Hello again
June 21st is World Humanist Day.
There are many definitions of humanist, but this one is typical: “A person who seeks to live a good life without religious or superstitious beliefs.”1 A common humanist tenet is that life is short, nothing follows it and so people should just make the most of the time they have.
But is that all there is to being a humanist? Although nowadays the majority of humanists are non or even anti-religious, you might be surprised to learn that the original humanists were mostly Christian.
Which, when you consider it, makes a lot of sense because another definition of humanist is “a person having a strong interest in, or concern, for human welfare, values, and dignity.”2 By that description, no one could be more of a humanist than Jesus, who, though divine, took on human flesh in order to rescue all of humankind. And who famously said we should love our fellow humans as ourselves.
Best of all, since Jesus lived his human life perfectly, when we unite with him our true purpose as human beings is realised.
Let’s celebrate Jesus on World Humanist Day.
Kind regards
Peter
2 Collins Dictionary