.
The existence of God is supreme, that is why Malawi is a God fearing nation. Muslims and Christians. Hindu’s or Bahai’s all live across together and they make up 99 percent of the population and they believe in God.
Government is based on Gods moral code. The laws of Malawi are formulated in line with the original ten commandments of God. There is no other basis of laws except the agreed moral code which goes supreme and above any Government, but principals laid out in belief of the existence of God.
Without God, Government has basis of arresting anybody for killing or raping somebody who has provoked them. These are laws not made on any basis but illusion of man and cannot test the reality.
Actually secularism would be more popular if they stopped writing about Christianity and start providing justifications as to why we should follows laws that have no basis or even pay taxes to a Government that has no moral authority at all to take my earnings as everyman for himself is the principal of secularism.
Then the question of equality. If Humanists believe that all human beings are equal they should find a good basis of such a claim because in the absence of a benchmark, the claim is useless. I am not equal to anything in society where God does not exist.
Human beings are all equal because they were created by God. People could not be made equal by evolution, Plato’s doctrine of forms or any other explanation as there is no single basis that would qualify equality without bench mark.
A human being is equal to the next person because they are all image of God, meaning they have attributes and similarity that is the same and are benchmarks of the source.
Humanists therefore need to bring a convincing reason why we are all wrong to believe that human beings are equal. If they believe that mankind is equal, what would be the basis of that claim because scientifically, logically or historically.
Interestingly, most Malawian humanists claim to be human rights activists which would make it the biggest joke of the year. Where God does not exist, where human rights come from. Government? Village Headman or from individuals.
The denial of existence of God is not only a catalyst to disaster, but it would shake the foundations of every system and Government to core, as they will have no claim over anybody as they do not essentially exist or have authority to look after people.
In 1781, Thomas Jefferson stated, “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God.”
Earlier in 1775 in the Farmer Refuted, Alexander Hamilton had said, “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the Divinity itself and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.”
John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address in 1961 as president of the United States of America gave the origin of human rights as “The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”
In the absence of God, as many as Human Rights activist would like to ignore, the State becomes the new god. And in a familiar term what the “State giveth, the state can take away.” Looking at history of political leadership, I am sure nobody would want the State god.
Communism developed by Karl Marx and Facism by Adolf Hitler all trace their origins from German Philosopher Freidrich Hegel and apart from denying the existence of God another core belief that Citizens exist for Government’s benefit.
Without God, government changes from being Policeman protecting your property to owning your property. Government moves from being servant of the people to your master. It moves fro protecting your rights to giving you or taking away your rights.
In essence the notion that Government exists to benefit the people ends and it assumes a new form of god that decides and determines the best interest of the people and human rights, freedoms and all known forms of todays world order are only determined by Government, in other instance politicians or human beings.
Most of tragedies in the World originate from denying others their God given rights.
The samples for Association for Secular Humanism are many. 1 million Tutsi’s in Rwanda and Burundi through genocide, 27 million inferior Ukrainians by Joseph Stalin, 80 million deaths during the Mao Zedongs period in Communist China.
Actually teachings that deny other rights like Jews are from Apes, Christians are from swine, the Kafir infidels are not equal to believing Muslims, terrorism and jihad has contributed to an estimated 270 million deaths in the last 1400 according William J. Federer.
In conclusion your rights cannot be taken away if they come from a power higher than Government, all citizens will be equal if they were created in the image of God and you can live in freedom as everyone remembers that at the end of the journey they will account for their actions.
In no way will secularism triumph over Christianity or any other faith, as not due to poverty, but proven facts that without the existence of God, we are nothing. We have nothing including human rights.
Secularism to say the least comes from hallucination of a new world order, which cannot find any single benchmark to define its own existence and loud proclamations of equality, human rights and justice for all mankind. Only God defines human kind, Government and human freedoms!
Ends.
Taking my turn, I will not use the Bible, but the same limited human reasoning and events to justify why God exist even in secular thinking. Without God, the very foundations of Governments would collapse, so too fundamental freedoms. To the contrary, belief in God continues to grow not only in Africa, but even in the West.
The biggest absurd claim is that the belief in God or any supreme deity has shriveled. He misses the fact that it is not only Christians that believe in God and it is not only individuals that believe in existence of God, even the Governments and nations subscribe to the existence of God.
The Malawi national anthem firmly subscribe to the God and its first stanza calls for God to Bless our Land of Malawi, so too the American and British Anthems. South African anthem is an African anthem, it calls to God to bless the continent of Africa.
Nowhere has it been shown that people want to do away with their faith, or even change their expressive belief in the existence of God through their National Anthems. This alone indicates that God continues to triumph even in nations someone would want to portray as loosing its faith in God.
Further, the argument that in America religious belief is on decline as it is in Europe has no basis and justification, as more people, more churches and more religious programmes have come into being in the past decade than any other period.
The Global Financial crisis, earthquake in Haiti, Hurricanes such as Katrina in New Orleans and the Tsunami in Indonesia contrast to Thindwa’s claim has brought more people closer to God than before. September 11 attacks actually saw Americans and many other nations dedicate themselves to God.
The proclamation that “Africans interpret the horrors of everyday urban life in supernatural terms” is as misplaced as the empty illusion of triumph of secularism. Katrina was not in Africa, Tsumani, London July 7/7 bombings, Moscow bombings, China earthquakes, September 11, Haiti earthquake, Chile earthquake and even Pakistani floods have all been linked to religion or supernatural powers and they are not in Africa!
The attempts to link falling church attendance to declining faith in God doe not exist as more people access, just like decline in Newspapers in the media industry, get God’s messages through television, internet and live television shows have grown in viewer audiences in the past.
Secularist advocates should not try to mislead Malawians that dwindling traditional church attendance equals to decline in belief in God or supreme deity. To the contrast even in Malawi traditional churches like Catholics and Presbyterian have lost most of its youthful membership to Pentecostals or emerging groupings which still proclaim belief in God.
It is a direct insult to state that Christianity is fading in the first world and surging less in the less developed third world, as most of the statistics that are used to declare country’s as atheist cannot be backed anywhere.
The attitude of those that have been educated to believe they have better answers than the entrenched beliefs, has led many to bring disorder to society in which has been built firmly over the years and using biased statistics.
Most of the secular members are well educated as it is stated and more importantly in country’s like Malawi well better off that their priorities in life have different that they take pleasure in debating the existence of God.
Using the same United States of America, the USA Today on February 25, 2008 reported Pews Forum’s U.S religious landscape survey results that only 1.6 percent Americans are atheist. 1.6 percent out of 300 million population surely do not constitute triumph.
Perhaps background to people like Thindwa is important as people of similar thoughts in America have gone this path below. Today Gay marriages banned through a popular proposition 7 referendum are very contentious in the very state considered the most liberal-California. Atheist there tried everything but God prevailed.
Micheal Newdow strong conviction of triumph in secularism in 2004 sued the State of California to remove the phrase “Under God” from the pledge of allegiance; he only ended up raising debate on the belief and existence of God. The results were disastrous for secularism.
Gallup Poll (2007) reported that 9 in 10 Americans believe in God, a Harris Poll done in2003 reported 90 percent of Americans believe in God, a Newsweek poll (2007) reported 91 percent and a Fox News Poll of 2004 capped it at 92 percent. This are the most credible data sources in the USA which secularists can choose to ignore and live in own given illusion.
Interestingly much of media coverage in the United States, just as it has happened locally within the past year seem to go to minority group of atheist who want to force their views on the majority. Television Malawi had a field day despite the continuous rejection of secularism by the majority of callers.
The absence of God
The formation of Governments from Capitol Hill in Washington DC to Capital Hill in Lilongwe, the belief in a democratic society, human rights and equality are all firmly premised in the existence of God. Without God these will not exist at all and society.
The existence of God is supreme, that is why Malawi is a God fearing nation. Muslims and Christians. Hindu’s or Bahai’s all live across together and they make up 99 percent of the population and they believe in God.
Government is based on Gods moral code. The laws of Malawi are formulated in line with the original ten commandments of God. There is no other basis of laws except the agreed moral code which goes supreme and above any Government, but principals laid out in belief of the existence of God.
Without God, Government has basis of arresting anybody for killing or raping somebody who has provoked them. These are laws not made on any basis but illusion of man and cannot test the reality.
Actually secularism would be more popular if they stopped writing about Christianity and start providing justifications as to why we should follows laws that have no basis or even pay taxes to a Government that has no moral authority at all to take my earnings as everyman for himself is the principal of secularism.
Then the question of equality. If Humanists believe that all human beings are equal they should find a good basis of such a claim because in the absence of a benchmark, the claim is useless. I am not equal to anything in society where God does not exist.
Human beings are all equal because they were created by God. People could not be made equal by evolution, Plato’s doctrine of forms or any other explanation as there is no single basis that would qualify equality without bench mark.
A human being is equal to the next person because they are all image of God, meaning they have attributes and similarity that is the same and are benchmarks of the source.
Humanists therefore need to bring a convincing reason why we are all wrong to believe that human beings are equal. If they believe that mankind is equal, what would be the basis of that claim because scientifically, logically or historically.
Interestingly, most Malawian humanists claim to be human rights activists which would make it the biggest joke of the year. Where God does not exist, where human rights come from. Government? Village Headman or from individuals.
The denial of existence of God is not only a catalyst to disaster, but it would shake the foundations of every system and Government to core, as they will have no claim over anybody as they do not essentially exist or have authority to look after people.
In 1781, Thomas Jefferson stated, “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God.”
Earlier in 1775 in the Farmer Refuted, Alexander Hamilton had said, “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the Divinity itself and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.”
John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address in 1961 as president of the United States of America gave the origin of human rights as “The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”
In the absence of God, as many as Human Rights activist would like to ignore, the State becomes the new god. And in a familiar term what the “State giveth, the state can take away.” Looking at history of political leadership, I am sure nobody would want the State god.
Communism developed by Karl Marx and Facism by Adolf Hitler all trace their origins from German Philosopher Freidrich Hegel and apart from denying the existence of God another core belief that Citizens exist for Government’s benefit.
Without God, government changes from being Policeman protecting your property to owning your property. Government moves from being servant of the people to your master. It moves fro protecting your rights to giving you or taking away your rights.
In essence the notion that Government exists to benefit the people ends and it assumes a new form of god that decides and determines the best interest of the people and human rights, freedoms and all known forms of todays world order are only determined by Government, in other instance politicians or human beings.
Most of tragedies in the World originate from denying others their God given rights.
The samples for Association for Secular Humanism are many. 1 million Tutsi’s in Rwanda and Burundi through genocide, 27 million inferior Ukrainians by Joseph Stalin, 80 million deaths during the Mao Zedongs period in Communist China.
Actually teachings that deny other rights like Jews are from Apes, Christians are from swine, the Kafir infidels are not equal to believing Muslims, terrorism and jihad has contributed to an estimated 270 million deaths in the last 1400 according William J. Federer.
In conclusion your rights cannot be taken away if they come from a power higher than Government, all citizens will be equal if they were created in the image of God and you can live in freedom as everyone remembers that at the end of the journey they will account for their actions.
In no way will secularism triumph over Christianity or any other faith, as not due to poverty, but proven facts that without the existence of God, we are nothing. We have nothing including human rights.
Secularism to say the least comes from hallucination of a new world order, which cannot find any single benchmark to define its own existence and loud proclamations of equality, human rights and justice for all mankind. Only God defines human kind, Government and human freedoms!
Ends.
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