"Being," "Doing," and the Intrinsic Worth of the Human Person

A common fallacy in modern ideologies is the tendency to associate the worth of a human being with his actions. In my experience, at least, this tendency has been particularly prevalent in two ideologies: the movement for so-called "gay rights" and the movement of eugenics.

In the case of gay rights activists, it becomes clear that their claims to being persecuted and devalued as human beings in today's society rests largely on the fact that most people still do not accept homosexual relations as moral, much less equal to heterosexual relations. To hear them tell the story, anyone who fails to throw a parade in their honor is an intolerant bigot. Of course, the Catholic Church views things differently. Paragraph 2358 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states:
"The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition."

This is hardly a mandate to relegate those with homosexual inclinations to second-class status; and yet, the Pope is constantly derided as a persecutor of homosexuals and often compared to Hitler in his treatment of them.

Gay rights activists, in order to achieve their goal of forcing acceptance of their lifestyle upon the rest of society, must necessarily identify their being with their actions. By convincing others that their person is defined by their actions, they succeed in creating the impression that in order to love and accept them like genuine human beings, their chosen lifestyle must be likewise be accepted in its entirety as equal in validity and dignity to heterosexual behavior (that they do not reciprocate this acceptance towards those who do not subscribe to their view of things is irrelevant; political correctness is notorious for such blatant double standards).

This is wrong, of course. That we are referred to as human beings instead of humans doing is not a semantic accident. Our humanness, and our intrinsic and inestimable worth as human persons, is defined not by our words and actions, but by the fact that we are created in the image and likeness of God. Our actions may enhance or diminish the perception of that worth, but perception and reality are two very different creatures.

The movement of eugenics employs a similar "doing is being" approach in defining the worth of the person, albeit for a different though no less disturbing reason. The hallmark of eugenics is the belief that "less desirable" elements of human society (which has now been extended to include unborn children conceived by unwilling parents) should be systemically eliminated for the "greater good" of mankind. To speak of anyone as "less desirable" or "less valuable" is to inherently deny that man is created in the image and likeness of God, for in this created nature we are given equal value before God; and He equally desires each of us to be reconciled to Him (this desire to reconcile all things to Himself is why He exhorts us to "hate the sin but love the sinner," a sentiment beautifully exclaimed in regards to homosexual persons in CCC 2358, quoted above). The extent to which the eugenicist mindset has taken root in modern society has been made disturbingly clear to us in several ways, most notably in how organizations like Planned Parenthood have gained widespread acceptance and more recently in the shamefully callous and inhumane treatment of Terri Schiavo by her faithless husband and his unfeeling accomplices on the grounds that she was "no longer alive" despite clear and conclusive evidence to the contrary.

I was present as a pro-life witness during the so-called "March for Women's Lives" that occurred in Washington D.C. in April 2004. It came as no surprise to me that a large number of gay rights activists, already in town for a separate demonstration, joined their pro-abortion comrades in the march. It also came as no surprise that they employed remarkably similar anti-life and anti-Christian rhetoric (I will spare you from the worst of this, but I can say that in the four years since this event and in my twenty-seven years prior I never encountered more vulgar or more vitriolic language than what I and other peaceful pro-life demonstrators were subjected to that day). Because they so vehemently denied Christ, they denied that they or anyone else could be created in His image and likeness; and in so doing, they denied the very thing that gives a human being his true worth. It is no wonder that they campaigned so vehemently for the demise of those whose presence in this world presented such an inconvenience to them.

As an aside, do not be fooled by the phenomenon of so-called "militant atheism." This phrase is inherently oxymoronic. The true unbeliever is apathetic to whether or not others choose to believe that which he rejects. It is only the person who hates God who seeks to erase all mention or memory of His existence from the world in which he lives. Such hatred can only come from one source, and that source prefers to remain anonymous.

I bid thee all a good night, and (whether or not you choose to believe) God bless!


In Jesus and Mary,
Gerald