Comments on: I am a humanist and I object …

By: clayboy

clayboy — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:58:53 +0000

That would be my understanding also, Jason. Perhaps John can summarize the main line of this appendix?

By: Jason Lewis

Jason Lewis — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:11:00 +0000

I’m surprised by the question, “Is it possible to separate ‘Puritan’ and ‘Anglican’?” My understanding of English religious history from the Supremacy Act to the Restoration, was one in which ‘Puritan’ was, if anything, _antithetical_ to ‘Anglican.’ Maybe this comes from 1) living in the U.S., where ‘Puritan’ was something that we inherited because England (quite understandably) wanted nothing to do with them (also, he Puritan colonies were the ones where Anglican churches were prohibited), and 2) my experience of Anglican worship is a post-Oxford Movement one…

Even if those factors are coloring my interpretation, I still understood ‘Puritan’ as referring to the groups who could not under any circumstances reconcile themselves to the concessions of the Elizabethan Settlement.

By: John Hobbins

John Hobbins — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:16:35 +0000

A fine book by John Spencer Hill is entitled “Infinity, Faith, and Time: Christian Humanism and Renaissance Literature” (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s, 1997).

He uses the term “Christian humanism” in a broad way, of the whole fides quarens intellectum tradition: Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Augustine, Nicholas of Cusa, Pascal, Shakespeare, Herbert, Donne, Traherne, and Milton, Bergson. I recommend it.

An interesting appendix: Notes Toward a Protestant Poetic. Is it possible to separate “Puritan” and “Anglican”?

By: Christian Humanism « haligweorc

Christian Humanism « haligweorc — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:51:37 +0000

[...] am The English vicar and biblical scholar now blogging at clayboy (formerly of Metacatholic) has a brief but very worthwhile post that objects to the surrender of the term “humanist” to the agnostic/atheist [...]

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:00:31 +0000

Anyone who mentions Erasmus must make this distinction.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:38:59 +0000

one of my college profs always took great pains to draw the distinction between christian humanism and secular humanism. i’ve heard no one do it since him. till you. kudos, doug.

By: clayboy

clayboy — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:56:09 +0000

I take the point, Theo, except I do think “secular Humanism” and “humanism” are now being effectively equated in controversy and rhetoric

I can’t think when I last saw someone setting out to distinguish “secular humanism” from “Christian humanism” say. The contrasts instead seem to be between “secular humanism” and “faith” or “orthodoxy” or whatever. Hence my plea.

By: Theophrastus

Theophrastus — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:39:43 +0000

Sorry, that last comment escaped before I completed editing it.

I think there is a distinction between “humanism” — which is what you are talking about — and “secular humanism” — which is a different term altogether.

By: Theophrastus

Theophrastus — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:37:37 +0000

That’s why they call it “secular humanism”.

By: John Hobbins

John Hobbins — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:47:15 +0000

Thanks for reclaiming a perfectly good word.