Abortion - the Contemporary Child Sacrifice
I was speaking to someone recently about how we must have objective morality as defined by God, otherwise we as humans can create societies that favour, for instance, child sacrifice (practiced, for example, by the Mayans). Essentially, the wish to maximise pleasure or contentment within this life can lead to certain horrors becoming “the good”. In this, there must exist an element of doublethink in order to overcome the conscience. Of course, the real parallel here is that we have such a society in existence today. Not only are we encouraged to take the path of least resistance in satisfying shallow desires, thus forming a society of contentment but not goodness, we also have the modern take on child sacrifice which is abortion. For how can it be anything else when a person kills their own child for the sake of a better individual life? It may not be “a sacrifice to the gods”, but it is a sacrifice. This is hard for people to process, as ingrained within the mind is the view of "primitive" times and cultures, where child sacrifice was practiced. To accept that we live in a similar age now, and that we have perhaps been a proponent of such actions is difficult. Forgiveness is available for those that truly seek it, but the denial is so strong that some people even discuss “personhood” with relation to the unborn, despite the biological fact that we are human from conception. When we have such attacks on the human person, when the dehumanisation is so strong, it becomes difficult to change minds. Perhaps one reason for the high prevalence of abortion is that it falls in the path of least resistance. A mother can take a pill to abort and forget, thus enabling the mother to continue life with the least disruption. The ease of access to services which fail to provide the prospective mother with the truth that a human is alive within her also contribute. It seems at first that there are minimal costs. Later, heavy weights such as guilt can come, making the path chosen far more burdensome. What is being missed, however, is that the narrow path is more rewarding. Having a child is one of the greatest joys one can experience. It is hard, there is no doubt about that, and for some it is especially hard, but nothing can compare to splendour of seeing your own child smile. It seems that society often offers this path of least resistance. Brave New World we might in fact be. But surely humans can be something better than this; can achieve a higher and more holy state, a true reward. Taking the narrow path may often seem like more work, but is ultimately more satisfying to the human spirit. However, without God, it can be hard to discern this path. When your gods are human in nature, for example, a political alignment, then it becomes hard to know right from wrong. You are a slave to ideology. Instead, we must trust and believe that God the Father, God the Son, and God The Holy Spirit, have intervened in human affairs, prescribing to us the rules that will save us and give us true contentment and happiness.