The Respect due to Life

Adam and Eve mourning the death of Abel by his elder brother Cain: 

the very first recorded murder in the Holy Bible.

Life is something that man should respect. If he won't recognize it as a sacred gift of God he still cannot get away from the fact that life itself is older than him and therefore must be given the proper recognition and respect due to it the same way we give due acknowledgment, honor and protection to other natural things due to their age or importance in history such as the wonders of the world, tourist destinations, landmarks and heritage sites, etc.

Our first argument for life is that it is a sacred gift of God. Unfortunately since it cannot be "scientifically proven" just like the existence and essence of God, we will try to seek another bases to be used in defense of life: life as the perfection of nature.

The Theory of Evolution tells us that life was formed by the combination of basic elements that have the capacity to produce life. Out of these elements came forth the first single celled living beings which by the progress of time evolved into various living beings which now presently being ruled by the most complicated living thing which is man.

In religion, we are taught that the perfection of life is eternal life or union with God. In our present discussion focusing on the Theory of Evolution, we can say that life is a perfection of existence. From non-living something alive came out. Existence has now progressed from having merely non-living beings into having living beings already. It is surely a positive development in the history of "existence". Hence being a positive development, it is a significant event and a true progress and like any other beneficial or positive development or progress ought to be kept and protected.

Moreover, life did not remain as mere life. It still "evolved" into something better, it produced human beings, living beings that can think or rationalize. So far humanity is the crown of perfection of existence. To use the language of the Bible, while everything else is called by God as "good", the eventual creation of man made Him say everything was "very good". Very good indeed because of the fact that humans can think and guide the progress of the world and existence did not have to rely on chance anymore as to where it is supposed to go. 

The advent of humanity is supposed to be a blessing for the earth. To use the language of the Bible, man was given the task to be the steward of creation. As far as the Theory of Evolution is concerned, we now have a living being who can guide the history of existence. Existence is no more a mere slave of chance but now an opportunity to have a meaning since man as a rational being can guide its direction.

Unfortunately, the same rational beings who made existence have a better meaning with the establishment of civilization, seems to be the same beings who are leading it towards damnation. In the guise of making the earth a "paradise" for a few million human beings, they would want that a system of choosing the perfect elite be implemented. While the perfection of life means better living conditions, it doesn't have to be in the expense of other human beings who may not be "physically" fit to fight for their own survival, and yet by nature have the right to enjoy life in the same measure as the "perfect elite". 

The survival of the fittest principle, though may not be directly implemented under the same name, is a return to the time when only the lower forms of animals existed on earth. It was their rule since lower animals do not have the mental capacity to make agreements and concessions. Humans can enter into agreements and contracts and respect and honor rights of all. Hence in a world ruled by rational beings, the only true rule should be mutual respect and the greatest respect that man should give is the respect to life because without life nothing else would be!

Life may not be considered sacred by many but still life deserves being accorded the greatest respect. It is not only so much older than everything alive. It is also the source of all that we have including rights and privileges!