📖 Biblical Definition
Scripture is not anthropocentric but theocentric. All things exist for God's glory: "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever" (Romans 11:36). Man does hold a unique place in creation — made in God's image, given dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28), crowned with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5). But man's dignity derives from God, not from himself. The moment man places himself at the center rather than God, he falls into the sin of the garden: desiring to be like God, autonomous and self-determining.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Not present in Webster 1828. The term is a modern philosophical category.
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Not in Webster 1828. The concept of human-centeredness as a formal philosophical position emerged later. Webster's era assumed a theocentric framework in which man's dignity was derived from his Creator, not from his own centrality.
📖 Key Scripture
• Romans 11:36 — "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever."
• Genesis 1:26-28 — "Let us make man in our image... and let them have dominion."
• Psalm 8:3-6 — "What is man that you are mindful of him... you have crowned him with glory."
• Colossians 1:16 — "All things were created through him and for him."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Both secular humanism and environmentalism distort man's place — one exalts him to the center, the other demotes him to an equal among species.
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Modern culture oscillates between two errors. Secular humanism is explicitly anthropocentric — man is the measure of all things, the highest authority, the center of meaning. Environmentalism and deep ecology swing to the opposite extreme — man is just another animal, no more valuable than a snail darter or a spotted owl, and "anthropocentrism" is condemned as a sin against the planet. Scripture rejects both. Man is not the center of the universe — God is. But man is uniquely made in God's image, given dominion and stewardship over creation. The biblical view is neither anthropocentric nor biocentric — it is theocentric, with man holding a unique and dignified place within God's order.
Usage
• "The biblical worldview is not anthropocentric — God, not man, is the center of all things. Man's dignity comes from being made in God's image, not from self-appointment."
• "Environmentalism condemns anthropocentrism while humanism embraces it — Scripture rejects both by placing God at the center and man as His steward."