You have to wonder what he thinks about at night.
Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins took his atheistic beliefs to their logical end Tuesday morning, when he ruminated over the idea of eating human flesh.
Several hours ago, Dawkins shared a Forbes article about the growing cultured meat market. Cultured meat is an expanding industry that takes stem cells from the muscle of an animal during a biopsy under anesthesia and uses it to grow slaughter-free meat in a lab. It’s an increasingly appealing option, as it would all but eliminate animal suffering in the food industry.
After letting the idea marinate for a bit, Dawkins added his own thoughts, telling his nearly three million Twitter followers that “of course” their flesh — human flesh — could be grown in a lab and eaten by other human beings.
I guess I should note here Dawkins said he wouldn’t do it, though.
Why not?
This isn’t the first time Dawkins has entertained the idea of cannibalistic behavior. In 2018, he became woke and asked if it’s time — in this brave new world — to “overcome our taboo against cannibalism.”
Dawkins is just taking his atheistic-inspired materialism to its natural conclusion. Since he doesn’t believe in a God or an afterlife, he also doesn’t see an overarching purpose or innate value in human life.
In 2017, he pooh-poohed those who value humanity above all other creation.
“We put humanity on a pedestal miles higher than the surrounding territory,” he told The Times. “A human fetus that has approximately the anatomy and brainpower of a worm is accorded more status than an adult chimpanzee.”
During that same interview, Dawkins likened the treatment of farm animals to the Holocaust. He said, “When I see cattle lorries, I think of the railway wagons to Auschwitz.”
If there is no inherent difference between animals and human beings, it’s hard to see why we shouldn’t embrace cannibalism, or cannibalistic behavior. But as Christians, we know that’s just not the case.
God designed humans in his own image. He also gave us dominion over all the animals, setting up a hierarchy from the moment of creation (Genesis 1:26-28).
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
There is no doubt human beings were intended to have authority — not to abuse but to care for the animals inhabiting the earth. There is a natural separation between us and the animals.
With that in mind, it’s probably smart to keep our “taboo” against cannibalism.