Humanity is Not the Purpose of the Universe, It is Humanity's Purpose

Another phrase which occurs frequently in the propaganda of Christian fundamentalists is "scientific humanism." Scientific humanism is supposed to be a philosophy standing in opposition to Christian faith. Fundamentalists like to pretend that we have only two alternatives, either scientific humanism or their version of Christianity. But scientific humanism has as many different meanings as scientific materialism. Roughly speaking, a scientific humanist is somebody who believes in science and in humanity but not in God. If that {9} is the correct definition, I do not qualify as a scientific humanist. I cannot regard humanity as a final goal of God's creation. Humanity looks to me like a magnificent beginning but not the last word. Small children often have a better grasp of these questions than grown-ups. It happened to me that I adopted a stepdaughter. I moved into her family when she was five years old. Before that, she had been living alone with her mother. Soon after I moved in, she saw me for the first time naked. "Did God really make you like that?" she asked with some astonishment. "Couldn't he have made you better?" That is a question which every scientific humanist should be confronted with, at least once in a lifetime. The only honest answer is, of course, yes.

Freeman J. Dyson, Infinite in All Directions (2004-07-22)

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