Adultery, Abortion and Euthanasia One and The Same
One of the reasons that our society has been willing to allow things that were strongly condemned a generation or so ago is that our world-view as a society has changed. We tend to get caught up in the mechanics of moral choices and in what is right and what is wrong without understanding what the root of an issue is. We see this in the public reaction to presidential scandals, but the approach of our society as a whole has shifted dramatically in recent years. It is this same shift that has allowed abortion and is in the process of sanctioning euthanasia.
Modern society has accepted the notion that the human body is merely a vehicle for getting what you want. It is not uncommon to hear television commentators make the comparison between our bodies and a car. You use a car to get you where you want to go and you use your body in the same way.
Adultery, abortion, and euthanasia all come from a mentality that splits the person from the body. The body is not really "me" but rather a possession of mine. That means it is something I can dispose of or deploy as I choose. I can use it for pleasure, emotional satisfaction, or to bring things to one I find fulfilling. Abortions, in this view, is merely a body-- not a full person. Euthanasia is simply the disposing of a worn out body--not the destruction of a rational being. The sexual union of two physical bodies does not mean a oneness of any kind in this view--just two beings using their bodies for pleasure. With this view, there is no sexual act of any kind that could be considered wrong. Not only does this view approve all homosexual and bisexual acts, but it also allows all kinds of fetal experiments.
Natural History magazine (May, 1998, page 12) gave a concise summary of this view in describing life's origin and death. Conception is viewed as: "The joining of a human egg and sperm defines a new and unique human genotype. It does not produce 'anything' of moral importance implied by the term 'human'. " Death is viewed as: "...the last remains are just that, material that happened, at the time of death, to provide the medium of expression for a human life."
The Bible recognizes the "dust to dust" nature of our physical bodies, but also teaches that each individual is a unity made up of body, soul, and spirit. From a Biblical standpoint, sexual unity is the total unity of two whole person's becoming one. The body is described over and over in the Bible as the "Temple of God" ( 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). When Paul argued against adultery he said:
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? God forbid. What! know ye not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? For two, saith he, shall be one flesh ( 1 Corinthians 6:15-17).
You cannot sever the body from self. When you attempt to do so, you experience the disintegration of your wholeness. This is why God speaks so strongly against sex outside of marriage. Aborting a baby or killing a person whose body is judged to be disfunctional are also the results of viewing body and self as separate entities. Like adultery, these views reflect a loss of the sacredness of human life. If a human embryo is just a body, it can be discarded at any time. Even the promoters of abortion do not agree on what point in fetal development one should refuse to perform an abortion. In China, abortions are performed at points well after birth and proposals have been made in many countries to follow that lead. The Biblical view of man is unique. It values all human life and urges that all humans be treated with dignity and respect. It is not only supported by a wealth of evidence, but it is also vital to any consistent view of how to deal with ones own worth. "Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?" ( Luke 12:27-28).
Back to Contents Does God Exist?, NovDec98.