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What is the greatest form of humanism? [Spirituality & Religion]

“Christianity is the greatest humanism that has ever appeared, indeed that could ever appear. No philosophical or political or religious program in history – neither Greek nor Renaissance nor Marxist humanism – has ever made a claim about human destiny as extravagant as Christianity’s. We are called not simply to moral perfection or artistic self-expression or economic liberation but to what the Eastern fathers called theiosis, transformation into God.” ~ Bishop Robert Barron, in Catholicism – a Journey to the Heart of the Faith , pg. 2 http://amzn.to/1DXgm2o
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If interested in learning the basis of the claim, here is a little bit more from the text:

“In their own ways, Marx, Freud, Feuerbach, and Sartre all maintain that God must be eliminated if humans are to be fully themselves. But there is none of this in the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation. The Word does indeed become human, but nothing of the human is destroyed in the process; God does indeed enter into his creation, but the world is thereby enhanced and elevated. The God capable of incarnation is not a competitive supreme being but rather, in the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the sheer act of being itself, that which grounds and sustains all of creation, the way a singer sustains a song.

And the Incarnation tells us the most important truth about ourselves: we are destined for divinization. The church fathers never tired of repeating this phrase as a sort of summary of Christian belief: Deus fit homo ut homo fieret Deus (God became human so that humans might become God). God condescended to enter into human flesh so that our flesh might partake of the divine life, that we might participate in the love that holds the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in communion. And this is why Christianity is the greatest humanism that has ever appeared, indeed that could appear. No philosophical or political or religious program in history—neither Greek nor Renaissance nor Marxist humanism—has ever made a claim about human destiny as extravagant as Christianity's. We are called not simply to moral perfection or artistic self-expression or economic liberation but to what the Eastern fathers called theiosis, transformation into God.”
SW-User
Catholicism has a miserable record. From hiding child rapists to accommodating nazi Germany to shame based repression of the human spirit.
Christianity contains essential humanistic values like equality between fellow human beings, but it remains a religion, with a punishment and reward system (hell/ paradise)and rules (dogma/ commandments) that are to be followed without questioning-- while humanism emphasizes critical spirit, blind obedience to a very hypothetical entity.
where did you plagiarize this from?
@beckychandler: That's not the way I function.
LegendofPeza · 61-69, M
@beckychandler: Beyond your wit is it ?
yeronlyman · 51-55, M
"... a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values; especially : a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason"
You act as though Moses came down from the mountain with a definition of "Humanism", he put bold fonts on it --and that is the end of the discussion.
SW-User
To be humanisitc they sure do kill a lot of humans
brief response below Miss Bad Ass Fantastic Bitch --how many people do you reckon the Catholic Church has killed?
SW-User
@beckychandler: lots
I gathered that --but if you are going to make serous accusations like that it shouldn't difficult to come up with some numbers and sources of information.
The Church is comprised of sinners – there has never been any claim otherwise. Serious mistakes have been made both institutionally and by lay members and that will continue to be the case. The number of witches killed has been greatly exaggerated. However it is shameful – even though the vast majority were killed by secular courts. I am not aware of any gay pogroms. What is undisputed is that secular ideologies have killed exponentially more people than any religion. More people were killed in the twentieth century by these ideologies, which arose out of the so-called Enlightenment, than were killed in all of the previous centuries combined: See e.g. Which Killed More Religion or Ideology? http://bit.ly/1fC51d5
shadowplay · 26-30, M
coming from the catholic church,it's seem kind of hypocritical .
shadowplay · 26-30, M
it sounds like a hard read ,i have heard the details from a number of survivors several of which i knew personally ,two of them sadly committed suicide,how did the church help them? if i told you the church secretly murdered thousands of children .then covered it up what would be your reaction? because in essence this is exactly what happened
I just want you to see that their pleas are heard and it is coming not from Pope Francis's liberal wing, but rather the most conservative. I've got to run --I have honestly enjoyed this dialogue with you. Thank you! I am going to send you a friend invite --please accept it and I would like to continue hearing from you and discussing this or whatever. And please try to wade through that review You will learn something -- and one thing I hope is that many of us do feel their pain and are trying to atone and make changes -- you are right -- an apology is not enough!
shadowplay · 26-30, M
👍
SW-User
Funny, most political Christians despise humanism.
Yes, you are right --and that is kind of the point he was making. This is not an unsophisticated comment by some hick preacher.
SW-User
@beckychandler: catholicism is about control. It filled a void left by the downfall of the Roman Empire and has been making human beings miserable ever since.
ForeverOnMyGuard · 22-25, F
Because it's totally okay to kill witches and gays but "Love everyone" guys
shadowplay · 26-30, M
@ArtVandelay: they would have a lot less reason to do those wrongs,i'm not saying religion is the cause of every bad thing.but the things done in it's name have all but destroyed us.it divides people more than any other single cause
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shadowplay · 26-30, M
@ArtVandelay: because it doesn't practice what it teaches
MartinTheFirst · 26-30, M
we use labels too much

 
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