Mutual Influence of the Metaphysical and Physical

By: Ziauddin Ahmed

Family of the Heart - DIALOGUE & DISCUSSIONS 

Fundamentalist humanism

Dear Family of the Heart,

I have coined the expression 'fundamentalist humanism' to refer to a peculiar brand of humanism preached by religious fanatics who lace their narrative about God and "His Plan for Mankind" with pseudo-scientific references to the universe and the barometric pressure, if you don't mind, of the haemoglobin in the atmosphere.

Unlike secular humanism, which regards the universe as self-sufficient and undesigned, exponents of fundamentalist humanism maintain that there is a designer at the core of the universe whom the human eye is not qualified to see,  and that such a creator shall forever remain hidden from view unless you recite something from God's own manifesto of manifestoes.

I would like to invite Dr Khalid Sohail to confirm for us  (or deny) that, if there is to be a meaning to their lives, secular humanists endeavour to supply it themselves, applying their powers of observation, reason, and compassion to discern the common moral decencies without fear or favour of God.

Since secular humanism is a eupraxsophy, a nonreligious philosophy of life that provides a cosmic outlook and a commitment to values, the newfangled animal called fundamentalist humanist is doing his damnedest at all times to sound similar in outlook to a secular humanist by making cunning references to scientific bric-a-brac without rhyme or reason.

Let's see what others have to say.

Rashid Mughal

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