Who makes the choices which govern our current world philosophies, adventures in science and even interpretation of history? Why is it that when we turn on the news, we see decisions which leave us scratching our head because they are so dramatically counter cultural to our own thoughts? How did abortion become legal? How is embryonic stem cell research allowed?
I would like to introduce you to but a few of the predominant motivators of the turn in moral thought. Note that ALL of these examples began their life in a Christian home with Christian values. Also note that ALL of these examples are contributors to our next decision makers in higher education. These are some of the people who are teaching our kids and leading the fight for a different religious and moral order.
Peter Singer - is an Australian philosopher. He is the Ira W. DeCamp professor of bioethics at Princeton University, and laureate professor at the Center for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics(CAPPE), University of Melbourne. He specializes in applied ethics, approaching ethical issues from a secular utilitarian perspective. He has been voted one of Australia's ten most influential public intellectuals. His primary stance is that the continuation of life, whether human or animal (speciation), regardless of age, should be determined by its contribution to society.
He quotes “…we should recognize that the fact that a being is human, and alive, does not in itself tell us whether it is wrong to take that being's life.”
“Get rid of religious value of life in favor of what it can offer.” Note that he is in favor of abortion and euthanasia.
Singer argues that newborns lack the essential characteristics of personhood—"rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness" so "killing a newborn baby is never equivalent to killing a person, that is, a being who wants to go on living."
Singer argues that sexual activities between humans and animals that result in harm to the animal should remain illegal, but that "sex with animals does not always involve cruelty" and that "mutually satisfying activities" of a sexual nature are ok.
Singer, Peter. Heavy Petting, Nerve, 2001.
Taking Life: Humans, Excerpted from Practical Ethics, 2nd edition, 1993
Rethinking Life and Death 105.
Abortion 1995
Anthony Flew – was an English philosopher who lectured at Oxford and the University of Aberdeen, accepted professorship at Keele University and then at Reading University. He wrote “An Introduction to Western Philosophy” which is widely used in college classrooms. Flew was born of a Methodist minister yet became an atheist at the age of 15 since there were no viable answers to questions about the amount of evil in the world. He is best known for his books arguing against the existence of God and for atheistic principles (“God and Philosophy”, “The Presumption of Atheism” and “Atheistic Humanism”).
Flew is considered one of if not the father of modern atheistic thought and has over 35 titles he has contributed to his cause over a period of 75 years. It was not until his last publication that he became a theist “There is a God”. The millions of atheists that he has fostered claim that his mental faculties had diminished.
Richard Dawkins – is a British national who was born in Africa and raised Anglican. He was content with his Christian upbringing until doubts began to creep in at the age of 9. By his teen years, he was a professing atheist and has gone on to become “Darwin’s Rottweiler” for his ferocious advancement of atheism as the only intelligent and educated option. Dawkins was the professor of zoology at University of California, Berkeley and then moved to become lecturer at Oxford University and was then appointed as Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science with the understanding that he would “be expected to make important contributions to the public understanding of some scientific field”. He currently is a huge advocate of evolutionary biology.
In response to the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, he is quoted, “Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labeled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful.”
He has been a strong critic of the British organization Truth in Science, which promotes the teaching of creationism and intelligent design in state schools, and he plans, through the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, to subsidize the delivering of books, DVDs and pamphlets to schools, in order to counteract what he has described as an "educational scandal". His latest book, “The God Delusion” is currently translated into 31 different languages. Its success has been seen by many as indicative of a change in the spirit of the times, central to a recent rise in the popularity of atheistic literature.
Dawkins currently has 10 literary titles and 8 film documentaries to his credit, 78% of which are targeted anti-theist (Christian) and the balance are illusory.
Dawkins, Richard (1986). The Blind Watchmaker. New York: Norton. p. 6
Dawkins, Richard (15 September 2001). "Religion's misguided missiles". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4257777,00.htm
Now there are some names associated with some actions. We pray against the powers and principalities, but do we perform our due diligence in preparing our youth to defend against the attack using logic and reason? Who will be the next Christian youth converted to atheism because they were not armed with information? Who will be the next Christian to champion the mindset of the atheist, humanist or pluralist? Is there a David out there to be a champion for God and show that God is the God of mercy, the God of forgiveness, the God of peace as well as the God of reason, science and logic? I certainly hope so. Hosea 4:6
It has been said that “the generation that killed its children will in turn be killed by its children” referring to abortion and euthanasia. There were 50 million deaths from all causes last year not including abortion. There were 40 million legal abortions performed last year.
Cape Town 2010 Congress “Emerging Technologies and the Human Future”. John Wyatt and Peter Saunders
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