I wrote a
Facebook post about Donald Trump a little over a week ago, concerning
(1) his choice of the word "animals" to describe a particular group of people, and
(2) my observation that being "pro-life" should mean more than simply advocating for the unborn life. I realize that this is perhaps an unpopular opinion with some of those who read my post.
My post attracted a wide range of responses, and I appreciate those who engage in the dialogue regarding these issues when I write posts like this one. Often times, I write provocative pieces to fuel discussion, because I strongly believe that we can learn from the perspectives and opinions of others, even if we disagree with them.
On 5/21/2018, Mr. Trump doubled down on his choice to call human beings "animals." He
did clarify that he was referring specifically to the gang members known as MS-13 and not to immigrants as a whole group.
However, this doesn't change what I posted about Mr. Trump's comments at all. It doesn't matter whether Mr. Trump calls immigrants as a whole animals, or whether he just calls gang members animals. The same level of disrespect for human life is evident in his unrepentant choice of language. And that disrespect for human life and dignity is in direct opposition to what Jesus' life and ministry teaches us as Christians.
Genesis 1:27 reminds us that God created humanity in His image. The concept of Imago Dei is essential to everything else in the Bible; were we not bearers of His image, we would have no way to fulfill the commands of
Genesis 1:28, which says, "And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Imago Dei is something meant to be far beyond our human comprehension. In
Psalm 8:3-5, David writes, "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor." And the absolute beauty of this is that, even though we as humanity have fallen to sin and come short of God's standard, we still bear His image. God said to Noah and his family, centuries after the fall of man, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." (
Genesis 9:6) Paul reaffirms this in
1 Corinthians 15:49, when he said "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven." Our sinful bodies obviously bear the image of humanity, but we are still tied to Imago Dei, to the perfect image of God.
Jesus' life and ministry was to come and die so that He might redeem all of fallen humanity to full relationship with Himself. Contrary to the popular belief of the time, Jesus didn't come to validate the Pharisees and religious elite. He came to redeem all of humanity, including those considered among the worst of society. Consider Jesus' words in
Mark 2:15-17: "And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?' And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.'”
My concern then with Mr. Trump's language is that he shows a blatant lack of concern for the value of human life, unless those lives are important to his political base. Of course, this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who listens to Mr. Trump speak for more than five minutes at a time. Just this month, Trump's administration advanced
border enforcement policy which tears families and children apart as a
deterrent for illegal border crossings. He then used those families as a
bargaining chip, blaming his own administration's policies on
Democrats.
The problem is, the people who should be speaking out in opposition of Mr. Trump's language and behavior are either willingly turning a blind eye, or worse, agreeing with his positions. According to a damning study by the
Pew Research Center, only 25 percent of white evangelicals believe that the United States has a responsibility to accept refugees into the country. That number is
lower than Republicans overall (26 percent) and white persons with no college degree (38 percent).
As Christians, we ought to be on the front lines defending the concept of Imago Dei, the idea that every single human in the world is made in God's image, the truth that
we are not animals. Unfortunately, that defense often extends only to babies. Babies are made in His image, and as such, we must zealously defend their rights. Immigrants are made in His image, and are equally worthy of zealous advocacy for their rights and respect. And gang members, no matter how vile the acts they
have committed, are made in His image, just like any other humans in the world. They deserve the same base respect as image bearers of God. To claim otherwise makes a mockery of the entire redemptive work of Jesus, and is counter to our commission as Christians today. "Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'” (
Matthew 28:18-20)
It is my belief that from a holistic Christian viewpoint, being "pro-life" means respecting the Imago Dei present in every human life, whether unborn or born, immigrant or natural citizen, black or white, gay or straight. And refusing to do that is opposed to everything the Bible teaches and everything Jesus taught. It is an affront to the One who created us to bear His perfect image.
