Pets are simple. When things are good, they’re happy, and when things are bad, they’re sad. No hungry dog ever sat home alone smiling, and no well-fed dog being petted by his master ever wore a frown. This is because an animal’s mood is defined by his circumstances.
Humans, in contrast, have precisely the capacity to be happy in the face of terrible pain and to be sorrowful in the presence of surpassing pleasure. Why? Because humans can believe in unseen things that impact them more than their experiences do. Since this so clearly distinguishes us from animals, you might say that those ideas which enable us to be frustrated in prosperity or satisfied in poverty are the most human.
Christianity is thus utter humanism, for its ability to make men feel differently than their circumstances would dictate. It’s also why a belief system which deprives people of any tools for being more than mere animals in this way is terribly ironic for having chosen to label itself “humanism.”
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