1995
Culture of Life vs.
Culture of Death
“I am the resurrection and the
life.” John 11:25
“God did not make death, nor
does he rejoice in the destruction of
the living… It was the wicked who
with hands and words invited
death.” Wisdom 1:13, 18
Culture of Death: Origin
Human Questions
What
is
the
meaning
of life?
Rich Young Man Approaches Christ
Christ Reveals Man to Himself
“Keep the
Commandments”
“Come,
follow me.”
Christian View of Man
Christ Reveals Man
to Himself
•
•
•
•
Teacher
Reconciler
Obedient Son
Just
judge/Peacemaker
• Self-Giver
Modern View of Man
•
•
•
•
Pleasure Seeker
Consumer
Individual
Relativist (no moral
absolutes)
• Skeptic (no knowledge is
possible)
The Modern Age
Freedom: Distorted View
Freedom Defines the Human
Person
Instinctual Action
Free Action
Freedom to Do What is Good
Modern Fixation on the Individual
Christian Community:
Love & Sacrifice
“God is love, and
whoever remains in
love remains in
God, and God in
him.”
I John 4:16
Christian Generosity vs.
Modern Materialism
Modern Skepticism: All Opinions are Equal
Pilate said to Him, “What is Truth?” (John 19:38)
Christ: Splendor of Truth
“I am
the Way
the Truth
and the Life.”
Moral Relativism
Inalienable Rights
“We hold
these
Truths to
be selfevident…
…Life,
Liberty,
and the
pursuit of
Happiness.”
Moral Absolutes
Reason
Revelation
Values
Modern View
Christian View
• “Freedom;” Doing
what I want,
when I want
• “Freedom;” Being
free from sin and
doing what is good
• Individualism
• Community
• Materialism
• Generosity
• Skepticism
• Truth
• Moral Relativism
• Moral Absolutes
Unlimited Choices?
The Heart of Liberty?
“At the heart of liberty
is the right to define one’s own
concept of existence, of
meaning, of the universe,
and the mystery
of human life.”
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)
A Connection
Griswold vs. the State of
Connecticut (1965):
legalizes sale of contraceptives
Roe vs. Wade (1973): legalizes
abortion
Compassion in Dying vs. the
State of Washington (1996):
legalizes assisted suicide
Lawrence v. Texas (2003):
legalized sodomy
Crimes Against Life: New Rights
A Progression
Further Differences
Modern Values
• Man is sovereign
over all
• Suffering is
useless
• There is no life
after death
Christian Truth
• God is sovereign
over all
• Suffering has
redemptive value
• Man has an eternal
destiny with God
The Modern Tragedy: Godlessness
“In seeking the deepest roots of the struggle
between the ‘culture of life’ and the
‘culture of death,’ we cannot restrict
ourselves to the perverse notion of
freedom….We have to go to the heart of the
tragedy being experienced by modern man:
the ‘eclipse of the sense of God and of
man.’”
Evangelium Vitae 21
Man: A Highly Developed Animal
Man: An Immortal Creature
“You Will Be with Me in Paradise”
“I am the
resurrection and
the life; he who
believes in me,
though he die,
yet shall he live,
and whoever
lives and
believes in me
shall
never die.”
John 11:25-26