It's Alive

With Halloween approaching, there are many things that come to mind. One of the things we like to do as a family is watch all the old halloween movies. The Great Pumpkin, Garfield, Arsenic and Old Lace and of course…the monster movies. Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Creature In The Black Lagoon and their sequels. When watching them this year, something struck me about one of the movies. In the beginning of Frankenstein, one of the actors comes out with a warning. He explains that this story is one of what happens when man decides they want to play god because that is what Frankenstein does. Now for  a point of clarity; the name of Frankenstein is actually the name of the scientist, not the monster. In the original book he is called Victor Frankenstein and in the movie he is called Henry Frankenstein. The monster is never given a name.

So Dr. Frankenstein is on a quest to create life. He and his assistant (no his name was not igor) steal dead bodies and organs all over Germany to piece together their creation. Their hope is to create life! And as we all know, they are successful in creating a monster that terrorizes the local town. Now of course this is just science fiction. But the more I reflected on this, the more I realized that the story of Frankenstein is more relevant today than in any other point of history! This is a story of what happens when man plays god. This is a story of the horrible consequences when the creature decides to become the creator. And we would do well to realize how important its message is today in our modern setting.

What we do today in the name of “science” is no longer the fantasy of science fiction. Looking around at what we accept as “normal” today is just us playing God. It is us taking on the responsibility that was never ours to take! Between gender transition, insemination, abortion, surrogates, cloning and in vitro fertilization, to name a few, we are playing god in our day. Yet, since there is no mad scientist in a castle we think that it is not wrong. Because it is a licensed doctor, in a nice office and examining room, with a white coat and state approved credentials, we don't view it as playing god. We think of it as a “medical procedure”, not the creature trying to be the creator. But God is the one that creates (Psalm 139:13-14), not us. He is the one that has made us the way we are for a specific purpose. He is the one that has not only created us, but also created the ways and means in which we procreate! And any time we take matters into our own hands we are playing god. We are to be subject to God’s created order. We are the clay, not the potter. And as Paul reminds us, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” (Romans 9:20)

And do not think for a minute that just because we do not have a large monster with a flat head and bolts in its neck, there are no consequences to our actions. There is mental trauma from those that get abortions. Our courts have been littered with cases about who has the rights to a child in a surrogate situation. This is due to the fact that the surrogate grew an attachment while pregnant with the child. And why not? That is the way God designed for moms who have a baby to have that special connection to their own child. Yet we have circumvented the way in which God has called us to have children creating mental and emotional anguish and devastating court cases. Then there is also the data that shows that those who change their gender increase in mental disorders, psychiatric hospitalizations and suicides. No, we have created monsters. We have brought about climatic trauma. We just fail to see it because we have dressed the science fiction as a medical procedure. Because our insurance covers it, it must be something different.

As the idea of monsters is around us this time of year, let us heed the warning of the story of Frankenstein. Let us remember that God has not only created us specifically, but also has created the means in which things are to be done. His created order is not to harm us but help us flourish. It is only when we reject His ways that we bring about the calamity we thought we were going to avoid. Do not be disillusioned. Submit to the order of God and let His ways guide you.