Human Value - Vol 1 No 3

The tribe would then build a scaffold-like structure outside of the camp, and the elderly would be removed and strapped to the top to give their bodies back to birds of prey and scavengers as their last act of usefulness for the greater good of Mother Earth.

Human Value defined

Mike was given an assignment in Philosophy to read part of a book written by a Native American female philosopher, V.F. Cordova whose heritage was that of an Apache Indian.  Without getting too deeply into her muses, she genuinely and winsomely purports that human beings are not different from the earth and the rest of its creations, including rocks, trees, water, animals, etc. but are a natural part of the earth.  She purports that a human is “humanoid” until they learn to become “fully human” through the exercise of their faculties toward productivity which is defined as your contribution to the greater good of your Mother, the Earth. 

Ramifications for the Elderly     

The professor talked about how Cordova had investigated the customs of her ancestors and was especially intrigued by the practice of dealing with the elderly who were considered no longer beneficial as productive contributors to the tribe. Since they could no longer exercise their faculties sufficiently, they were not considered to be “fully human.”  Elderly Apaches were not seen as useful to the tribe once they could no longer work to sustain the tribe.  The tribe would then build a scaffold-like structure outside of the camp, and the elderly would be removed and strapped to the top to give their bodies back to birds of prey and scavengers as their last act of usefulness for the greater good of Mother Earth.

The professor asked, “What do you think about that? Do you see a nobility in the act?” He talked about it being an act of loving the earth and for the sustainability of the earth.  Once you could no longer be a supplier, then you had to stop taking and be given back to the earth.       

The class was actively showing agreement.       

“Yea, it just makes sense."     

"It’s best for the tribe."       

"It’s best for him."     

"It’s best for the earth".     

"It’s for the greater good.”   

The professor said, “Let me see a show of hands.  How many of you think this is a good idea?”     

Almost every hand in the room went up.

Not so fast!     

The professor started to move on to another topic when a tatted girl with colorful hair spoke up from the corner,      

“I’ll bet Mr. Mike’s hand didn’t go up!  I want to hear what Mr. Mike has to say on this!”     

Others in the class chimed in, “Yea, what does Mr. Mike have to say about this?”   

Mike respectfully looked at the professor and the professor reluctantly nodded his approval, so Mike began.     

“I think it's murder for convenience sake. The Bible defines the circumstances upon which a man’s life may be taken and putting the man out to die fits in the category of unlawful murder. God does not measure our value by what we produce, by our abilities or our strength to provide 'sustainability.'  Our value is intrinsic, that is, we have value simply because we are made in His image and that image cannot be taken away.  The Bible says God made humans differently from other creatures in "knowledge, righteousness and holiness with dominion over the creatures" and with souls that could never die. That means that every human being has dignity and value that is separate from all other beings and from all matter and that dignity and value in God's sight is not dependent on what he does or produces. God sees every human life as valuable no matter what the age or physical and mental ability, and therefore worthy to be loved and protected rather than discarded as useless and parasitic.” 

"My parents don't want to be a burden."       

A young man spoke up, “My father has already told me that he wants to be put into a nursing home when he is old because he doesn’t want to be a burden to my sister and me."     

“It’s interesting that you use the word 'burden,'" Mike said.   "I wonder what you and your sister may have said or done that would make him feel like his presence with you as an older man is a 'burden.'  As children love and spend time with their parents, they grow in their relationship with them, and they begin to see care for them as a privilege as well as a duty.  No parent wants to be a burden, but every good parent wants to be in the loving and attentive presence of his children. I would suggest that you put your cell phone down and go visit your father often, sit across from him and have meaningful conversation.  As you spend time together like that, he may change his mind as he feels more loved and valued and less like a burden.”

Disingenuous?...no     

A young man in the class blurted out, “You Christians are so disingenuous.  You exaggerate.  It's just like you Christians to go straight to 'murder!'”     

Mike looked at his professor and said, “I need to respond to that."     

His professor nodded and Mike said, "I may not always be right but one thing you can be sure of is that whenever I tell you something from the Bible, I am never being disingenuous.  It is always because I think I am genuinely telling you what I believe the Bible teaches on the subject because I want to represent God correctly, and I care about truth, and I care about you.  So you can accuse me of other things, but you can never rightly accuse me of being disingenuous.”     

After class this young man came over and personally asked forgiveness.  “I’m sorry, man.  I shouldn’t have called you that.”       

He was followed by other students who wanted to hear more about this idea of “being made in the image of God.”   

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