Where our thinking goes – especially our thinking about who
we are as humans - so too will go society.
- Last week the Telegraph reported that the remains of over 15,000 aborted babies have been incinerated as clinical waste over the past two years in the UK, with some of them having been used in “waste-to-energy” plants that produce power for heat:
In response to this news, evolutionist P.Z. Myers wrote:
- I’m not in the least disturbed by the fact that patients were not consulted on how their dead fetus was disposed. When you go in for an operation, are you concerned about what is done with the bloody towels afterwards, or how your appendix or tonsils or excised cyst are treated? Did you think there was some special room deep in the bowels of the institution where they were reverently interred, attended by a weeping chaplain who said a few kind words over your precious bodily fluids? Nope. They’re sealed up in a bag, dealt with according to appropriate protocols for medical waste, and incinerated. Get over it.
Myers refuses to acknowledge that there is a profound
distinction between human life and body tissue, and this confusion will
inevitably lead to profound moral and legal changes. It already has.
If there is nothing sacred about the pre-born, then there is
nothing sacred about the post-born. As a result, certain lives are now
considered expendable – the elderly, the mentally or physically impaired, and
other social undesirables, mere “bodily fluids.” After all, if the pre-born are
mere “bodily fluids,” why should these others be anything more than that!
And do not think that this slow erosion of human dignity
will stop at voluntary euthanasia. If the elderly are nothing more than a sack
of bodily fluids, how long will this society justify designating valuable
resources for their care? Not long!
We are entering into a fearful new world in which our value
is socially – not divinely – constructed, resting upon the whim or good favor
of the social moment to determine our value. This value might rest upon some
consideration of our intelligence, productivity, sexual vitality or even our
party affiliation.
However, value can no longer rest upon the notion that we
are all created in the image of God and consequently possess certain
unalienable rights. Instead, secular materialism will find that it cannot
sustain such a notion of equality. Why not? Materialism cannot provide a basis
for equality. From a physical point of view, we are not equal. Some are
educated and productive; others are not. Some are healthy and strong; others
are not. Some are regarded as a credit to society; others are seen as an
unwanted cost. What then becomes of our notion of “equal rights” if there is no
true equality? Why should they remain equal? Perhaps those deemed with greater
value should have more rights?
We may superficially affirm equality or something akin to “unconditional
positive regard” (UPR), but it will become no more than a manipulative and
disingenuous tool without the necessary rational and divine underpinning. The
psychologist might continue to treat her client with UPR, but as a product of
her society, she will increasingly see UPR as an insincere attempt at
psychological manipulation. Eventually, cynicism will eat away at its core.
If human life is no more than bodily tissue, then it is just
a matter of time until our morals and laws reflect this belief. Our hospital
incinerators are just the beginning.
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