Shownotes Transcript
So in the broadest sense, Western Civilization is actually dependent upon a view of the human person, that there's something extraordinary about the human person and therefore, the human person should be respected in a certain way. We see that in the Hippocratic Oath, very specifically the most vulnerable human persons, when at their weakest, should actually be protected. That's the opposite of the law of the jungle. That's the opposite of savage civilizations. That's the opposite of many civilizations that give the powerful absolute authority.
Western Civilization started it with the Hippocratic Oath. The Judeo-Christian model reflecting the teachings of Scriptures confirm that and affirm that man is made in the image of God. The value system, therefore, that came out of the Greco-Roman Judeo-christian model continued on. The Hippocratic Oath was embraced by the Romans as well and then when Roman culture was imbued with Christianity, they continued to honor the Hippocratic Oath. The value of the human person continued to be affirmed and in the European tradition that emanated out of England in 1215, it was declared that your values don't come from the king. And the divine right of kings was brought into question by the Magna Carta and the 39th Chapter the Magna Carta it was clearly codified. It was written down that no one should be deprived of their life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Of course, that was in Latin but that principle is very much at the heart of the American system.
In the American view of the human person we know that the right to life was established by the founders as a primordial right - a right that does not come from the king or the government, that it's the human person that is special and because of the value of human life government derives its just powers from the value of human lives and not the other way around. So the right to life is the finest expression and defending the right to life of the vulnerable is the finest expression of Western Civilization.
Now to be honest, it's most often been demonstrated as a rule by its breaking. We’ve seen it throughout history and even recent history - in wartime, if soldiers intentionally kill innocent people. For example in My Lai in Vietnam, well unfortunately, they were killing the innocent and they had to be brought to trial and that's the case in Western Civilization.
What defines us from other civilizations is how we view those who are vulnerable and dependent. Will we protect those who are vulnerable and in need? That's the issue. Will the law protect lives of the innocent? And that's where the right to life is at the very foundation of Western Civilization.