Dignity IV

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” -Pro. 14:34

Gilbert Meilander has written a recent book on the subject of the dignity of man entitled Neither Beast Nor God.* I just naturally liked it already because of the title. We are not in the same category as any beast of the field which is a distinction no longer assumed in the public sphere. Our friends at P.E.T.A. regularly remind us of that and accuse us of “specie snobbery” or some such thing. Without the Bible, it is hard to explain why humans should have their way in this world just because they happen to be on the top of the food chain.

Meilander book-ends the topic with the reminder that we are not gods either no matter how much some of us might wistfully imagine in fractured moments of self-delusion.. It is Satan’s oldest trick to tease us into some grasp at equality with God as happened in the garden or at the tower of Babel. Our Mormon friends find this not so repulsive or unobtainable as one might think.

In the book, the author talks about human dignity as that common distinction afforded the human race as opposed to animal or vegetable life. He characterizes it, however, as a somewhat slippery term that invites comparisons among us as when certain people show themselves notoriously inhuman in their personal conduct or merely as not having as much worth as another. Meilander points to the necessity of grounding everything in the concept of personal dignity, an idea that finds its roots squarely in Scripture.

“A society can acknowledge and reward differences in accomplishment and achievement, it can recognize the sadness and tragedy of disability and fading capacities, and it can appreciate the worth of particular loves and special bonds of association—it can, that is, honor and affirm the dignity of the human condition, of this creature who is neither beast nor god. But it can safely do this only when its first and last commitment is to respect the equal dignity of persons, each of whom is made for community with God.”

I recently read the tawdry story of a young woman who had driven her husband to the hospital early one morning. She was drunk, and he was suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen as a result their argument. They both sounded absolutely pathetic. Not the kind of folks I would choose as neighbors or sitting as a jury of my peers. Yet, both retain a sense of personal dignity that requires me to treat them as people for whom Christ died and still seeks to save. Our secular society finds our compassion in this regard as helplessly “religious” in nature and therefore irrelevant to the public sphere. They would even criticize us for interjecting religion into matters of state. Yet, Meilander finds that it is the unbelievers “who find themselves mute when asked to give an account of our shared public commitment [to equal respect for every human being].” Their silence in this regard is both enlightening and frightful.

It is instructive to witness the great outpouring of love and concern for the people of Haiti coming from a) Christians and b) countries sharing a traditional Christian heritage. They recognize the personal dignity that resides in each poor, helpless, and struggling Haitian man, woman, and child in spite of language, culture, tradition, or even religion. We go because Christ went. We weep because Christ wept. We have compassion because Christ had compassion. And in doing these things for the least of those, we do it unto Him. When enough of us continue this great commission and tradition, we can actually exalt a nation.

*2009, Encounter Books, New York, NY.

Dignity III

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” -Genesis 1:26

If you wondered if there were any fresh questions regarding the dignity of man out there today, you need look no farther than the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. It is not a journal I subscribe to or keep up with regularly but you need to hear the rich and imaginative language with which two highly educated doctors have come up with in justifying the taking of human life. The article which ran in the December, 2009, journal has a title which says it all: “An ethically justified practical approach to offering, recommending, performing, and referring for induced abortion and feticide.” My guard goes up immediately anytime I read about an ethically justified practical approach to anything. It is almost a sure give-away that someone is going to rationalize something horribly wrong.

Sure enough, the authors, Frank A. Chervenak, M.D., and Laurence B. McCullough, Ph.D., have created a very high sounding argument justifying the practice of abortion by redefining when human life takes on value and meaning. According to them, “the fetus lacks the capacity to generate a perspective on its interests” due to “the immaturity of the fetal central nervous system.” Did you get that? In other words, human life that cannot reflect upon its own self interest has no inherent value or meaning. The authors go on to insist that we have obligations to the fetus only “…when the fetus is reliably expected later to achieve moral status as a child and person” which is “…established only by the pregnant woman's decision to confer the status of being a patient.” They talk about some concern for a fetus who has viability outside the womb but after all this talk of “perspective on its interests” and the conferring of personhood only by the mother, we can envision only a muddled life ethic perched precariously on the most slippery of slopes.

If you were not confused already, catch this surefire guide to directing the limited role for a doctor’s “individual conscience.” One needs to be careful because “…in contrast to professional conscience, individual conscience is variable because of the striking heterogeneity of the sources of morality that form individual conscience.” There you have it. The conscience of the individual is inherently untrustworthy because it is formed by who-knows-what source of inspiration. It might even be contaminated by religious views which we all know are oh-so personal (read “arbitrary” and “capricious”) in nature. We who have amateur consciences are to leave these choices of life and death to those trusted souls who can exercise a more “professional conscience.”

We do not have here some diabolical evil geniuses out of a James Bond movie or some sci-fi tale twisting logic and language to cover their perverse schemes. These are pre-eminent scholars and medical minds of the highest order who are conjuring up this Brave New World now on our doorstep. The dignity of human life is under attack simply because our new leaders have abandoned the ground of being that has for centuries defined western civilization. They search desperately for another rock of understanding but can only come up with “the capacity to generate a perspective on its interests” or simply, the ability to choose. Just how will this kind of thinking hold up in situations of despair when a parent, a spouse, or the state questions the practicality of caring for a life that has become burdensome? I thought so.

You have an opportunity to stand with others this weekend upholding a Biblical standard for the dignity of all human life by attending the Right to Life prayer service at Calvary Baptist Church, 3200 Kingston Pike, at 2:00 PM, Sunday, Jan. 24^th, featuring Mr. Jim Wood of Wears Valley Ranch. What a great field trip for you and your children. They need to know that being little is not necessarily safe anymore.

Dignity II

“Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in my name, receiveth me” -ASV Mark 9:37

I love the song, “Plant a Radish,” from the 1960 Schmidt and Jones musical, “The Fantastics.” It is the plaintive cry of a gardening father who has great luck with vegetables but not so much with children.

Plant a radish.
Get a radish.
Never any doubt.
That's why I love vegetables;
You know what you're about!

They're dependable!
They're befriendable!
They're the best pal a parent's ever known!
While with children,
It's bewilderin'.
You don't know until the seed is nearly grown
Just what you've sown.

So plant a carrot,
Get a carrot,
Not a Brussels sprout.
That's why I love vegetables.
You know what you're about!

Life is merry,
If it's very
Vegetarian!
A man who plants a garden
Is a very happy man!

Plant a beanstalk.
Get a beanstalk.
Just the same as Jack.
Then if you don't like it,
You can always take it back!

But if your issue
Doesn't kiss you,
Then I wish you luck.
For once you've planted children,
You're absolutely stuck!

While the spirit of this song is very light hearted and centers on the whimsical years of adolescence, the actual reality of this truth can stretch one to the limits of despair. I have a nephew-in-law in prison for manslaughter right now. He has broken his mother’s Christian heart innumerable times and one has to ponder the why of it even though there were some obvious cross currents in his life involving a broken home and an alcoholic father. But even the finest of families produce the most curious anomalies that perplex us all. One child is the model of responsibility while the next is totally forgetful and oblivious to all that is around him. One has all the gifts of an academic scholar and the other is intrigued only by machines and grease. One will cherish all the home making arts while another has no love whatsoever for anything domestic.

We are content for the most part with this reproductive lottery when it comes to the skills, interests, and abilities of our children. It is quite another thing, however, when we all of a sudden realize that our child is severely limited in intelligence, personality, or by a physical abnormality. Life all of a sudden can turn into a grinding test of faith and love when we realize that one of our children is not the child we had in mind.

Not long ago, I recall talking in the same week with two sets of parents sharing a similar though divergent problem. One set of parents had discovered that they had a very gifted child on their hands, a child that read at a level far beyond his years and who was totally bored with the school work his peers found challenging. Yet, he was emotionally right on grade level in terms of personal maturity. The other parents had discovered that their child was not just developmentally delayed but actually tested out at a very low I.Q level. Both children, as a result, would present constant and on-going challenges to their parents. Neither family asked for or necessarily would have even chosen either of these characteristics if they had had a choice. But God clothes both in equal dignity that recognizes no difference. In fact, it is the weak among us who define our humanity best and contribute greatly in that regard. Jesus chose to associate with low life, children, and even lunatics demonstrating how God uses the simple things to confound the wise. Our challenge is to see each of our children as equally valued in the sight of God regardless of ability, stature, or charm. Our children need to see that in each other.

Dignity I

Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; ASV Heb. 2:14

For all you word fans out there, Christmas is a time where we celebrate the Incarnation; God with us. Like no other, our God chose to come near and inhabit our world with us in human form. Incarnation literally means “in flesh.” It derives from the Latin word, caro, from which we derive all sorts of words such as carnal, carnivorous, and even carnival which harks back to the celebrations that would take place before the “doing away with meat” during Lent. The Incarnation of Christ in our world has been the source of much holiday meditation of mine and is a concept that both appalls me and thrills me.

On the appalling side, I can get quite queasy when I dwell on the weaknesses of the flesh. I could never be a doctor or especially a surgeon. Once the body is opened up, I am easily sickened by the sights of quivering, bloody tissue. I prefer to picture each of you as freshly washed and groomed persons in your Sunday best beaming smiles from your Christmas pictures. That you are spirits wrapped in flesh that is subject to a thousand corruptions and quite capable of emanating the foulest of substances is a fact I choose not to dwell upon. And our Lord stooped to take on this mantle of weakness? It is hard for me to imagine a more bizarre scenario. How could he do this?

On the thrilling side, the very fact that Christ did take on the form of human flesh with all its concomitant weaknesses and frailties is incredibly ennobling. Christmas forever puts a stamp of extreme value upon all human flesh as God himself chooses to take it on for the purpose of redeeming all humanity. He shares in our universal weakness, our suffering, and our pain to accomplish His plan of salvation for a broken and lost creation. But not for all, not for the plants, the animals; just for man alone. All creation stands as a mere backdrop for this drama of redemption for people such as you and I.

This is what changes everything when we look at creation and all the world. Mankind has a dignity and worth because of the price tag God put upon it. This idea has previously infected all of western civilization through the ages but now is in grave danger. Our modern world is attempting to maintain the old values regarding the dignity of man apart from the underpinnings of Christian faith. Pity on those who try for it is hard to do. Many hang their hopes on focusing on the rationality of man and his free will to choose. This is a threadbare hope at best and one which will wither away, but surely it will never resist the onslaught of a determined attack. Even now there are those who talk about defending new born life only when a certain “viability” is attained. “Choice” is, in fact, championed as a supreme act of the free will in terminating the unborn. And the loss of rationality is becoming dangerously close to justify the ending of “unmeaningful” life.

When we talk of critical thinking as a worthwhile and virtuous activity, I would urge you to examine with your children this whole idea of the dignity of man as we have traditionally come to presume upon it. It is in poor health in our society, and we Christians are the only folks that have the gold standard antidote. Do your children know what is at stake here? I would plead with you to take time and effort to discuss and teach them in very concrete terms the ramifications of the incarnation. This can be a Bible lesson or one seen in literature or History. The stark test of it is to visit a nursing home and wade into rooms full of the feeble, the broken, the incontinent, the mentally absent, the less than sweet smelling, and to touch their translucent skin in a way that says that they have great value because God said so. The fate of our society as we know it depends upon it.