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.