On Preventing Further Suicides, pt 3: Dignity, Self-worth, and the Image of God (cont)

In the last article I argued that preventing further suicides necessitates a vigorous promotion of the Christian view of man.  God created man in His image and, as a result, man has inherent dignity and personal worth.  This, in turn, boosts an individual’s self perception and lowers one’s possibility of taking his life.

Unfortunately this notion, which can help to boost any depressed soul, is not advocated in our day.  The contemporary philosophy that receives acclaim is the evolutionary view of man, a view which robs man of his glory and personal nobility.

The Darwinian worldview advocates that man is essentially a cosmic accident.  He is a descendent of a germ that materialized by molecules randomly bumping into each other.  To put it another way, man is nothing more than a product of random happenchance, having no real distinction from the grass that we mow down with our lawn mowers. 

While there might be a few strands of DNA that separate us from grass, Darwinism cannot deny that there is no essential dignity that distinguishes us.  According to their own reasoning, a few molecules came together in just the right way.  Some of those molecules became grass; some of them became you.

With such a worldview it is easy to see why one can come to believe that taking one’s life is ok.  Man is nothing more than a blade of grass that can be mown down at will.  

As a matter of fact, the existentialist philosopher Albert Camus has even given excellent insight into just how dreadful his own materialistic worldview really is.  Camus said, “The greatest question that mankind faces is not if one should take his life, but when.”

The good news is that not everyone who holds the materialistic/evolutionary construct sees the logical consequences of their line of reasoning.  For this we can be quite glad.  The bad news is that some, like Camus, do see the implications of their beliefs. 

Without dignity and inherent worth nobody has any reason to continue living one minute.  This is why it is detrimental to society for our schools, television stations, public officials, museums, etc. to promote the materialistic, evolutionary worldview.  In promoting this perspective they become accomplices to the acts of suicide.

If we wish to bring the number of suicides down, it is imperative that the evolutionary worldview be repudiated wherever possible.  The Christian view of man be embraced, and our young people ought to be given the foundational principles that coalesce with prolonging life.

[This is a series on preventing further suicides.  To view the other articles in the series click here.]