I Believe in the Sanctity of Life
by
Major Richard Munn
“God created man in his own image; in the image
of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27
Decades before the pre natal technical wizardry of today, my
matron aunt – serving at The Salvation Army Mother’s Hospital
- recalls that it was only at the time of delivery that infant
deformities would be realized. In the drama of that moment the
delivery team faced the implications of life and death. What
kind of life would this person have? What would be the demands
on the parents? Would this person suffer? Yet the delivery
team would fight. They would fight with every energy and
medical know-how available to save the life of the baby.
Sometimes the baby died. The doctors and nurses, however,
could go home that night knowing they had tried their hardest
to save life.
Equally, when a distraught individual stands on the ledge of a
building contemplating suicide – passers-by, police,
psychiatrists and firemen cluster around and either try to
save the life or coax the individual back to safety. Generally
speaking, our societal structures do not stand idly by and
watch a person jump to their death. We instinctively try and
intervene.
When the worst kind of psychopathic murderer moves inexorably
through the criminal justice system – through death row and
onto the electric chair – on the night of execution, devoted
demonstrators invariably protest the very notion of capital
punishment.
Why do these three situations occur?
A medical team using all its expertise to save the life of a
malformed infant.
Support for a depressed and lonely person standing inches
from death.
Principled protest for the execution of the vilest criminal
The answer is deeply imbedded in us. It is one of the
monumental foundations of our faith – it is the cherished
belief that human life is sacred. It is the ‘sanctity of life’
and it finds its roots deeply embedded in scripture.
Internalized Sanctity
Medical advances and changing legal statutes in recent years
have made previously simple decisions infinitely more complex.
What we believe concerning the sanctity of life can quickly
face us, and it can mean the difference between life and death
for us, or someone we love. We may have to make decisions when
emotional resources are depleted and our world is in turmoil.
So it’s imperative to think deeply about it now.
There appears to be deteriorating reverence for human life.
While atrocity has been painfully part of the human story
since time immemorial, as the planet has become more
populated, human life has become more threatened. And, it is
the weak and powerless who have been on the receiving end of
the ferocity – ominously, especially children, females and the
elderly. We live in a world famously described by Pope John
Paul as exhibiting a ‘culture of death.’
Yes, we need to be reminded again and again of the ‘sanctity
of life.’
Giant principals have an effect on specific behaviors or
decisions. By acknowledging the ‘sanctity of life’ we are
obliged to apply it to 4 main areas:
abortion
euthanasia
capital punishment
suicide
These are massively complex matters which involve the medical
profession, ethics and religion. There are no easy answers.
Some are politically explosive and divide the general
population with strong emotions. Sides are caricatured. But,
informed Christians must become involved in the fray.
Old Testament Vitae
At the end of the creation story we read the creation of man
and woman. They are set apart from all of God’s other creative
acts. There is the much more personal and affectionate “Let us
make...” in contrast to the impersonal and authoritative “Let
there be...”
Whereas the making of each creature is described as “according
to its kind,” the creation of man is described as “in our
(God’s) image.” Very definitely not according to his own kind.
Our image is not simply of ourselves, we share a likeness to
our creator. All three persons of the Godhead - Father, Son
and Holy Spirit - consult and concur in our creation. To that
great Name we owe our being.
And so you and I have the stamp of God in us. And that makes
you, and that makes me, sacred. Because of that sacred stamp
we dare not profane and violate human life. Because of that
sanctity we must see every person as someone who lives each
moment in relationship with God. Beautiful or ugly, productive
or idle, smart or slow, every person is the one who God made,
whose life is in God’s hands. Every human being is a precious
life.
“You aren’t an accident. You weren’t mass-produced. You aren’t
an assembly line product. You were deliberately planned,
specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by
the Master Craftsman,” says Max Lucado
The legacy of Mother Theresa exemplifies this perfectly. In a
land teeming with people, where economic resources and
societal structures leave the sick and helpless in the gutter
to die, the Sisters of Charity see the image of God in the
emaciated body and honor that person with dignity and respect.
Closer to home, we can see colleague Salvationists face to
face with the submerged tenth of our world demonstrating the
same dignity – even when faced with indifference,
thanklessness or hostility. It is a powerful force for good.
There is more. This sacredness – this image of God in us – is
a gift from God! We are a gift, to ourselves and for our
neighbors; a gift not to be returned or violated. What is
given is not ours to dispose of as if we created it, not ours
to destroy and deprive others of. Rather, we are to care for
it and share it graciously.
New Testament Zoë
Human life is sacred because God became human. The Gospel of
life is at the heart of Jesus’ message:
Jesus says, “I came that they may have life, and have it
abundantly.”
Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”
Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
In Christ the gospel of life is definitively proclaimed and
fully given. If you and I are sacred because we are in the
image and likeness of God, only Jesus could say; “He who has
seen me has seen the Father.” And so we believe that life is
sacred because God became man in Christ and that life is at
the heart of the gospel message to the entire world.
Today
The difficulty comes when the gift of life turns sour. If life
is a gift we cannot refuse, it can also become an almost
unbearable burden for some people. What makes today so
different, however, is that in addition to the ancient
scourges of poverty, hunger, endemic diseases, violence and
war, new threats are emerging.
While abortion is not new, the massive scale in the number of
abortions is. While letting someone who is terminally ill die
is not new, causing someone to die through assisted suicide is
new. These trends are disturbing.
When the primary goal of the powerfully secular is a callous
pursuit of the ‘quality of life’ – interpreted as economic
sufficiency, pleasure and ease – the end result is an
unyielding dominance over the weak.
This makes me a little nervous. There is now a very large
generation, born into a culture where the sanctity of human
life is debatable, who will be in the positions of power when
I am elderly. And, one of the symptoms of the ‘culture of
death’ is the perception that the growing number of elderly
and disabled is inconvenient and burdensome.
Our task?
Defend and promote life; show reverence and love for it.
Decide now that human life, as a gift from God, is sacred
and inviolable; that abortion and euthanasia are unacceptable.
That human life - even life that is burdensome or impaired –
must not be taken, but protected.
Respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human
person, at every moment and in every condition of that
person’s life.
Preach the Gospel of Life and celebrate it in worship; serve
it with programs and structures that support and promote life.
Embrace with gratitude and joy the incomparable dignity of
life; share that in Jesus Christ that dignity and that beauty
reaches its highest form.
Find the deeper meaning in suffering. Believe that in Christ
it can be borne.
Tell people they matter immensely to God. Tell people who in
the eyes of the world may be worthless, that in the eyes of
God they are worth the death of his only son. Tell people that
in Christ, the sanctity of life is the most uplifting thing in
the whole universe.
Yes indeed, I believe in the sanctity of life.
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