Made in the Image of God

Chuck Colson's essay In Praise of PETA reminds us of the moral consequences of following a world view to its logical end. Quoting from the article:

What does that have to do with Darwinism? Everything. To a Darwinist, you see, there is no distinction between human beings and animals. We all came about by chance; we are made of the same "stuff," and we all end up as nothing more than dust. Instead of recognizing humans as bearers of God's image, Darwinism sees us as nothing more than competitively successful bipeds with opposable thumbs. Forget any talk of human dignity.

And that is exactly the worldview that PETA lives by. If Darwinism—which we teach in the schools—is true, then they are right: Slaughtering and eating animals is just as bad as the Holocaust. It is cannibalism. If Darwinism is true, then PETA was correct when it recently compared the American Kennel Club to the Ku Klux Klan for trying to create a "master race" of dogs. Charles Darwin and Ingrid Newkirk are so much on the same page that without Darwin, there could be no PETA. It is a perfect example of following a worldview to its logical conclusion.

If evolution is viewed as a continuum of genetic change affording no uniqueness to humans then neither is there any basis for uniqueness under the law. Treatment of human and non-human species is viewed as occurring on the same moral plane from a Darwinian perspective. Unfortunately the elevation of animals coincides with a de-emphasis on human worth. That spells trouble.