For a long time, I have believed that secular humanism is closer to the truth than existentialism—humans do have value—but illogical since a product of chance cannot be a source of objective meaning. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, however, is a book that revealed to me, for the first time, how secular humansim can make sense—even if incorrect.
Rand wrote her magnum opus to put forth her philosophy of Objectivism in a characteristically practical, not abstract, way—through a great novel. The novel is the story of a man who seeks to "stop the motor of the world" and a woman who loved human ability so much that she fights him nearly to the death. It is mysterious, engaging, intelligent, sharp, and vivid. I won't tell much more of the literary merit—it is surely worthwhile—but instead I will concentrate on Rand's fascinating ideas.
Rand's philosophy is, amazingly, both very close to Christianity in some ways and terribly far from it in others. She begins the book by presenting her characters and drawing the reader to sympathize with them. She extols the value of joyful, able work ("[he] faced a challenge and found joy in his capacity to meet it", see Colossians 3:23). She demands rationality and logic in morality ("man's reason is his moral faculty"). She regards man as higher than animals (she spurns the one who claims, "man is just a low-grade animal").
God holds all these to be true as well.
She unfortunately falls far short of the truth in the end. After a brilliant two-thirds of the book, she gets into her serious philosophy in the remaining third (culminating in a 70-page speech presenting Objectivism) and her philosophical mistakes are exaggerated to arrive at lunatic conclusions. For example, she claims that giving gifts is immoral (says John Galt); that mercy is incompatible with justice (says Hank Rearden); that love can only be given to those who deserve it (says John Galt); even that "Heaven" on Earth can be reached by having everyone act rationally all the time (spoiler not revealed).
She arrives at all these false conclusions because she is missing total depravity. We humans require undeserved gifts because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). God accomplished justice with mercy by sending Jesus to take our punishment for us. We give love even to those who do not deserve it because no one deserves it, and we can only love because "God first loved us" (I John 4:19). Heaven will never be accomplished on Earth because "no one is good, no, not one" (Romans 3:10).
In the end, Ayn Rand was a brilliant woman, far smarter than I am, with some fascinating ideas. I would have loved to meet her. But she was blinded by the god of this age. Oh, that she would have used her intellect in the service of the true God instead.
Expect a couple more blog posts inspired by this book.
I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.(Psalm 119:99)
