One result, I believe, of over thirty years of legalized abortion is that it takes a big incident to jolt our jaded society regarding the importance of human life. One such incident occurred on the campus of Virginia Tech on April 16.  Within a short span of time a gunman ended the lives of thirty-two students and professors before fatally turning the gun on himself. In the midst of many tears and questions the nation took note of that event. Why was this event so noticed?  After all we have that many and more unborn lives quietly ended by abortion in city after city each week throughout the United States. However, the murder of so many in a short span of time brings to the surface of our thinking that human life is different from animal life.

Two days later the Supreme Court upheld a law banning partial birth abortion.  This too was a reminder of the sanctity of human life in two ways.  The Court’s ruling acknowledges that these babies in process of being born are human life and are to be spared death at the hand of the abortionist. One argument raised by pro-abortionists was that this procedure was the safest for the mother. In a roundabout way this too argued for the sanctity of human life – albeit the mother’s, not the infant’s.

The sanctity of human life is real.  In our day of media violence and modern video games, we can become calloused to the importance of human life from God’s perspective. A review of the sanctity of human life can increase our discernment in regard to modern beliefs and practices regarding man.

Man was, as all life, created by God.  Life did not evolve from one cell.  God created man and gave him a soul. (Gen. 2:7) This soul will never die.  This is one way that man is different from animals.

Under God, dominion of the earth is given to man.  Man is to have dominion “over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:28b). This, also, sets man apart from other life. My stress on human life throughout this article does mean that man can treat animal life as he sees fit.  Scripture speaks against this (Ex. 20:10; 22:9 ff., etc.) Man is to exercise dominion, not for selfish interests, but for God’s glory.  God made man in His image (Gen. 1:27). This, too, sets man apart from animal.  Animals can be killed and eaten by man for sustenance; however man is not to be killed or eaten by animals (Gen. 9:5 ff) If this occurs, the life of the animal is required.  This is still practice today. If man wrongfully takes another man’s life and is duly convicted of this crime, civil government has a responsibility to take the murder’s life.  In this instance, the loss of innocent life, made in God’s image, is so grievous that no other restitution is adequate payment.  The only reasonable penalty is the execution of the guilty party.

Interestingly, the Ten Commandments speak also to the importance of human life. Jesus stated that the second greatest commandment is “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mk. 12:31 b).  The last six of the Ten Commandments provide vital instruction as to how we are to love one another. Included in these commandments is “You shall not murder.” (Ex. 20:13). The fact that so many of the commandments are addressed to how we are to live socially underlines the importance of human life in all its facets, not just whether or not one’s breath is wrongfully terminated.

The height of the biblical message also points to the sanctity of human life. God loved mankind, made in His image, to the extent that His eternal Son became incarnate and died for the sins of a multitude (Isa. 53:12).

It should not take the murder of many for us to be mindful of the uniqueness of human life.  We must guard ourselves, in our fallen world, from reading news on the internet or elsewhere and having a ho-hum attitude toward the unjust loss of life.  God does not take such loss lightly. At the same time, we cannot despairingly wallow in the reality and depth of man’s depravity.  We are to take seriously human life.  We do this by treating others in terms of scripture. We also can spend time helping to protect human life and praying for God’s protection of human life.

We need to interact with our children in this subject.  How do they view human life?  Society’s acceptance of evolution, violent video games, and a belief that the world is overpopulated are some pathways that can lessen the importance of the loss of human life in the understanding of us and our children.  As my generation grows older and becomes more costly to maintain, succeeding generations may find euthanasia to be a desired legal solution by many of their peers.  Whether this desire occurs or not does not negate their awareness of the dignity and significance of human life. Good questions to ask and discuss as a family include:  “Is human life important?” “Why?” “What scriptures teach the dignity of human life?” How are you applying this in daily life?” “How does modern technology impact our view of human life?”

We need to long and work for the day when human life will be more valued and respected in our own culture and elsewhere.

©2007 Byron Snapp, Hampton, Virginia