Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84Plough Quarterly • Autumn 2016 3 Humans Are . . . Sacred? Dear Reader, The gospel teaches that every human is sacred. It’s a far from obvious claim. Consider what it means: orange-haired casino owners, former First Ladies, judo- loving foreigners called ­ Vladimir, and aging ­ comandantes – each of them sacred. Muslim refugee children are sacred. So are the Islamist terrorists who (some fear) they may become. Police officers are sacred, as are young African Americans with names like Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray. Unborn babies are sacred, always. And so too, with all their grave guilt, are abortionists. Progressive hipsters, prosperity-gospel televangelists, members of Congress, gender-transitioning former decathletes, Confederate-flag-waving white nationalists? Sacred. This absurd claim is the joyful surprise at the heart of the gospel. Each person, just or unjust, is created in the image and likeness of God. Each is someone for whom Jesus died. As Christians our faith only makes sense if the proposition that humans are sacred is true. And if it is true, we have much work to do. Despite the proliferation of human rights talk, our society is busy dismantling respect for human sacredness. Our political debates reflect this. Enthusiasm for torture and for carpet-bombing civilians on the right is mir- rored by #ShoutYourAbortion and celebrations of euthanasia on the left. In June 2016, the US Supreme Court’s Whole Woman’s Health vs. Hellerstedt decision dashed hopes that this country’s abortion license might at least be narrowed. Meanwhile no major US politician seems interested in the three million children living in the extreme poverty documented in the book $2.00 a Day. Recent months have made clear that any influence American Christians may once have wielded in public affairs has mostly evaporated. The causes for Christianity’s marginalization can be debated – sexual revolution fallout? neoliberalism and social fragmentation? backlash against Christians’ still-unrepented support for Bush-era wars? – but its reality is undeniable. It’s encouraging, then, to turn for guidance to another time when Christianity was politically sidelined: the church of the first three centuries, when the faith was still illegal. As Ronald J. Sider reminds us (page 34), these early believers lived out their belief in the sacredness of humans in a strikingly countercultural way: they refused to kill, ever. They insisted: Christians do not go to war, they do not participate in the death penalty, they do not practice abortion or infan- ticide, they do not watch violent entertainment. Yet the early church’s pro-life witness went beyond refusing to kill. As even their enemies admitted, Christians were known for their self- sacrificial willingness to care for the poor, the imprisoned, the sick, and the abandoned. Some are said to have sold themselves into slavery to help others. E di tor’s L et t e r “Killing a human being is always wrong because it is God’s will for man to be a sacred creature.” Lactantius, AD 311 Artwork: Josh Sarantitis, Reach High and You Will Go Far, mural at 20th and Arch Street, Philadelphia, 2000 Image from explorepahistory.com