A startling abstract of a recent article published in the Journal of Medical Ethics reads as follows:
“Abortion is largely accepted even for reasons that do not have anything to do with the fetus' health. By showing that (1) both fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons, (2) the fact that both are potential persons is morally irrelevant and (3) adoption is not always in the best interest of actual people, the authors argue that what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled.”
This slide into moral relativism began when 1st trimester fetuses were dehumanized. Then 2nd trimester. Next, came “late term” fetuses. Now even newborns are categorized as not “actual” persons, and are utterly expendable when they intrude upon the convenience of those who are deemed “actual” persons.
Minus the constraint of biblical revelation which declares all humans are created in the very image of God, morality degrades—unrestrained. When issues or life and death are deemed “morally irrelevant” than no one is safe. Today’s “actual” person is tomorrow’s casualty of convenience.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
It’s no wonder that Mr. Lehmann didn’t feel “free”—he had locked himself in a prison—not behind the closed doors of an exhibit, but behind the closed doors of a faulty world view. When we see ourselves as nothing more than highly evolved primates, life becomes limited, lacking any real meaning or purpose.
But unlike the spider monkeys, who indeed are mere primates, Mr. Lehmann has the freedom to unlock the door and step into a higher plain of existence. He can escape the confines of “this little planet of the apes” and live with a sense of purpose that is worthy of one who has been created in the very image of God.
One of C.S. Lewis’ most oft quoted comments is, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.”
Philip Yancey observes that, “The Soviet experiment of the twentieth century vividly illustrates the second part of his Lewis’ formula. … Estimates of the death toll from communism have varied wildly. At the height of Stalin’s purges, 3,800 people—more than the number killed in the World Trade Center attacks—were executed every other day. Alexander Yakovlev (A CENTURY OF VIOLENCE IN SOVIET RUSSIA) has established the figure of 60 million fatalities through execution, forced starvation, or prison … . Because of disease, alcoholism, and a collapsing economy, Russian men now at the turn of the 21st century have a life expectancy of fifty-nine. The birth rate has fallen so precipitously that Russia’s population may well sink back to the level of 1917. Seventy percent of Russian marriages end in divorce, and the average woman has had four abortions.”
Philip Yancey worked for 10 years as an Editor and then Publisher for Campus Life magazine before beginning a career as a freelance writer in the 1980s. He has written over 20 books and is among this generation’s most respected Christian authors.
Russia's best efforts to expunge God from society and conquer the world through communism have left a legacy of losing both heaven and earth. So much for “aiming at earth.”
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).