Political Radicals and Humanists Talk About The “New Man”

Q: My college professor claims that one day humans will be able to create life in what he calls a “custom being,” according to how he wants the person to be. It seems far-fetched to me; is it? — N.M.

A: We live in a revolutionary, changing world. Man’s moral capacities lag far behind his technological skills and discoveries. The greatest need in the world is to bring about the transformation of human nature, something man cannot do.

Many of our technologists are saying there is a great need for a new breed of man. Even the political radicals and the humanists talk about the “new man.” From this it is clear that they acknowledge that man, as he is, is not good enough. So they look for the arrival of the new man who, they say, will come into being when society has been changed so that a new environment can produce him. There are also the technocrats who believe that technology is now advancing so rapidly that mankind will be able to create an entirely new human race. Some genetic engineers believe that they will be able to create any type of person they want.

But there is only one ultimate answer to the need of man to be changed. Science and technology cannot change man’s basic nature. Economic restructuring cannot change man’s basic nature. No amount of self-improvement or wishful thinking can change man’s basic nature. Only God the Creator can recreate us. And that is precisely what He does when we humble ourselves and submit to Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). What a tremendous statement!

========

(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

©2020 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c)2021 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.