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It turns out the bad idea of Lebensunwerten Lebens (life unworthy of life) did not really begin in 20th century Germany. Since Cain killed Abel, there have always been those who believed that some life is unworthy of life.

In ancient Rome, destitute families would often abandon the chronically ill to die. In Rome, sick or elderly slaves were routinely left to waste away on Tiber Island. Unwanted children were often left to die of exposure. If a father decided that the family couldn’t afford to feed another child, that child would be abandoned on the steps of a temple or in the public square. Almost without exception defective newborns were left exposed to the elements to die. [1]

In the third century AD, an epidemic swept across Northern Africa, Italy, and the western empire. As many as 5000 people a day were dying in Rome. The sick were abandoned in the streets and the dead were left unburied. But the Christians were different. They alone would care for the sick. The sociologist and religious demographer Rodney Stark claims that death rates in cities with Christian communities may have been just half that of other cities. [2]

Our mothers and fathers in the faith have much to teach us. As our world wrestles with another pandemic, it is not enough to check the latest updates from the CDC. We should also look to the past.

There we will see Christians who drew near to the sick, risking their own health and wellbeing to care for those the society avoided and marginalized. There we will see thriving Christian communities who still gathered, when the world around them kept everyone at arm’s-length. There we will see men like Martin Luther telling those fearful of the bubonic plague that it is first importance that they “attend church and listen to the sermon so that they learn through God’s word how to live and how to die.” [3]

Because all human life is worthy of life, we exercise wisdom and prudence to take reasonable precautions to avoid spreading sickness. And because all human life is worthy of life, we do not hold one another at arm’s length. We care for the sick. We care for the healthy. We love one another. Because life matters. It’s a gift from a good and sovereign God.

[1] https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/new-era-in-roman-healthcare

[2] https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/13/christianity-epidemics-2000-years-should-i-still-go-to-church-coronavirus/

[3] Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague,” in Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 119–38.