Review
"'Many prominent Western intellectuals have dispensed with the view that humans are created in the image of God and thus have immeasurable value and inalienable rights,' writes Professor Weikart. In my four decades of speaking in university open forums, I have witnessed the logical consequences of this belief that humanity is a cosmic accident: wherever I go I meet student after student troubled by haunting questions of meaning and purpose. Weikart demonstrates the impoverishment of philosophies that reject the Judeo-Christian worldviewbut 'still retain some of the vestiges of the Judeo-Christian morality that they claim to spurn'and shows how Christianity uniquely makes sense of our questions of meaning, purpose, morality, and dignity. His book will sober and challenge you."
Ravi Zacharias, Speaker and Author of Why Jesus? Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality and other books
"The Death of Humanity is both an eye-opening and sobering book. Weikart tackles some of the most important and pressing worldview challenges related to the devaluing of human life that come from Secularism, Darwinism, transhumanism and more. And yet he provides some critical insights for how to restore the value of human life in a way that is faithful to the teachings of Jesus."
Sean McDowell, speaker, Biola University professor, and author of over fifteen books, including A New Kind of Apologist
"It is impossible to respond effectively to the moral and legal revolutions of the past few decadesthe legalization of abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, same-sex marriagewithout knowing their history: How did these practices take root in the modern west and how did they develop? As a professional historian, Richard Weikart is an excellent guide in identifying their intellectual sources. He pins down their philosophical origins and offers a critical evaluation that will give much-needed historical depth to contemporary debates."
Nancy Pearcey, Professor of Apologetics & Scholar in Residence, Houston Baptist University, and author of Total Truth and Finding Truth
"Richard Weikart's work effectively draws out the clear implications of humans abandoning the biblical God, who is the very basis of their dignity and rights. This is no mere theoretical discussion, however; Weikart's meticulous historical research showsin this book as in previous onesthe devastating results of God-defying ideologies that predictably turn into dehumanizing ones as well. Highly recommended!"
Paul Copan, Professor and Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University, and co-author of An Introduction to Biblical Ethics
"In The Death of Humanity, historian Richard Weikart systematically demonstrates that the worst evils of the last one hundred years came about when those with power rejected the intrinsic equal dignity and moral worth of all human life. . . . [W]hether one is religious or secular, we ignore Weikart's prophetic warnings at the very great risk to our ownand more particularly, our posterity’sliberty and flourishing."
Wesley J. Smith, Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism and Author of Culture of Death: The Age of Do Harm” Medicine
"Richard Weikart's book The Death of Humanity is a very well-written, cogently argued work that makes an important contribution to contemporary discussions about bioethics and the value of humans. I endorse it wholeheartedly."
Jennifer Lahl, President of the Center for Bioethics and Culture and Producer of the documentaries Eggsploitation and Breeders: A Subclass of Women?
"So often I have heard the question, 'How did we ever become so muddled in this twenty-first century? What happened?' This is a question for a historian, who can weave a single coherent story about a great many sources of confusion. Richard Weikart is that historian, and I will be recommending his sane and lucid book often."
J. Budziszewski, Professor of Government and Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin, and Author of What We Can't Not Know: A Guide
From the Inside Flap
Does Human Life Matter?
Many, today, think the answer is: no.
It is not just abortion-on-demand (considered an indispensable right); it is the creeping idea that the disabled should have been aborted as "unproductive" human beings. It is state-sanctioned suicide. It is the dismissal of the elderly as drains on the healthcare system.
The idea that human life is intrinsically valuable is dying side by side with our Christian culture, says author and intellectual historian Richard Weikart. He traces the dangerous trends in Western thinking that could spell what he calls The Death of Humanity.
In his shocking new book, Weikart reveals:
Why ideas that were used to justify genocide, forced famine, and compulsory sterilization are back in vogue
How murder has beenand will bejustified as biologically or socially determined
Why "human rights" might soon become a thing of the past
How amoral technological progress has overtaken the idea of moral human progress
Why "animal rights" has nothing to do with being kind and considerate to animals, and everything to do with degrading man
Why things we take for granted, remnants from our Christian heritage like prohibitions against infanticide, might soon be no more
Long ago, the philosopher Richard Weaver reminded us that "ideas have consequences." Those consequences, as Richard Weikart explains, are coming home to roost, and they could be truly frightening.
From the Back Cover
Does Human Life Matter?Many, today, think the answer is: no.
It is not just abortion-on-demand (considered an indispensable right); it is the creeping idea that the disabled should have been aborted as "unproductive" human beings. It is state-sanctioned suicide. It is the dismissal of the elderly as drains on the healthcare system.
The idea that human life is intrinsically valuable is dying side by side with our Christian culture, says author and intellectual historian Richard Weikart. He traces the dangerous trends in Western thinking that could spell what he calls The Death of Humanity.
In his shocking new book, Weikart reveals:
Why ideas that were used to justify genocide, forced famine, and compulsory sterilization are back in vogue
How murder has been--and will be--justified as biologically or socially determined
Why "human rights" might soon become a thing of the past
How amoral technological progress has overtaken the idea of moral human progress
Why "animal rights" has nothing to do with being kind and considerate to animals, and everything to do with degrading man
Why things we take for granted, remnants from our Christian heritage like prohibitions against infanticide, might soon be no more
Long ago, the philosopher Richard Weaver reminded us that "ideas have consequences." Those consequences, as Richard Weikart explains, are coming home to roost, and they could be truly frightening.
About the Author
The list of Regnery authors reads like a "who's who" of conservative thought, action, and history.
