So I hear this reported from Alan Shlemon (via: JT) who recently gave a defense of the pro-life position at Central Michigan University and he focused on just two claims:
(1) the unborn is a distinct, living, and whole human being from the moment of conception;
(2) abortion is discrimination: it disqualifies a group of human beings (the unborn) from being valuable because of an arbitrary quality or characteristic.
He then fielded objections from the audience. The vast majority of objections against the pro-life view, he says, come in one of two forms.
They either assume the unborn is not a human being.
Or, they disqualify the unborn from being a valuable human being based on an arbitrary quality or characteristic.
It is point two that I am particularly thinking about. What do you make of it?
See, I think some Christians would agree but get tripped up because they suggest that humans are valuable because they are made in the image of God and then if pressed about what the image of God means do suggest certain qualities of characteristics, certain capacities or capabilites. Let me put it this way:
I don’t think God loves us because we image him.
I think he loves us because he loves us. This is the shocking undeserved and even ill-deserved love of God. Let me push it further:
I don’t think God loves us because we’re made in his image.
Now some people might be persuaded of the first statement but not the second but I’ve got to ask are you imagining ‘the image of God’ as being something static, like a badge we wear or is it as Genesis seems to suggest more to do with likeness (in certain qualities and actions which re-present Him)? Do we understand that the image is still present (James 3:8-9) but distorted because of sin? Do we understand that because God loves those in Christ and being made more into His image that we might be like Christ who perfectly and completely images and represents His Father?
See I do believe that all humans are alike in value, dignity and worth and that the many differences between humans (age, race, class, gender, dis/ability, intelligence, capabilities etc) neither contribute to or take away from that value, dignity and worth. I believe this to be so because as I wrote elsewhere:
Something has value because it is valued. To say that something has value is to make a statement about a judgement that has taken place about something’s worth. Of course many very different criteria may be used but nevertheless a judgement has been made. Value is located then, not in the object of value but in the relationship between the ‘valued’ and the personal, reasoning ‘valuer’.
So, as I have argued before, the Christian recognises that value is contingent, it does not come from within, nor relies on others but comes from God. He values us, regards us, loves us (because he loves us) and was willing to take on flesh, live the life we could not lead and die the death that should have been ours that we might be remade in the Image of the Son. Praise God!