The heart-breaking case of Charlie Gard is a sad testament to how far our common Western culture has strayed from, even rebelled against, its Judeo-Christian foundation.
To illustrate this, compare baby Charlie’s plight to that of a young Palestinian girl of 2,000 years ago.
The father of this girl, Jairus (whose name, like so many other specific yet relatively insignificant details, was recorded by the gospel writer), came to Jesus to ask him to save his daughter, who was at home struggling with a fatal illness.
The parents of Charlie Gard, Connie and Chris, approached their son’s doctor to ask him to let them take Charlie to America for an experimental treatment. But in a chilling perversion of the Hippocratic Oath (“do no harm”), the doctor denied their request, deeming that Charlie’s life was not worth saving.
Jesus, by contrast, set out immediately for the home of Jairus and on the way healed an older woman suffering from “hemorrhages” for 12 years. Such was his power and love of humanity that all she had to do was touch the hem of his garment to receive the healing.
When Charlie’s parents were denied the permission to remove their son from the hospital, which had now become a cruel prison, they took their case to court, hoping for mercy and to have their wishes as parents respected. They received no such consideration. The state, both in England and then in the European court, sided with the doctor’s arbitrary decision that Charlie’s life was not worth living.
Meanwhile, Jesus arrived at the home of the girl and was told she was already dead and need not be troubled any more by the issue. Jesus refused them, and almost jokingly told them not to worry because “[t]he child is not dead, but sleeping.” He then said to the little girl, “Talitha cum,” which in Aramaic means, “Little girl, get up!” Jairus’ daughter arose. Jesus then showed his tender paternal care by telling the people to get her some food.
In today’s world, our new god, the State, did not try to save Charlie’s life, or to heal him, but instead sentenced him to death in direct contravention of the desires and rights of the parents.
You may not believe the veracity of the Bible story, but at least we have a religion whose founder is represented as truly loving his followers and going out of his way to heal, comfort, and save them from death.
It is perhaps easier to understand why the unknown, unaccountable Pharisees of our time have sought to suppress and marginalize the religion that brought their civilization into existence, since it and its founder, Jesus Christ, are a “sign to be contradicted” that so clearly opposes the power and anti-human ideology of their secularist, anti-human worldview.
And just as Jesus was persecuted, tortured, and killed by the authorities of his time, so will the powers of our time seek to quash those who would oppose their will, to the point of ordering the excruciating death of a 12-month-old baby boy (he was suffocated to death by the removal of his breathing machine).
Do not look back on the dark times of history and think those people were so much worse than us. We have slowly but surely sunk into a moral darkness of our own that uses laws and governmental power to destroy life and the family. I only hope we can pull back from the abyss and regain our senses.
Trey Hoffman
Peachtree City, Ga.
