The Mandalorian, a Compelling Pro-life Argument:

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The Mandalorian, a Compelling Pro-life Argument:

While I am far from a Star Wars aficionado, the TV show “The Mandalorian” caught my attention.  For some context, the TV show centers around a professional bounty hunter who ends up saving a child (baby Yoda), protecting this child, and the mantra “this is the way” becomes a powerful moral theme throughout the show.

Recently at the pro-life march in Washington, the March for Life, several people were holding signs that utilized this bit of pop-culture.  The signs capitalized on the popularity of this television show and its captivating plot.  The signs depicted the Mandalorian (a bounty hunter) holding baby Yoda and displayed the caption, “Protect the child, this is the way.”  The signs themselves represent a compelling argument that questions the internal consistency of naturalism and the pro-choice position. While the philosophy of naturalism has wide ranging associations, the main tenant is the philosophical belief that everything arises from natural properties and causes.  Naturalism excludes all supernatural or spiritual concepts.  One can discern that naturalism and differing forms of evolution are a great fit for one another. 

Naturalists argue that humans are derived through random occurrence and are established through an impersonal process.  When this worldview is brought into psychology and philosophy, it can lead to a loss of purpose and meaning in life. The notion that human mental ability is the product of impersonal natural forces, leads to the logical question of whether a person can still be thought of as human.  After all, naturalists contend that personality and a person’s character are but the cause and effect of a random process.  Humans are generally considered by naturalists as the pinnacle or apex of the evolutionary process.  To this L. Russ Bush poses the question, “If human life is the pinnacle of evolutionary achievement, how can it be so acceptable to so many to terminate a human pregnancy?”[1] 

Those clever signs utilizing the plot of the Mandalorian actually highlight this lack of internal consistency among naturalist and the “pro-choice” movement.  People are excited about protecting the fictional character of baby Yoda, and at the same time are apathetic about killing real babies.  Likewise, naturalism praises the philosophy concerning the evolution of humans and at the same time devalues the philosophy by killing real humans via abortion.  The sign and its argument highlight the contradictory nature of these worldviews. 

This is not the first time pop-culture has been utilized to expose injustice.  The young writer and investigative activist, Stetson Kennedy used the popular hero Superman, to expose the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.  After going undercover and learning the inner workings of the KKK, Stetson took this information to the authorities who ignored the evidence.  Kennedy approached the writers of the Superman radio show with this information and they happened to be in need of a new villain for Superman to fight.  The popular broadcast dropped the KKK’s recruitment numbers down drastically.  This account has been popularized in books and blog posts.  Is the Mandalorian the new Superman?  Whenever an injustice occurs, one looks for that hero to emerge.  Those that hold to a Christian worldview have a personal relationship with that “hero” and every aspect of their lives is gripped by the Gospel.  This includes a logical and consistent view on the value of all persons.            

[1] L Russ Bush, The Advancement: Keeping the Faith in an Evolutionary Age (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2003), 88.

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