The Meaning of Human dignity

In an earlier post, I talked about the incredible amount of confusion that abounds in our world. The most blatant point of confusion is how we define human life. As Catholics, we believe that human life is sacred. It is a gift from God which we must cherish and nurture.

How can we define human life? We define it by its meaning and ends. Human beings are created for love. Our purpose is to know, love and serve God. We derive meaning in our lives by our thoughts and actions, by our interactions with God and others, and by our profoundly varying experiences.

Society has steadily moved toward defining human life by certain physical properties, such as size, age, or capacities. This is indeed a dangerous proposition. We are different from one another. Each of us has properties which make us unique. When we begin to define certain physical properties as the measure of human existence, we tread on a slippery slope.

We see many people attempting to define life by a term known as sentience, which is popularly defined as the ability to feel or perceive. This presents a moral problem, however. Let me demonstrate how this can be nothing other than arbitrary. At what point does a child begin to be sentient? Is it at 22 weeks in the womb? This is the stage at which a child was recently born. What about at 21 weeks? Is it possible that the very same child was able to “feel or perceive” at 21 weeks? How do we know? The answer is we cannot know. Just as every person is different in physical aspects, every child in the womb develops at a different rate.

Consider the fact that when we are sedated with certain drugs, such as for surgery, we lose most if not all of our sentience. We no longer feel pain, and we lose consciousness for a time. Are we less human during those times of sedation? When we sleep, are we less human? As we get older and our ability to perceive declines, are we less human?

As soon as we draw a line and define a certain level of sentience that is acceptable for classification as a human, we have lost the battle. That line can easily be adjusted by the next person who wishes to define an acceptable level of sentience.

The only way we can be assured that we have properly defined human life is by accepting it in all its levels of sentience. We must recognize that whether a person can think, play, work, make a perceptible contribution to society or not, they are still a human as long as God has fused body and soul. Each life has meaning. Some people experience joy, sorrow, anger and every other human thought, perception and emotion. Others are in some way less capable to feel, perceive or express. The only thing that is common to all humans is the gift of a soul, given by God.

How can we begin to comprehend the magnitude of this gift? The Master of the Universe, the all-loving, all-powerful, and all-good God has deemed it necessary that a soul should enter the world, fused with flesh to engage in this profound existence. How can we as mere acts of God’s will, hope to contradict His will and refuse this gift for someone else? This is the statement that is made when a child is aborted, or when an elderly person is “euthanized”. We are telling God that His gift is not sufficient enough, and we no longer desire it.

God does not infuse a body with a soul once the body can feel and perceive at a sufficient level. He gives the soul when the person is created, at the moment of conception. He does not take the soul when the person is no longer able to perceive at a sufficient level. He separates soul from body when he has deemed that person to have reached the completion of their mission.

Consider what happens when life is valued on a physical aspect such as sentience or capacity to contribute to society: nihilism. Death becomes contagious and attractive. We attempt to perfect humanity by purifying it of all defect. Nazi Germany devalued human life and began to kill based on a person’s religion, by their physical ability, by their mental ability. Consider the suffering that ensued. Consider the callous reaction to death. Truly the meaning of human life was lost to many during that time.

The meaning of human life is exclusively found in our relationship with God. It is a private relationship, known only to each person and to God alone. When we have finished our mission and our days on earth are done, we will stand before God. When that moment comes, we will answer for our actions. We will receive eternal reward and unceasing happiness, or we will suffer the bitter desolation of the soul separated from God’s loving mercy.