Giving further ammunition to those who say that atheists cannot fully
value all human life, Richard Dawkins has now stated that it would be
"immoral" not to abort a baby with Down syndrome. Are you surprised?
It was just last week that the British scientist exposed the
irrationality of his atheism when he claimed that nice, nonviolent
practitioners of religion served as enablers for religious terrorism.
He first noted that, "It's very important that we should not demonise
ordinary, law-abiding, very decent Muslims, which of course is the vast
majority in this country" (speaking of the U.K.).
But that was only the prelude to the punchline: "[However] there is a
sense in which the moderate, nice religious people—nice Christians,
nice Muslims—make the world safe for extremists."
How so? He opined that, "the moderates are so nice we all are brought
up with the idea that there's something good about religion faith. That
there's something good about bringing children up to have a faith."
And, since faith can't be defended rationally (according to Dawkins),
then, "Once you teach people that that's a legitimate reason for
believing something then you, as it were, give a licence to the
extremists who say 'my belief is that I'm supposed to be a suicide
bomber or I'm supposed to blow up buildings—it's my faith and you can't
question that."
This is complete bunk, not to mention utterly irrational.
To give one example out of millions, let me tell you the story of my Indian friend P. Yesupadam.
Raised an untouchable, he rejected his father's Christian faith and his nation's Hindu faith.
Almost dying of malnutrition as a boy, he learned to hate the caste
system and, at the age of 11, he became a Naxalite, a Maoist communist.
Soon he was a committed atheist (in keeping with his Naxalite
philosophy), an alcoholic, and a violent man, engaging in acts of terror
against the rich.
Then, in his mid-20's, he had a vision of Jesus and has since given
himself to serve the poor and needy of India (and other nations) for the
last 40 years–-building orphanages, schools (from nursery school to
junior college and nursing schools), feeding programs, homes for the
elderly, training centers to teach trades to the handicapped, also
bringing the message of the gospel to the tribal regions.
Of the many orphans and needy children his ministry has fed, clothed
and educated over the last 25 years, some are now doctors in America,
some nurses and school teachers in India, and others pastors and
Christian leaders.
The accomplishments are truly staggering to the point that, when he
turned 60 a couple of years ago, government leaders came to the
celebration to commend him for his humanitarian work.
Following Prof. Dawkins' "logic," we would have to say that "nice
Christians" like Yesupadam encourage people to strap on a suicide belt
and blow themselves up, together with their innocent victims.
To repeat: This is complete bunk and a demonstration of the irrationality of Dawkins' atheism.
Now, to add insult to injury, Dawkins has exposed the immorality of
his atheism, stating that if a woman knew she was carrying a baby with
Down syndrome, she should "abort it and try again. It would be immoral
to bring it into the world if you have the choice."
This is not just bunk. It is utterly rancid.
Aside from his claims that the baby would feel no pain in being
aborted (he's quite sure about that?), he is doing the very thing that
theists claim atheism can lead to, namely, devaluing of human life based
on a survival-of-the-fittest mentality.
Really now, if you can determine that some people are not worthy to
live before they are even born, surely it's not that big a jump to
determine that some people are not worthy to live after they have been
born.
Perhaps the very elderly and the hopelessly infirm, especially if
their lives could be terminated "mercifully"? Perhaps those who are
incorrigibly violent? Perhaps those who are seriously mentally
handicapped?
Why not? Or, more specifically, based on what criteria do we judge who is worthy to enter this world and who is worthy to live?
Writing on LifeSiteNews.com, Dustin Siggins points out that,
"Although it is widely believed that people with Down syndrome are
doomed to a life of suffering, in one large survey 99 percent of
respondents with Down syndrome said they were 'happy.' At the same time,
99 percent percent of parents said they loved their child with Down
syndrome, and 97 percent said they were proud of them." (The siblings of
Down syndrome children expressed similar, overwhelmingly positive
sentiments.)
It is becoming increasingly clear that Dawkins is something of an
embarrassment, even to other atheists (although he is still revered by
many). The only question that remains is this: Are his irrational and
immoral positions unique to him, or are they the logical outcome of his
Darwinian evolutionism?
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