The Advent Truth.
CONSCIOUSNESS DOES NOT DETERMINE HUMAN VALUE.
One increasingly common argument says that ending the life of a developing child isn't really taking a human life because the child isn't yet conscious.
But think carefully about that standard.
Since when does consciousness determine whether a human being has the right to live?
A person who is asleep isn't consciously aware of the world around them. A patient under general anesthesia isn't consciously experiencing their surroundings. Someone knocked unconscious in an accident may temporarily have no awareness whatsoever.
Would that make intentionally ending their life acceptable?
Of course not.
That's because our value as human beings isn't created by our current level of consciousness.
And there's another problem: newborn babies don't possess anything close to the developed self-awareness, reasoning ability, memory, or cognitive capacity of adults. If consciousness determines human worth, exactly HOW MUCH consciousness is enough?
Where is the line?
And who gets to draw it?
The Bible gives us a radically different foundation for human value:
"So God created man in his own image..." — Genesis 1:27
Our value comes from WHO created us—not how much we can currently think, understand, communicate, remember, or accomplish.
David said:
"Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb... Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect." — Psalm 139:13,16
Jeremiah was told:
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." — Jeremiah 1:5
And Luke describes John before birth using the Greek word brephos—"baby"—the SAME word used for Jesus after His birth (Luke 1:41,44; 2:12,16).
Before birth and after birth: a developing human life.
Human worth cannot safely be based on intelligence, independence, size, location, development, or consciousness. Once we make human dignity dependent upon possessing certain abilities, human rights stop being inherent and become something the powerful decide who qualifies for.
Human life has value because human beings bear the image of God.
CONSCIOUSNESS DOES NOT DETERMINE HUMAN VALUE.
One increasingly common argument says that ending the life of a developing child isn't really taking a human life because the child isn't yet conscious.
But think carefully about that standard.
Since when does consciousness determine whether a human being has the right to live?
A person who is asleep isn't consciously aware of the world around them. A patient under general anesthesia isn't consciously experiencing their surroundings. Someone knocked unconscious in an accident may temporarily have no awareness whatsoever.
Would that make intentionally ending their life acceptable?
Of course not.
That's because our value as human beings isn't created by our current level of consciousness.
And there's another problem: newborn babies don't possess anything close to the developed self-awareness, reasoning ability, memory, or cognitive capacity of adults. If consciousness determines human worth, exactly HOW MUCH consciousness is enough?
Where is the line?
And who gets to draw it?
The Bible gives us a radically different foundation for human value:
"So God created man in his own image..." — Genesis 1:27
Our value comes from WHO created us—not how much we can currently think, understand, communicate, remember, or accomplish.
David said:
"Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb... Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect." — Psalm 139:13,16
Jeremiah was told:
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." — Jeremiah 1:5
And Luke describes John before birth using the Greek word brephos—"baby"—the SAME word used for Jesus after His birth (Luke 1:41,44; 2:12,16).
Before birth and after birth: a developing human life.
Human worth cannot safely be based on intelligence, independence, size, location, development, or consciousness. Once we make human dignity dependent upon possessing certain abilities, human rights stop being inherent and become something the powerful decide who qualifies for.
Human life has value because human beings bear the image of God.
The Advent Truth.
CONSCIOUSNESS DOES NOT DETERMINE HUMAN VALUE.
One increasingly common argument says that ending the life of a developing child isn't really taking a human life because the child isn't yet conscious.
But think carefully about that standard.
Since when does consciousness determine whether a human being has the right to live?
A person who is asleep isn't consciously aware of the world around them. A patient under general anesthesia isn't consciously experiencing their surroundings. Someone knocked unconscious in an accident may temporarily have no awareness whatsoever.
Would that make intentionally ending their life acceptable?
Of course not.
That's because our value as human beings isn't created by our current level of consciousness.
And there's another problem: newborn babies don't possess anything close to the developed self-awareness, reasoning ability, memory, or cognitive capacity of adults. If consciousness determines human worth, exactly HOW MUCH consciousness is enough?
Where is the line?
And who gets to draw it?
The Bible gives us a radically different foundation for human value:
"So God created man in his own image..." — Genesis 1:27
Our value comes from WHO created us—not how much we can currently think, understand, communicate, remember, or accomplish.
David said:
"Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb... Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect." — Psalm 139:13,16
Jeremiah was told:
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." — Jeremiah 1:5
And Luke describes John before birth using the Greek word brephos—"baby"—the SAME word used for Jesus after His birth (Luke 1:41,44; 2:12,16).
Before birth and after birth: a developing human life.
Human worth cannot safely be based on intelligence, independence, size, location, development, or consciousness. Once we make human dignity dependent upon possessing certain abilities, human rights stop being inherent and become something the powerful decide who qualifies for.
Human life has value because human beings bear the image of God.
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