R.C. Sproul

They're concerned for such virtues as honesty and integrity and industry, et cetera, et cetera, love, charity, long suffering.

And the humanist says that he's for the well-being of mankind.

And at the heart of the humanist manifesto is a strong affirmation of the dignity of man.

The absolute then becomes the welfare of man, the dignity of man.

But if there is no God,

If there is no ultimate purpose, no absolute purpose to human existence, no absolute value to human existence, no absolute meaning to human existence, how can you possibly assign such a magnificent word as dignity to man?

I beat this drum all the time, but see, this is the fatal weakness with the humanist who wants to seek the dignity of man, that dignity is inseparably related

to the question of origin and destiny.

Here's the difference between Christianity and all varieties of humanism, whether they're pessimistic forms of humanism or optimistic forms of humanism.

Here's the basic tension, that in the Christian faith, man's origin is seen in light of an absolute being

who assigns to man an absolute value, who gives him an absolute destiny of purpose, who gives him an absolute framework of ethics in which he is to live out his existence, so that man himself is not an absolute being, but a dependent being, a created being, a finite being, he gets his dignity and

from his relationship to the one who is absolute in being and value and meaning and truth.

That is to say, man's dignity is real according to the Christian faith, but that dignity is derived and dependent upon the one who stands alone in the context of intrinsic dignity so that man's origin

is in the hands of one who exists in intrinsic value, meaning, truth, being, and dignity.

And his future is designed and determined by the one who exists in the context of intrinsic dignity, value, being, and meaning.

So that from a Christian perspective, man's origin and his destiny are rooted in dignity.

And it is easy for us to see why we can assign such a concept as dignity to man right now.

But in the non-theistic framework, in the humanistic framework, which sees man as the ultimate being, recognizing at the same time that man is contingent, derived, dependent, and finite, how is the origin of man viewed?

It's a cosmic accident.

He has a purposeless and a teleological origin.