Many today claim that Christians are mean spirited, judgmental, ignorant, and closed minded. To be accepting of others is to be loving and tolerant, according to the politically correct crowd. Looking back over recent history, what does the evidence support? We should consider the case of Ota Benga and Carrie Buck to get a clearer picture of who is more loving. When a person is denied the value God places on them, being made in His image, they are subject to being treated anyway the state sees fit, including termination of life.
Ota Benga, a Congolese pygmy, was put on display in the
Bronx Zoo on Septemeber 8, 1906. He was put in a cage with apes and treated as
more animal than human. According to some black clergy members, “The African
was meant to be seen as falling somewhere on the evolutionary scale between the
apes with which he was housed and the people in the overwhelmingly white crowds
who found him so entertaining.”[1]
Although he was removed and sent to live in Lynchburg
Virginia and treated well, according to the
article, unable to adjust, sadly, he took his own life in March 1916.
The case of Carrie Buck is another example of man using
science, based on the theory of evolution, to destroy the God given worth of a
person they see as undeserving of dignity and respect. Carrie Buck was
diagnosed as being “feebleminded” and “promiscuous;” therefore, this young
woman was sterilized without her consent because she was born to an unwed
mother and she herself gave birth to a child while not being married.[2] As
it turned out, she had been raped by the nephew of her foster parents.[3]
While everyone who believes in evolution may not toss out
the rights of others simply because they do not meet the standards considered
normal, many do. Adolph Hitler used this argument to murder millions of Jews
during his reign of terror. When a person is seen as less than others and are
denied God-given worth or intrinsic value, their rights may be removed and the
state is free to do with them as they wish. However, when every person is seen
to have intrinsic value, being made in the image of God, they must be treated
as having worth. Carrie Buck should have been protected by the courts and
medical professionals but because they did not recognize her God-given worth,
she was victimized yet again. It would not be accurate to say that all self
professing Christians treat everyone the way God intends but any true Christian
will.
To view others through the lens of a Christian worldview is
to recognize that every person should be protected and treated as having value.
To reject God-given value and subscribe to a matter plus time plus chance theory opens the door for society to
devalue those seen as unworthy and treat them any way they see fit, including
torture and death. Abortion is a glaring reminder that even in America
today this line of reasoning is happening daily.
Bibliography
EugenicsArchive.org. www.EugenicsArchive.org. "Buck vs. Bell Trial." Accessed October 24, 2014.
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