There is a New Ethic broadly held in Canada today. This New Ethic assumes that there are lives not worthy to be lived and that these ought to be put to death before or after birth. The New Ethic would judge each life by its quality and meaningfulness and would put to death those whose lives did not meet the required standard.
This New Ethic is the philosophy that causes man to put to death over 65,000 unborn babies every year in this so-called civilized country. This adds up to over half a million baby deaths since the laws relating to abortion were amended in 1969. How did we ever come to accept this holocaust? Is human life not sacred any more? Is human life not devoted, dedicated, or reserved for the creator? Whatever happened to the concept of the sanctity of life? In the words of Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer “Whatever happened to the Human Race?”
Who decides when life begins? Who has the authority to say that a baby is not a human person until it is born and only then provided that it meets the required standards after a three-day examination period? Who establishes the required standard? Is it the doctor, the scientist, the government or is it the mother?
The New Ethic is a diabolical by-product of an age-old philosophy called Secular Humanism. Since many people know this philosophy only by the term, it is important that it be defined and exposed.
Secular Humanism is a doctrinal belief that morality is based solely in regard to the temporal well-being of mankind to the exclusion of all belief in God, a supreme being, or a future eternity. It is a philosophy that is concerned with the achievements, interests, values, and the quality of human life. It is a religion which places man at the centre of all things.
Secular Humanism can be traced back to the earliest record of mankind. Since it is a philosophical attempt to solve the problems of man and the world independently of God, it can be identified in the biblical record of the actions of Adam and Eve, and their son, Cain.
Secular Humanism, often referred to as the wisdom of man, was first developed as a system of thought by the Greeks as early as the fifth century, B.C., when Protagoras (480-511 B.C) made two basic propositions: “Man is the measure of all things” and “Contradictory assertions are equally true.”
Western man’s philosophic romance with human wisdom began in the medieval period when it was taught that man’s fall did not affect man as a whole but only in part. It was taught that man’s will was corrupted but the intellect was not affected. This has given rise to the notion that when the intelligence is enlightened, the will is altered for good and man’s problems are reduced.
Portrayal of humanisms
The Renaissance gave opportunity for this philosophy to flourish. Man was glorified in human form as reflected in nude art, in contrast to the biblical principles of man being given animal skins to cover his nakedness.
Voltaire, often called “The Father of Enlightenment,” advanced the utopian dream that can be summed up in five words: reason, nature, happiness, progress, and liberty.
The French and Russian revolutions established institutions of thought that do away with absolutes and entrust humanity to human wisdom and discipline.
Today universal education in general ignores God and teaches that there are no absolutes, and that man is self-sufficient and thus self-indulgent.
● Irrelevance of Diety – Secular Humanism denies the relevance of diety or supernatural agencies. It is expressed in a heightened sense of personal life and in a cooperative effort to promote social well-being. It does not accept traditional theism’s belief in the Bible as the divinely inspired Word of God.
● Supremacy of Human Reason – Secular Humanism encompasses the belief that man can begin from himself and, on the basis of the utilization of his mental faculties alone, think out the answers to the great questions which confront mankind.
● Inevitability of Progress – Secular Humanism embraces the belief that nature is moving inevitably to higher and higher forms of life. It looks more and more to the State to fulfill the role of a saving institution through its educational system.
● Science, the Guide to Progress – Secular Humanism assumes that science is the guide and ultimate provider of human progress and morality. It proceeds on the premise that the universe is potentially knowable and will eventually reveal the keys to solving the problems confronting mankind.
● Autonomy & Centrality of Man – Secular Humanism encompasses the belief that man is autonomous and independent of diety of any kind and is released from any obligation to God. It stresses that man is inherently good and in no need of salvation or theological redemption. It postulates that man, not God, controls the destiny of the human race.
● Essentiality of Evolution – Secular Humanism regards the universe as self-existing and not created. It teaches that man has emerged as a result of a continuous process. Man’s culture and civilization is the product of a gradual development due to his interaction with his natural environment, and with his social heritage.
One does not need to be an expert in the field of philosophy to see the connection between Secular Humanism and the killing of hundreds of thousands of unborn Canadians. If there is no God there is no super-natural person to whom man must account for his deeds. If man’s reason is supreme, whatever man decides to do that seems reasonable should be acceptable to society.
It is argued that the killing of “unwanted” unborn babies is best for the majority. If nature is moving to higher and higher forms of life, how can it be morally wrong to kill more and more babies who are less than perfect “products of conception?” If science is the guide to human progress how can we deny the medical profession the right to intervene when a baby is deformed or retarded? If man is at the centre and in control what right have people who believe in God to challenge the decisions and actions of man? If man is the product of a continuous evolutionary process why should man not help out in the process of “natural selection?”
The Judeo-Christian philosophy takes issue with Secular Humanism on all these points. It establishes that God is central in society. He created man and has a special interest in, and attaches special importance to, the individual from the earliest stage of development. Human life, possessing a special sanctity in that it is created in the image of God, begins at conception.
Fundamental to the Judeo-Christian philosophy is the concept of absolutes. Abortion-on-demand is spiritually and morally wrong. It should not be permitted in this so-called civilized country. A God-fearing philosophy must come into control and Secular Humanism must be rejected if we, as a nation, are to avoid chaos, ruin and disaster.
Rev. Hudson T. Hilsden is Coordinator of Social Concerns and Public Relations for The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.
