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promises
Member



Joined: 2009/8/4
Posts: 7


 christianity and humanism

Hello everyone.
I have been so blessed with the sermon index website, blessed is too feeble a word to express my spiritual hunger. I found this site through youtube "Revival Hymnal" and I cannot remember the last time I heard those kind of preaching. If only, if only we had them in the puplit more often then our churches will grow.

I am realtively new to this forum, so please bear with me. I have several concerns, but this one is the most pressing, what does the Bible teach on occupation such as pshychology, social work, human services etc. I find that these fields while they are centered on "helping" our fellow human beings, I find them to be more "humanistic" or self-reliant than dependent of God. Please help

Thank you
Promises

 2009/8/4 23:35Profile









 Re: christianity and humanism

Hi Promises!
Welcome to SermonIndex, I think you will find a wealth of bible based teaching here to peruse to help with any unaswered questions you have.

Quote:
I find that these fields while they are centered on "helping" our fellow human beings, I find them to be more "humanistic" or self-reliant than dependent of God. Please help



I think you have kind of answered your own question here. Most of these occupations stem from a desire to make life better for the individual but forget, or deny, that the true answer lies in God's salvation. D.L. Moody stated, "I don't find any place where God says that the world is to grow better and better...I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel, God has given me a lifeboat and said to me, `Moody, save all you can.' "
Unfortunately, because of sin, there's a need for these occupations and to the 'world' it's their only hope, but they can't offer new life, or complete forgiveness and total healing, only salvation through Christ can do that. I think it's good when you can have the two together, I know a lot of Christians who are trained to work for the good of others, but they are restricted in what they can do due to rules and regulations.
God gave instructions on feeding the poor, clothing the naked and taking care of the widows and the orphans~ there are a lot of verses, especially in Deuteronomy and Levicticus, on how to act towards those in need. It was the responsibility of the Jews to look after the needy and, therefore, they didn't have the professions which we have today.
Then Jesus came to show the way. We have His example in showing compassion in doing the work, through divine love. He spoke out against the social customs of the day, he fed the hungry, healed the sick, had compassion towards the widow, befriended the outcast of society, and wept over Jerusalem. We are not called to preach the gospel just with our words, but we are also called to walk in His ways/ His footsteps in laying down our lives, when seeing a need to not walk by on the other side, to feed the poor, clothe the naked and by doing this to the least, we are doing this unto Jesus. (Jackie Pullinger stated that at first she needed to feed the hungry drug addicts before she was even able to begin to share the good news with them.) I strongly believe that if all His own did His work, (I know that there are those who are an extension of the sacrificial love of Christ) people wouldn't be turning to the 'humanistic' approach that we have today.


 2009/8/5 15:26
promises
Member



Joined: 2009/8/4
Posts: 7


 Re: thank you

Hquest
thank you for your reply to the posting. I really appreciate your answer and comments. I am in agreement with the way Jesus worked, but as you have said, sometimes the ethics that bind the worker make it impossible to really "help' an individual whose help is only in Christ Jesus.

Thanks again
Promises

 2009/8/5 16:43Profile
TomfromOZ
Member



Joined: 2008/12/18
Posts: 49
Hunter Valley, Australia

 Re:

Hi promises and welcome

I do not post much but I do work in welfare and may be able to add something to this.
I do not have a string of initials after my name nor do have I have a university education learned in all the schools of psychology and the thoughts of men.
I work mostly with angry young men and drug effected young people under 25 for a non govt agency.

The industry I work in is dominated by humanism and seems to be increasingly anti-christian and anti-biblical in principal. Im guessing that welfare is not the only industry that is experiencing this.
My job does not give me an open platform to share my faith but it does allow me entrance into the lives of the broken, the hurting, the marginalised and needy and at times confrontations with great evil. In this work I do have oportunities to speak about my Lord and the reality of his transforming power to those in great need. My work is a privelige.

I have recently listened to Zac Poonens messages on Daniel and found great encouragement from a man of God, Daniel, who is in exile with his people, working for a God opposing government, under a false religious regime and yet maintained a mighty testamony for the living God and was used greatly. I hope in what ever work I do, I may walk after the Lord and display his reality like a Daniel.

William booth of the Salvation Army was of the opinion that the lost need to see the gospel in action before they will listen to it. I have seen that in action.

This industry needs Christians in it and around it to maintain a conscience, challenge it and hinder the new age, humanism etc that is so prevalent in it today.

Thats it for now
Tom :-)

 2009/8/5 20:00Profile
TomfromOZ
Member



Joined: 2008/12/18
Posts: 49
Hunter Valley, Australia

 Re:

Hi again promises

I forgot to ask, are you considering work in this field?

Tom

 2009/8/5 23:49Profile
promises
Member



Joined: 2009/8/4
Posts: 7


 Re:

Tom,
I do hope all is well with you. I apologize for taking so long to reply. Actually I have earned my BSW (social work degree) and from the time I began the educational process I became aware of the humanism of the work. I do have struggles each day, but I commit my ways to the Lord and ask him to have his way in my life.

promises

 2009/8/13 18:36Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re:

Promises,
Our son has a friend who is pursuing a doctorate in social work. She told us most people enter social work with the expectations they could make a difference in the lives of people they work to help. When they do not see this happen, they burn out after a few years.

I asked her "what they do then?" She said "they go back to school like I am to get more training." I didn't think to ask her how she expected that to help.

One time at CPC I had a client who was college student majoring in counseling at a nearby state university. I gave her some lit we had, including some from Focus on the Family, asking her to read it and tell me what she thinks about it. She read it and told my co-worker "it was very guilt inducing!" {{SIGH}}

ginnyrose


_________________
Sandra Miller

 2009/8/13 21:46Profile
Koheleth
Member



Joined: 2005/11/10
Posts: 530
NC

 Re: christianity and humanism

Hquest,

Greetings! Welcome to SI. Psychology, social work, and human services can be very Christian, since all of these things are what Jesus was involved in, but like anything else what most people know of these areas is how man has corrupted them and changed their true purpose. So watch out for the distinction.

 2009/8/13 22:17Profile
promises
Member



Joined: 2009/8/4
Posts: 7


 Re:

Ginny rose,
One of the things I am coming to grips with is finding a true knowledge of God. When all is said and done it would not matter about the social work degree, rather it is the simple faith and trust that I have placed in God, but even with that I am having a hard time, because every thing and circumstances around us is so materialistic and it takes only a committed relationship with God to understand the words of the scripture. Thanks for your post.

promises

 2009/8/18 11:19Profile
promises
Member



Joined: 2009/8/4
Posts: 7


 Re:

I can't agree more that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" but have you noticed that the "higher" the academic education the less there is the fear of God in it and even so we do not have too many christian services offered. Most of the services are offered by the government and the christians do the work. If only we can find our place in the secular world. One of my friends said to me, it is a job that you are paid to do, do it and remove yourself from the circumstances. I asked her how to do that, she couldn't tell me.

thanks for the response
promises

 2009/8/18 11:24Profile





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