The Sacredness of Life: A Biblical Perspective
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The sanctity of life is not merely about proving that abortion is murder or inherently wrong, but rather understanding the weight of the concept when dealing with potential life and death matters. If we are uncertain whether a fetus is a living human being, our understanding of the sanctity of life should act as a restraint, guiding us to approach the issue with the utmost seriousness. [00:02:45]
The biblical perspective on the sanctity of life begins with the concept of the imago dei, the image of God in man. This idea, found in the opening chapters of the Old Testament, asserts that every human being bears the indelible mark of their Creator. This divine image bestows inherent dignity and value upon all human life, making any attack on a human being an attack on God Himself. [00:08:36]
In Genesis 9, the rationale for capital punishment is as it says "If you shed the blood of man by man shall your blood be shed, because man is created in the image of God." In other words, what that means, ladies and gentlemen, is that God is saying here that human life is so sacred that an attack upon a human being is regarded by God as an attack upon Himself because any malicious attack on a human being is an attack upon one who bears the image of God. [00:11:51]
The biblical message is that man has dignity because God not only creates him, but because God assigns and declares that every human being has value, that every human life is sacred. Now, that theme is not just found in the ancient pages of Genesis or in the arcane elements of Mosaic legislation, but ladies and gentlemen, it's on every page from Old Testament through the New Testament. The overarching message is that human life is profoundly sacred. [00:12:44]
The overarching message is that human life is profoundly sacred. Just one other reminder quickly comes from the teachings of Jesus in the most famous sermon ever preached. The Sermon on the Mount in the fifth chapter of Matthew, Jesus makes this comment to His hearers. He said: "You have heard that it was said of them of old time 'Thou shall not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.'" [00:13:49]
When we talk about natural law on the question of the sanctity of life, we're talking not about a private individual conscience, ladies and gentlemen. We're not even talking about a national conscience. We're talking about an international conscience, something that comes out of the very wellspring of our common humanity, that we abhor murder. Now again, I didn't say that the universal consensus is that we abhor abortion. I said that we abhor murder. [00:18:05]
One of the principles that we find in biology has been called, through natural lawyers, the Principle of Self-Preservation, and this can be seen in many, many ways. There is an obvious apparent universal struggle for life and struggle against death in the biological world. I think, for example, of some of the insights of Charles Darwin when he first developed his theories on the Origins of the Species. [00:20:00]
Finally, we consider the legal or the governmental view of the sanctity of life. We are told in the most rudimentary of our national documents that we hold certain truths to be self-evident. We don't even need to argue them. They're self-evident. They're what, Descartes called "clear and distinct ideas." Ideas that are so plain, so manifest that one doesn't have to have a degree in philosophy to recognize them or to discern them. [00:27:11]
Our government has taken a position, taken a stand on this legally that there are certain truths that we regard to be self-evident and that we are to understand that we have been given by our Creator certain and unalienable rights as an endowment, a gift from our Creator among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. [00:27:23]
The most fundamental right according to the law of the United States of America is the right of life and that's the one that we're concerned about in this discussion. Now, as I said repeatedly, I think everybody on all sides of this issue agrees for the most part that there is a special dimension, sanctity, value to human life. We are not barbarians. [00:28:29]
When we are talking about something that may or may not be living human persons, we know we're talking about something that is that the very minimum potential human life. It is of the complex of human life, and we're not exactly sure whether it's actual life or merely potential life. I urge you to consider that the burden of proof is on the one who says it isn't an actual life. [00:29:39]
Before you hire a surgeon to take a knife in his hand and to destroy an unborn human embryo, I hope you are absolutely sure that this is not a living human being, because life is too sacred to decide it with a roll of a dice. We need better grounds than my preference, my convenience, or my economic condition before we decide on a matter this serious. [00:31:17]
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The biblical perspective on the sanctity of life begins with the concept of the imago dei, the image of God in man. This idea, found in the opening chapters of the Old Testament, asserts that every human being bears the indelible mark of their Creator. This divine image bestows inherent dignity and value upon all human life, making any attack on a human being an attack on God Himself. [00:08:36]
In Genesis 9, the rationale for capital punishment is as it says "If you shed the blood of man by man shall your blood be shed, because man is created in the image of God." In other words, what that means, ladies and gentlemen, is that God is saying here that human life is so sacred that an attack upon a human being is regarded by God as an attack upon Himself because any malicious attack on a human being is an attack upon one who bears the image of God. [00:11:51]
The biblical message is that man has dignity because God not only creates him, but because God assigns and declares that every human being has value, that every human life is sacred. Now, that theme is not just found in the ancient pages of Genesis or in the arcane elements of Mosaic legislation, but ladies and gentlemen, it's on every page from Old Testament through the New Testament. The overarching message is that human life is profoundly sacred. [00:12:44]
The overarching message is that human life is profoundly sacred. Just one other reminder quickly comes from the teachings of Jesus in the most famous sermon ever preached. The Sermon on the Mount in the fifth chapter of Matthew, Jesus makes this comment to His hearers. He said: "You have heard that it was said of them of old time 'Thou shall not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.'" [00:13:49]
When we talk about natural law on the question of the sanctity of life, we're talking not about a private individual conscience, ladies and gentlemen. We're not even talking about a national conscience. We're talking about an international conscience, something that comes out of the very wellspring of our common humanity, that we abhor murder. Now again, I didn't say that the universal consensus is that we abhor abortion. I said that we abhor murder. [00:18:05]
One of the principles that we find in biology has been called, through natural lawyers, the Principle of Self-Preservation, and this can be seen in many, many ways. There is an obvious apparent universal struggle for life and struggle against death in the biological world. I think, for example, of some of the insights of Charles Darwin when he first developed his theories on the Origins of the Species. [00:20:00]
Finally, we consider the legal or the governmental view of the sanctity of life. We are told in the most rudimentary of our national documents that we hold certain truths to be self-evident. We don't even need to argue them. They're self-evident. They're what, Descartes called "clear and distinct ideas." Ideas that are so plain, so manifest that one doesn't have to have a degree in philosophy to recognize them or to discern them. [00:27:11]
Our government has taken a position, taken a stand on this legally that there are certain truths that we regard to be self-evident and that we are to understand that we have been given by our Creator certain and unalienable rights as an endowment, a gift from our Creator among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. [00:27:23]
The most fundamental right according to the law of the United States of America is the right of life and that's the one that we're concerned about in this discussion. Now, as I said repeatedly, I think everybody on all sides of this issue agrees for the most part that there is a special dimension, sanctity, value to human life. We are not barbarians. [00:28:29]
When we are talking about something that may or may not be living human persons, we know we're talking about something that is that the very minimum potential human life. It is of the complex of human life, and we're not exactly sure whether it's actual life or merely potential life. I urge you to consider that the burden of proof is on the one who says it isn't an actual life. [00:29:39]
Before you hire a surgeon to take a knife in his hand and to destroy an unborn human embryo, I hope you are absolutely sure that this is not a living human being, because life is too sacred to decide it with a roll of a dice. We need better grounds than my preference, my convenience, or my economic condition before we decide on a matter this serious. [00:31:17]
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