Posted by Ron on June 20, 19100 at 12:19:31:

In Reply to: Erasmus posted by Kim on December 07, 1999 at 14:23:52:

The term "humanist" as applied to Renaissance scholars like Erasmus does not mean the same thing as the modern term "Humanist". The Renaissance humanists believed in individual reasoning, and they rejected the authority of church and kings, but they were still devout Christians. A modern Humanist forms a kind of religion around a belief in man, without believing in God.

Neither use of the term is very satisfying, IMHO. Believing in humans seems pretty trivial, and not to preclude belief in God or even in the authority of organized religion or scripture. You could call Renaissance humanists "individualists" or "anti-authoritarian Christians" and you could call Humanists "secular humanists" or "atheistic social utilitarians", but then again none of these terms would be much of an improvement either.

Was that the point of your question?

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