SANCTITY OF LIFE
DR. JIM DIXON
JANUARY 15, 1995
PROVERBS 12:10, GENESIS 1:26-28, GENESIS 9:5-6
The greatest astronomical discovery in the second half of the 19th century was the discovery of canals on the planet Mars. That discovery took place in 1877, and it shocked the world. And scientists and lay people alike believed that these canals on the fourth planet represented proof that there was life in our solar system beyond planet Earth, proof that it was intelligent life because it seemed as though as though the canals might be manmade and looked kind of like waterways.
Well, it was this belief that led H.G. Wells to write his science fiction classic called The War of the Worlds in 1898, the story of a battle between planets, the story of a battle between earth and Mars. But of course, subsequent decades revealed that these so-called canals on the planet Mars were actually visual illusions. There are no canals on the planet Mars.
And the truth is, as we know today, there is no life on the planet Mars. In fact, we know today that in our solar system, with its nine planets and its 33 moons, life is found only on planet Earth. It’s only found here. And astronomers tell us that there’s absolutely no evidence, no proof that life exists anywhere else in the cosmos. This planet has been graced. And the first two chapters of the Bible, the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis, described God’s gift of life and how God gave life to this world. This morning I would like us to examine this subject of life from a biblical perspective, life in all of its diversity, and we will take a look at three types of life and what God says to us regarding each type of life.
The first type of life is animal life, what the Greek world called “aloga zoa,” which means irrational life. These words, aloga zoa, are found in the Bible in reference to animals and to people who behave like animals. But in the Bible, there are other words more normally used for animal life. There is the word “peteinos,” which refers to tame animals. And then in addition to that, there’s the word “therion,” which refers to wild animals. And of course there is the Greek word “hayah,” which refers to all animals—the beast of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea. And the Bible tells us that God looked on animal life, and God said, “It is good.”
Now, January 2nd, there were many football games on TV, and I’m sure that many of you saw at least some of them. I like football but grew a little tired of football on January 2nd and that evening, I turned on Channel 12, which had a special on the world of animals. And it was a National Geographic Society production. As you were watching it on your television set, you began by watching zebras run over the plains of Africa. And they looked majestic. They showed them running in slow motion, and they looked beautiful, and they looked powerful. Suddenly, out of the bush came some vicious carnivorous hyenas, and they attacked the zebras and they killed some of the zebras. And this film on the television that night was very graphic, and it showed them just shredding the flesh of the zebras. And it was kind of a shocking thing to watch. Well, then the television program began to focus on hyenas and began to focus on their community and how they lived.
Then it showed a community of hyenas kind of walking through a plain. And suddenly from behind the bush, you saw lions coming out, and the lions attacked the hyenas and the lions begin to kill hyenas. And the narrator pointed out that the male lion was not killing hyenas for food. This male lion was just killing the hyenas for pleasure, and the male lion was not seeking weak hyenas as though it was trying—as naturalists would sometimes tell—to strengthen the whole community of hyenas by sorting out the weak. But instead, the lion was focusing on the strongest of the hyenas and was trying to kill the leader of the hyena pack. And indeed, that’s exactly what the lion did. And it was a graphically violent portrayal of the savagery of animals.
And as I watched that program on television, I thought, “How could God look down on this and say, ‘It is good?’ How could God look down on that savagery and say it is good?” But we need to understand that biblically it’s not just the human race that is fallen. Now, this biblical truth is surprising to a lot of new Christians. But you see, the Bible tells us that all of creation in a sense is fallen. The Bible says the whole of creation is now subjected to futility and nothing is as it was created to be. Nothing is as it was meant to be. And this is true of animal life, and this is true of the animal realm.
It’s impossible for us to look back and know what the animals of this world would have been like, had not sin entered the world. It’s impossible for us to look back and know what the animals of this world would have been like had not Satan fallen and come to this planet. But we do know this. We know that the Bible prophesies that the day will come when God will change the animals, when God will change the realm of animals. We’re told in Isaiah chapter 65 and in Isaiah chapter 11 through biblical prophecy that at the consummation, when Jesus Christ comes again and ushers in the millennium and the new heavens and the new Earth, it’s all going to change. And we’re told the wolf will dwell with the lamb. We’re told the cow and the bear shall feed together. We’re told that the lion will eat straw like the ox and animals will no longer be carnivorous. We’re told that a little child will be able to lead a lion, and we’re told “They shall not hurt or destroy in all My creation, says the Lord God Almighty.” There’s going to be a transformation.
But in the meantime, how would God have us as Christians treat animal life? How would God have us relate to animals? Well, there’s a dumb joke about a dumb guy, and I’m going to tell it to you. This dumb guy was driving down the highway and in front of him was a truck. And the truck hit a big bump, and this pig fell out of the back of the truck. And this guy in his car noticed that the pig was still alive. So he pulled his car over and picked up the pig and put it in his car and started racing after the truck trying to catch the truck. And he was a long way behind. And so he was driving really fast, and a cop saw him, and a cop pulled him over for speeding.
The cop saw that he had a pig in his car. The cop said, “Where’d you get the pig?” And the guy said, “Well, I found it by the side of the road.” The cop said, “Well, I want you to take that pig to the zoo.” The guy said, “All right.” Well, the next day, the same cop’s driving around and he sees this guy in his car, and he sees the pig sitting right next to the guy in the front seat with a baseball cap on, and the cop pulls him over and says, “I thought I told you to take that pig to the zoo.” The guy said, “I did. And he liked it so much I’m taking him to the ball game today.”
Now, obviously this guy was a little confused regarding how to treat animals and a little confused about how to treat that animal. And of course, we live in a world today (and I think if you’ve been reading the newspapers and watching the television, you know) where a lot of people are confused as to how to properly treat animals.
And we see two extremes. We see two extremes in our world. I mean, there are some people who virtually deify nature and deify animals. This is not a new problem. It is an ancient one. And the truth is, it existed in Israel during the days of Ezekiel. The Bible tells us that there came a time when the images of animals were all over the walls of the Jerusalem temple, all over the walls of the Jerusalem temple—sculptures of animals, paintings of animals, images of animals. And the prophet Ezekiel warned the people of Israel regarding animal worship and the deification of animals. It’s an ancient problem. And of course, it exists in some measure today, not only in those eastern cultures but right here in America on the fringes of the animal rights movement and also on the fringes of the new age movement where many people are involved in certain Eastern religious concepts that deify animals and deify nature.
This is one extreme, condemned in scripture. But you see, there’s another extreme with respect to our view of animals, and it is also found in our world today. We see it illustrated through people like Lord Gore, who came to the state of Colorado in the 19th century. He came from Europe, and he came with a great entourage, and he came with many guns. And historians tell us that right here in Colorado, Lord Gore butchered animals. He butchered them by the thousands. He killed deer, he killed buffalo, he killed bear. He killed thousands and, we are told, tens of thousands of animals. It was the greatest slaughter in American history. And of course, the Gore Range and Gore Creek near Vail is named after Lord Gore, a reminder of the atrocities that he perpetrated upon the world of animals.
And of course, it is a tragic thing when people kill animals simply for the thrill of the kill. And it is true, tragically true, that we live in a world where through abuse we have hunted some species of animals to extinction. And that is a great tragedy, and one for which we will have to give an account to God. Because the Bible tells us this with respect to the subject of animal life: human beings have been given dominion. The Bible tells us we have been given dominion over the animals, but it’s a dominion of stewardship. And one day we’re going to have to give an account. Yes, the Bible tells us that we can use animals for food and for clothing. But the Bible also tells us that we are a kind of caretaker with respect to the animals.
And we know just from the story of Noah and the whole story of the ark that God wants every species, every type of animal, to be protected and preserved. And it is a tragic thing when we hunt any animal to extinction. So, we have a responsibility with respect to this life called animal life.
But there is a higher form of life and this higher form of life we examine this morning is human life, what the Greek called “logiga zoa,” rational life. Now, “logiga zoa” is an expression not found in the Bible. In the Bible, the primary Greek word for life (and the word that is often translated life) is the word “psyche,” which literally means breath. And it is true the word “psyche” sometimes applied to animals as well as humans, because both animals and humans have breath.
But you see, the word “psyche” also referenced the soul and that which is transcendent. And in this sense, the word “psyche” uniquely was applied to human beings and referred to human life. And the Bible tells us that men and women are created in the image and the likeness of God. Human life has been crowned with glory and honor, and human beings are the very crown of God’s creation. That is why we speak of the sanctity of human life. Human life is set apart for God. The birds of the air, the beasts of the field, the fish of the sea, they are set apart for man, but human life is set apart for God. And the Bible says in the sixth commandment, “Thou shall not kill.” With respect to “psyche,” life, with respect to human life, thou shalt not kill—or more properly, “Thou shalt not murder.”
Now, in the year 1990, Janet Adkins, a 54-year-old woman afflicted with Alzheimer’s, wanted to commit suicide. She wanted to commit suicide, but she was afraid of the pain of death. And so she looked for a doctor to help her, and she found Dr. Jack Kevorkian, and he rigged up what was called a suicide machine to help her die painlessly. Of course, charges were brought against Kevorkian. And on December 13th, 1990, a Michigan court ruled that physician assisted suicide was legal, that physician assisted suicide did not violate the law of the state of Michigan. And so the next year, in 1991, 2 other people, one with cancer one with MS, sought out Dr. Kevorkian, and he helped them both commit suicide. In 1992, 5 people sought out Dr. Kevorkian, and he helped them all die. And he began to be called.
It was at that time that Dr. Death. Jack Kevorkian began to be called Dr. Death. Well, 1993 was a big year for him, and 12 men and women sought him out, and he helped them all pull the plug. He helped them all take their life. And of course, it was on May 2nd, 1994, that a legal decision was rendered virtually making physician-assisted suicide legal throughout America. However, the whole battle of euthanasia continues to be fought in the American courts. Now, for us as Christians (and I know this is a very complex and controversial subject) I think our concern should not be simply with whether or not something is legal, but whether or not something is moral in the sight of God. Now, certainly as Christians, we should have great compassion on people who are suffering from terminal illness and terminal disease. And yet, also, I think it is true that biblically it’s virtually impossible to find an endorsement of suicide under any circumstance.
Some Christians who support euthanasia look to Romans chapter 13. I think their argument is weak, but they look to Romans chapter 13 and they look there for biblical support of euthanasia, biblical support of suicide when there is hopeless suffering. They say that in Romans 13 the Bible tells us that God has given to earthly governments the right to bear the sword. And God has charged earthly governments to use the sword as a deterrent to evil. Now, some Christians who are looking for an apologetic for euthanasia look to this passage and they say, well, you see, hopeless suffering is evil. Hopeless suffering is evil, therefore, by the will of God, earthly governments should allow the sword to be used.
But you see, if you go to Romans 13 and you look at the context, the word evil there does not reference hopeless suffering. It doesn’t have anything to do with hopeless suffering. The word evil there is referring to criminal behavior. God has decreed that earthly governments should have the right to bear the sword and should use the sword as a deterrent to criminal behavior. The reference is not to hopeless suffering. And of course, with respect to hopeless suffering, I think as Christians, biblically, we would have to say there’s no such thing. I mean, no suffering is hopeless in the life of a Christian. And God promises that He’s capable of using all suffering for sanctification. And of course, as Christians, we also know that when death comes, even in the midst of pain, it is a door to glory for us as Christians, a door to heaven itself. It was Job who said, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
And Job said that in the context of life and death, it’s the Lord who gives and it’s the Lord who takes away suicide. It seems to me in all circumstances suicide is condemned by the sixth commandment. And I think with respect to euthanasia, this is a very dangerous devaluing of human life, even though it is often done in the name of compassion. And certainly I believe in mercy dying. I think sometimes people are kept alive artificially way too long. And certainly I think we all would believe and agree that in the case of mercy dying you want to provide comfort to people in the midst of their terminal illness. But you see, mercy killing is different than mercy dying. Mercy killing is suicide or physician-assisted suicide. It’s the termination of one’s own life by human decision rather than divine decision.
Now, of course, euthanasia is just one of many hot topics with respect to the whole subject of the sanctity of human life. I think it is true that we are in a sad state as a culture when we begin to value painlessness—when we begin to value the absence of suffering—more than we value the gift of life itself.
I think another very hot subject with respect to this whole area of the sanctity of human life is of course the subject of abortion. And I recognize again that this is a very sensitive and a very controversial subject, even for Christians. It was in January of 1973 that the Supreme Court of the United States made abortion legal in this country. Now from January 1973 to January 1994, in that 21 year period, 31 million—31,460,374—legal abortions have taken place in this nation since the passing of Roe v. Wade.
And I think all of you know that the overwhelming majority of those abortions had nothing to do with danger to the life of the mother, nothing to do with gross fetal deformity, nothing to do with rape or incest. The overwhelming majority of those abortions were simply belated efforts at birth control. Many abortions were performed out of a desire for convenience. And today we are performing 4,383 abortions every day in America. 182 babies are being aborted every hour in this nation. And it was Mother Theresa of Calcutta who last year at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, on February 3rd, said that America is going to be judged for its devaluation of human life. And she said, and I quote, “A nation that kills children to solve problems is sick.”
It was President Clinton who once said that he wanted abortion to be legal, safe, and rare. But in fairness, we must conclude that his administration has done everything possible to guarantee that abortion would not be rare, and abortion is now legal on demand through all three trimesters, and it is now illegal to require parental notification. It doesn’t matter how young the mother is, and it is now illegal to require a period of waiting so that the mother and the father or whoever would have to think and reflect. It’s illegal to even require that. Everything possible has been done to guarantee that abortion would not be rare in this country.
And it was just a few months ago that our president, in a dialogue in a university campus conversing with collegians, made the statement that even theologians… President Clinton said even theologians are confused and they debate. They’re not sure when the soul and spirit enter the body—whether it’s at conception, whether it’s in the first trimester, the second trimester, the third trimester, or whether it’s at birth. Even theologians don’t know. Therefore, he said, abortion should not be considered immoral—a strange conclusion, at least it would seem to me. Because you see, if we do not know, if we do not know when human life begins, if we do not know when the soul and spirit enters the body, then it seems to me at least that we should be very hesitant to tamper with that life in the womb, which pro-choice people often refer to as mere fetal tissue. But you see psyche, it may be human life.
And so what a dangerous practice the practice of abortion is. And of course, I think we do live in a nation where human life is increasingly devalued. And this is not simply true with respect to euthanasia and abortion, but the growing violence that we see in our nation. According to CDF statistics, 135,000 children bring handguns to school every day in America. Some inner-city schools are now using metal detectors, hiring policemen, and violence grows in America. Child abuse grows in America, and it’s all part of the devaluation of human life.
You know, a great book that has recently been written is a book called When Nations Die. It’s written by Jim Nelson Black. And the book is endorsed by a great cross section of the Christian community, from Dr. James Kennedy to Oz Guinness and many, many others. This book comes highly recommended. In this book, Jim Nelson Black presents 10 warning signs that a culture is in crisis. And he demonstrates from a historical perspective that those nations that fell generally manifested these 10 warning signs. Certainly this was true of the Roman Empire, and one of the 10 warning signs is the devaluation of human life. That’s one of the 10 warning signs. And you can look at the Roman Empire, and you can see how in their descent the Roman Empire began to devalue human life. In Rome’s ascent, as Rome was growing, the life of children was greatly valued, and infanticide was condemned by the Roman Empire and punishable under penalty of death. Children were protected. But you see, in Rome’s decline, it all began to change. Life became cheap. If you didn’t want to have more children, you could just kill them.
It was legal in Rome for a father to just strangle his son or daughter to death. Legal. And many parents just sold their children into slavery or into prostitution. And many parents just discarded or abandoned children in the major cities throughout the Roman Empire. There were sections set aside for child abandonment. You could go there and you could pick up children if you wanted to acquire some children. But many children, thousands of children, according to historians, just died of exposure to the elements as they were put in these places of abandonment. Life was cheap during the period of Rome’s decline.
And of course you had the whole problem of gladiator combat and the games as they took place in the hippodromes throughout the Roman Empire. And of course, the Roman Colosseum was built in the first century AD. And in the mornings in the Roman Colosseum animals fought to the death. And then in the afternoon, humans fought to the death. And in between, animals fought humans to the death. And it was all for the entertainment and the bloodlust of the masses. And I think many of you have heard the story of Telemachus, that devout Christian who left his monastery on January 1st, 391 AD. And that was the day he arrived in the city of Rome. And he heard the crowds shouting. He heard the crowds shouting, and he followed the noise, and he came to the Colosseum. He’d never been there. And he wanted to know what were they all shouting about?
Telemachus went into the Roman Colosseum and he saw people killing people in combat, and he saw the crowds cheering and yelling. And he saw men with spears thrust through their bodies, wandering around, staggering around until the moment of death, while the crowds just cheered. He saw the crowds cheering people as they bled to death. And he was greatly grieved. And he ran out onto the floor of the Colosseum. He looked up at the crowds, and he shouted, “In the name of Jesus Christ, stop in the name of Jesus Christ, stop!” And two gladiators knocked him down, and he gathered himself. And according to the historical record, he then said, “For the love of Jesus Christ, stop!” And a gladiator just ran him through with a sword. And Telemachus died right there in the Roman Colosseum on January 1, 391. And the crowd was silent.
And it is sometimes said that that was the last day that gladiator combat took place in the Roman Colosseum. I wish that were so, but it’s not so. Gladiator combat continued to take place in the Roman Colosseum until the year 404 AD when it was forever banned by Honorius. But then it was too late. The Roman Empire was in its death throes.
And you know, I hope you have a burden for the country in which we’re privileged to live. And certainly we’ve not fallen to the depravity of Rome, but there’s much to be concerned about. And life is getting a little cheap. And I think as Christians we have been called to be salt and light. And I hope that you’ll be faithful in this hour. Well, there’s one other kind of life. Our time is up.
I just want to conclude by saying that this third type of life is the kind of life we focus on every week. The third kind of life mentioned in the Bible is “zoe” life. It’s divine life. And divine life is the life that God has. It is qualitatively and quantitatively superior to human life or animal life. And divine life is qualitatively superior because it is characterized by the fruit of the spirit—love, joy, peace, et cetera. And it’s quantitatively superior because it never ends. Divine life is everlasting. God does not offer divine life to the animals, but God does offer divine life to people. And for this, His Son came into the world. John 10:10 says, “I have come that you might have life.” Zoe; life. Yes, we are concerned with animal life and with the stewardship of our dominion. Yes, we are concerned with human life and the sanctity of human life. But you see, the truth is human life comes to an end. Oh, it’s true, the soul survives the death of the body, but that soul will never ascend heavenward unless the individual also has Zoe life. And so you see, as a church, our greatest concern is for divine life and for the proclamation of the gospel to this community and to the nations. Let’s close with the word of prayer.