It never ceases to amaze me that in the 21st
Century there are still people who pose the ridiculous question: “When do you
think life begins?” Quite frankly, it does not matter when you or I think life
begins: Biology established long ago – before abortion on demand became legal
in Canada – that human life begins at conception. People who pretend otherwise must
rely upon sophistry and public ignorance about the nature and reality of
prenatal life to make abortion seem acceptable. 
I find it equally
perplexing that euthanasia advocates say people are dying in excruciating pain
and therefore euthanasia should be available. If people are still dying in great pain in
2014 they do not need euthanasia, they need a better doctor and better
palliative care. Modern pain medications
and techniques make it possible to alleviate or eliminate all physical pain. When I have mentioned this to euthanasia
advocates, they often say that some people do not want to drag out the dying
process for themselves or loved ones.
In my years of pro-Life work I have come
to realize that the issue is not pain control rather simply control. With assisted suicide, the
individual’s desire to control the time of his own death trumps society’s
abhorrence with suicide or assisting it. The excruciating pain argument is a
selling point that depends upon public ignorance and fear.
Both abortion and euthanasia advocates have a façade of
compassion disguising radical ideology that flies in the face of history and law
and depends upon untruth in order to win public opinion and maintain the
violence they promote. Skilled wordsmiths can couch brutality as kindness,
corruption as enlightenment, lies as truth and death as an affirmation of life.
In a world where “appearances” and
pretence can shape public opinion and even government policy, it is critically
important that Christians develop the skill of discernment and effective
witness.
In his remarkable book The
Yes of Jesus Christ Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the entrenchment of false
ideas:
“Opinion, untruth gains domination. The entire life of a
society, political as well as personal decisions, can in this way rest on a
dictatorship of untruth: of how things are presented and reported instead of
reality itself. An entire society can thus fall from the truth into shared
deceit, into a slavery of untruth, of not-being.”
This is precisely what happened with abortion in North
America, resulting in the deaths of millions of unborn children for the sake of
sexual freedom of their parents. It is what is beginning with the acceptance of
euthanasia and assisted suicide and will further coarsen society’s collective
conscience.
It is critical that Christians witness for Christ to the new
post-Christian society in which we now live. Stand steadfast for truth as truth
― even in an era that prefers comfort rather than truth. As Pope Benedict so
aptly stated in a different place in The
Yes of Jesus Christ, “The believer should be a countervailing force against
the powers that suppress the truth, against this wall of prejudice that blocks
our view of God.”
Perhaps that is what lies at the root of abortion and
euthanasia. Not only do they kill the
weakest and deaden the consciences of people and societies ... but they are
based on suppression of the truth that all human life is sacred, and that blocks the view of God. After everything
has been said and done, that is the point.
This generation may not want to know of God and his laws, of
Life and death, or evil and sin and other unpleasant realities. C.S. Lewis said that the natural life “knows
that if the spiritual life gets hold of it, all its self-centredness and
self-will are going to be killed and it is ready to fight tooth and nail to
avoid that.”
The t-shirt motto “It’s all about me” captures the spirit of
our time. Autonomy trumps community. People want their desires satisfied
without any corresponding responsibility. They want to journey through life
without pitfalls, challenges, pain or consideration for others. But people need to grow up and realize life is
not just about satisfying their own wants.
A mark of maturity is stepping beyond one’s own desires to see the needs
of others.
Christians are called to take the Gospel to each generation,
whether it is popular or not. People who do not know of Christ or His love live
in darkness. The violence of abortion
and euthanasia they may espouse outwardly merely indicates inner violence.
The truth and perfect peace of Jesus Christ is desperately needed. Your prayerful
and gracious witness, given in love, may be the first overture to draw people
into relationships ― with Christ and others. Community. Christ can shed light
into the darkest of hearts and give joy where none previously existed. -- Mark
[Click on image below or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmTdwBNFaZo for John Waller, Perfect Peace.]
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