We\u2019ve all been shocked by the barbarism we\u2019ve seen committed in the name of Islam. But what about the respectable barbarism we see around us every day?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s pretty clear when a worldview is barbaric, because worldviews have feet. They reveal themselves in the real world. We saw it the other day when the Islamic State, or ISIS, terrorist group beheaded American journalist James Foley. ISIS then posted the video for a shocked world to see. Only the most depraved, fanatical person would label such behavior as morally correct.<\/p>\n
But what about the respectable barbarism \u2014 you know, the kind that wears a suit, gives snappy interviews, and carries an advanced degree?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m speaking of the famous British atheist Richard Dawkins, who caused quite a stir the other day when he said that it would be immoral not to abort a fetus with Down Syndrome. Yes, you heard that right. Responding on Twitter to a woman who tweeted that she would face \u201ca real ethical dilemma\u201d if she became pregnant with a Down Syndrome baby, Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist, replied: \u201cAbort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fully consistent in his atheistic, utilitarian worldview, Dawkins added, \u201cSuffering should be avoided. [The abortion] cause[s] no suffering. Reduce suffering wherever you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from the fact that he\u2019s wrong on facts \u2014 the unborn certainly can feel pain at twenty weeks \u2014 he\u2019s also wrong on his assumption , that giving birth to a baby with Down Syndrome relegates you \u2014 and the child \u2014 to a life of suffering. According to Lifesite News, 99 percent of respondents with Down Syndrome say they are \u201chappy.\u201d Further, 99 percent of parents say they love their child with Down Syndrome. Only 4 percent of parents who responded say they regret having the child.<\/p>\n
However, whatever we may say about Dawkins\u2019s barbarism, a lot of people agree with him \u2014 in fact, over 90 percent of unborn children with this diagnosis get aborted.<\/p>\n
Later, responding to a firestorm of criticism, Dawkins callously pointed out the obvious: \u201cWhat I was saying simply follows logically from the ordinary pro-choice stance that most of us, I presume, espouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Worldview matters. Followed to its logical conclusion, the atheistic worldview says that human life has no inherent meaning or value and is therefore disposable. True to his utilitarian impulses, Dawkins makes a distinction between humans who can \u201ccontribute\u201d to society and those who can\u2019t. Those with Down Syndrome, Dawkins decrees, simply are \u201cnot enhanced,\u201d and therefore expendable. In fact, he says it\u2019s wrong to let them live.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m guessing that Dawkins never met Tim Harris, the owner of Tim\u2019s Place, the amazing restaurant in New Mexico I told you about some months ago. Tim has Down Syndrome.<\/p>\n
Dawkins, trapped in his atheistic worldview, doesn\u2019t understand that all humans \u2013 including those like Tim \u2013 are made in the priceless image of God. And he\u2019ll never see that those with disabilities \u201cpull us away,\u201d in the words of my colleague Stan Guthrie, \u201cfrom our besetting narcissism.\u201d Sometimes suffering, which Dawkins so abhors, actually makes us better people.<\/p>\n
In \u201cDancing with Max,\u201d Emily Colson\u2019s great book about her autistic son, Chuck Colson wrote that through the huge trials of Max\u2019s disability, the family came to a \u201cnew understanding of what love really is.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as we face the pressure to conform to the respectable barbarism of our times, we ought remember what Jesus said about treating those considered \u201cthe least of these.\u201d Perhaps He had in mind the infirm, the poor, the prisoner, and the baby with genetic disorders.<\/p>\n
________<\/p>\n
Copyright (c) 2014 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. “BreakPoint” is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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