Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia isn\u2019t known for mincing words on the Senate floor. Still, even by his standards, his recent comments about a crime in the news were especially impassioned.<\/p>\n
He repeatedly called the alleged crime \u201cbarbaric\u201d and even volunteered to attend the execution of the accused. He told his colleagues that he is \u201cconfident that the hottest places in hell are reserved for the souls of sick and brutal people who hold God\u2019s creatures in such brutal and cruel contempt . .\u201d<\/p>\n
What prompted the senator\u2019s ire? Genocide? Ethnic cleansing? No, cruelty to animals, specifically the indictment of NFL star Michael Vick.<\/p>\n
As you probably know, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback was recently indicted in connection with a dog-fighting ring allegedly operating out of his home in Virginia. The indictment included shocking details about the cruel way in which dogs that could no longer fight were disposed of.<\/p>\n
Public reaction to the indictment was so strong that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took the unusual step of telling Vick not to report to the Falcons\u2019 training camp. If he had reported, Vick would have seen dozens of picketers outside the camp holding signs reading \u201cKick Vick\u201d and \u201cSack Vick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let me be clear: The allegations, if true, are barbaric, and whether the defendants plea bargain or are tried, if convicted, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.<\/p>\n
Still, as former Congressman J.C. Watts noted, something\u2019s \u201cout of whack\u201d in this response. He wrote that people get \u201cmore worked up over the admittedly brutal and inhumane treatment of soulless dogs\u201d than \u201cthe brutal procedure known as partial-birth abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Writing in the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, Watts quoted CNN\u2019s Nancy Grace, who said that the dogs \u201ccan\u2019t defend themselves.\u201d He then reminded readers that unborn children are even more defenseless. \u201cIf only,\u201d Watts continued, \u201canimal-rights [advocates] would acknowledge the more precious worth of human life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watts\u2019 explanation for this moral blindness is that \u201ccultural degeneration\u201d has so skewed our priorities that we decry \u201cthe mistreatment of innocent animals, while we turn a collective and legislative blind eye to the premature and yes, barbaric killing of human life in the name of \u2018choice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He concludes by saying that \u201conce \u2014 just once,\u201d he would like to see people express the same level of outrage at the taking of innocent human life as they do over the mistreatment of animals. \u201cAbsent that, [he weeps] for them and for our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
The blindness Watts describes is the result of the two most destructive ideas in our culture. The first is the belief in radical autonomy which exalts \u201cchoice\u201d and blinds us to the reality of what is being chosen. Choice, after all, is just a process. What matters is what you choose.<\/p>\n
The second is the denial that there is anything inherently special about man \u2014 he is just an especially clever primate. Thus, there\u2019s no reason to get more upset over the death of humans, however barbaric, than the death of animals.<\/p>\n
Combine the two and you have sad irony that Watts noted \u2014 an irony whose contempt for human life should make us all weep.<\/p>\n
________<\/p>\n
Copyright (c) 2007 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. “BreakPoint with Chuck Colson” is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia isn\u2019t known for mincing words on the Senate floor. Still, even by his standards, his recent comments about a crime in the news were especially impassioned. He repeatedly called the alleged crime \u201cbarbaric\u201d and even volunteered to attend the execution of the accused. He told his colleagues that he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[450,72,273,3456,3457,452],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}