“Without God, there is no foundation for human value.”
As New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, signed legislation on Tuesday, January 22nd allowing infants to be killed up the moment of their birth, he demonstrated the truth of this statement. The new law gives us a clear idea of what the logical out-workings of a godless society look like.
No God—-> No Respect for Human Life
Here’s why:
There are two widely acknowledged options to explain where humans came from
Either we were created or we evolved.
For clarification: There are only two generally accepted options for human origins:
CREATION or EVOLUTION.
The first option is typically chosen by people who believe in a God. This would include Muslims, Christians, and Jews, for example. According to these monotheistic religions (and some other religions, as well) humans were created by a being greater than themselves. They believe humans were made by ONE GREATER and it is this ONE GREATER that gives humans dignity, purpose, and inherit worth. As a Christian, for example, I believe the Biblical account that God made man in His image (Genesis 1:27). Being made in God’s image gives humans unique value as humans. Think of humans as being Handmade by God. Being handmade makes humans extremely valuable.
Remember that: Humans have value because we were created by ONE GREATER. We are HANDMADE by God.
Contrast this view to the second option. If humans evolved somehow from non-life, there is nothing to give humans value. Chemical processes, biology, and physics are unable to impart value because they are value-less. According to evolutionists such as Neil deGrasse Tyson: “The atoms of our bodies are traceable to stars that manufactured them in their cores and exploded these enriched ingredients across our galaxy, billions of years ago…We are not figuratively, but literally stardust.”[1] Stardust doesn’t have value. It’s just dust.
The late well-known physicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, called human beings “mere collections of fundamental particles of nature”[2] Like dust, particles don’t have inherent value.
Evolution reduces humans to dust and particles. Creation elevates humans to special handmade creatures with purpose. See the difference?
No matter which view of origins you hold, surely you can see how these view affect human value! To extend the previous metaphor, the contrast is similar to that between a unique, one-of-a-kind, handmade piece of artwork, signed by a Master Artist, to that of an unremarkable mass produced item, manufactured by an unknown manufacturer in an unknown location, without attribution. The analogy may break down at some points, but it does help highlight the difference. Which item has enormous value? Which one is “throw away”?
That brings us back to the recent NY legislation.
Without God, there is no foundation for human value. That is why the state of NY will now kill full-term healthy babies; they are carrying out the logic of an evolutionary view of human origins. Even though some may verbally assent to some sort of belief in God, such as NY’s mountebank “Catholic” governor, their actions are consistent with the evolutionary view.
What is the ultimate conclusion? Logically, every one of our lives is up for arbitrary termination at any point. Logically, there is no point at which anyone can claim that a human has value, apart form the arbitrary whims of the state. That’s what’s coming if God is not brought back into the public arena of our society as the foundation for human value.
*The photo collage was made using the premium features on Ribbet.
This is nonsense. Of coarse you can respect human life and be a terrific, kind, giving person with out believing in God. It is your god that’ kills people when he’s not getting his way, despite the fact he’s all powerful and certainly could have Used a better approach,
Thanks for your comment, Elisa. My claim in the article is not that one cannot be a kind, giving person without believing in God. The claim is that an atheist has no ultimate justification for kindness or goodness. The moral action does not rest upon any absolute moral facts, without God. This is an important distinction.
My God is the only true and living God, the God of the Bible, and he is not capricious or vengeful as you suggest. The type of god you are describing sounds like one of the Egyptian or Greek pagan deities.
This is nonsense. Of coarse you can respect human life and be a terrific, kind, giving person with out believing in God. It is your god that’ kills people when he’s not getting his way, despite the fact he’s all powerful and certainly could have Used a better approach,
Thanks for your comment, Elisa. My claim in the article is not that one cannot be a kind, giving person without believing in God. The claim is that an atheist has no ultimate justification for kindness or goodness. The moral action does not rest upon any absolute moral facts, without God. This is an important distinction.
My God is the only true and living God, the God of the Bible, and he is not capricious or vengeful as you suggest. The type of god you are describing sounds like one of the Egyptian or Greek pagan deities.