Both within the church and outside of it, the civic role of Christians is widely debated. Many American churches, majority-white churches in particular, have determined that anything which could conceivably interface with politics is off-limits. This belief often manifests itself in total avoidance of any topic that might intersect with the political.
Hold onto that thought for a moment as you read this excerpt from an article written by University of Chicago biology professor and evolutionary theorist Jerry Coyne:
“The reason we don’t allow euthanasia of newborns is because humans are seen as special, and I think this comes from religion—in particular, the view that humans, unlike animals, are endowed with a soul. It’s the same mindset that, in many places, won’t allow abortion of fetuses that have severe deformities. When religion vanishes, as it will, so will much of the opposition to both adult and newborn euthanasia.”
According to Coyne, religious influence is the final remaining bulwark against the killing of vulnerable children and adults. When one surveys the societal landscape, it becomes clear that Coyne is correct. Abortion, euthanasia, and other forms of violent eugenics are proliferating globally at astonishing rates with the help of governing bodies like the United Nations and non-governmental organizations like The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Much to Coyne’s chagrin, religion is not going to vanish. The moral, intellectual and spiritual vacuity of atheism is incapable of sustaining society. But this does not mean Coyne’s eugenic dystopia is far-fetched. Religion need not be abolished for his vision to come to fruition, only exiled from the public square and thus stripped of its public influence.
American churches have not so much been stripped of influence as they have willingly relinquished their role – in fact, duty – to be salt in the midst of a rotting culture. Rotting is not too harsh a word to describe America. But it is, I fear, far too mild. Too many Americans now cheer parents who kill their children and inject them with puberty blocking sex hormones that condemn them to a life of anxiety, depression, and sterility.
A society where Christians maintain significant societal influence does not devolve to such depravity. American Christians have abdicated their civic duty in a flagrant transgression of Jesus’ warnings in Matthew 5.
If the American church continues to abdicate its civic duty, barbaric “intellectuals” like Coyne, who would have killed the very people who need us most, will continue becoming increasingly emboldened in their new role as America’s moral compass, a responsibility vacated by American Christians.
James Silberman is a guest contributor to the FPIW Blog. He is a pro-life activist from Gig Harbor, WA, and a student at Whitworth University.