"Soylent Green is People!"

Dr. Albert Mohler’s blog today talked about the ripening fruit of relativism in American society today. The main illustration he uses is our attitude toward life and death as borne out in abortion and euthanasia.

As I read the essay, a couple of sci-fi movies came to mind. While we may not be to the point where we can see the Soylent Green scenario on the horizon, there is an aspect of that story that seems more possible by the day. It ties that story to the story in the movie Logan’s Run.

Science fiction is all about looking into the future to what might be possible. While the specifics are often different than the stories, it is eerie how successful some of the writers have been at seeing the future. Laser weapons, particle beam weapons (ray guns) are being seriously studied. Hand held computers, communicators, etc. are common. But it is in the developments in societal attitudes as shown in these two films that is truly frightening.

While the cannibalism of the Soylent Green scenario still seems too evil for our relativistic society, the treatment of the “raw material” group is not that far removed from today. Recall that the raw material for the product came from the elderly and infirm. The only difference between this story and Logan’s Run is the age of the victims.

Logan’s Run required all people over 30 to come to “Carousel.” This was billed as a beautiful release to some heavenly state, but it was in reality forced euthanasia or suicide for the purpose of population control. Mohler’s reference to a person’s “responsibility to die,” quoting some unnamed source is eerily akin to this concept.

As Christians in this culture, we must be firm in our biblically based convictions on the sanctity of life. We must speak clearly and unashamedly about man’s creation in the image of God and the intrinsic value that gives each person’s life, no matter their age or condition. We must speak about the respect due our elderly and our responsibility to protect the young.

We must continue to shine this light in an ever darkening world. The lives of many, both eternal and temporal, depend on it.

The Moral Vacuum

Good Morning, America ran a story today, following up on an article in the May 30 New York Times Sunday Magazine, that made me shudder at its implications. The title of the Times article was “Friends, Friends With Benefits and the Benefits of the Local Mall” by Benoit Denizet-Lewis. This article was based on interviews with a group of teens ranging from 14 (!!!) to 18. They talked openly with the reporter about the concept of “Friends with Benefits,” which essentially means sex pals. The range of how far they go is wide, from light necking to full intercourse, but the most tragic part of the whole story is their attitude toward these relationships.

The fundamental behind it all, and what disturbs me the most, is that they don’t see this behavior as morally aberrant. One 14 year old girl, who was apparently trying to be chaste, said that the fact that she has been dating a guy for a couple of months and have not kissed yet is viewed as weird even by her mother.

Do role models matter? The mother in the previous paragraph clearly doesn’t care about what she communicates to her kid. But the role model issue goes deeper. Remember Mr. Clinton’s statements that said oral sex was not really sex? Well these kids have heeded this statement, in fact even quoting the idea to the reporter in the interview.

Our country, and yes our churches, are in the midst of an escalating crisis. The logical consequences of our pluralistic, post-modern culture are coming to maturity. The lines are being drawn more and more clearly between the morality that arises from a Christian world view and that which results from the post-modern. We, as believers in Christ, as his body in the material world, must take an overt, courageous stand for what the revealed word of God says about these things. Unless we do, and soon, we will lose yet another generation.

This is at the heart of the Great Commission.