One of the most serious consequences coming from our society’s collective abandonment of the Judeo-Christian ethic handed down to us from our founders is our startling tendency to drift from truth into utter confusion. While the biblical worldview provides a solid foundation upon which to build our respect for life, liberty and property, its emerging replacement — moral relativism — offers only the passing whims and fancies of whichever political and cultural fad is currently in vogue.

Take for example what recently occurred at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The fascinating topic of conversation (please note the sarcasm) was the ethical and policy implications of dolphin intelligence. In other words, should we grant dolphins some form of human rights that would protect them to a greater degree than other animals?

All of these over-educated folks gave powerful testimony of how the dolphin brain was very large and advanced. Lori Marino of Emory University pointed out that beyond just size, the dolphin brain is incredibly developed and, “stack(s) up quite well to human brains.”

But it was Thomas White of Loyola Marymount University who stole the show and demonstrated just how dangerously confused our society is becoming. According to ScienceNOW magazine, White “made the argument that dolphins aren’t merely like people – they may actually be people, or at least, ‘nonhuman persons’ as he described them.”

Evidently White made the suggestion that since dolphins meet virtually all the criteria that philosophers agree help us define humanity (living, aware of environment, demonstrate emotions), it should logically be accepted that dolphins are people, too. Of course, if this is the criteria that must be met for personhood to be granted, one could make a strong case for apes, baboons, dogs, cats, rabbits, and a whole host of other animals to be put on the same philosophical plane as humans. Oddly enough, the same geniuses that want dolphins to be protected with personhood rights are the very ones who vehemently deny baby humans in the womb those same rights.

This would be unbelievable if it weren’t so predictable. This nonsense is the logical end to an illogical worldview. It is exactly what to expect when your culture has torn itself free from any foundational moorings.

The biblical worldview is clear: man is God’s crowning achievement in all of creation. He is a being created in the very image of God, and therefore is to be valued and protected to a much greater degree than other beings in the creaturely realm. This position of superiority allows him to exercise dominion and dominance over all other living things. A “person” then is not merely the fulfillment of some philosophical checklist, but rather is a distinction given only to those who bear the image of the Creator. Sorry, Flipper, you don’t make the cut.

Now, this reality in no way justifies or excuses unbridled cruelty to animals. While human beings are the highest form of life, the biblical mandate of stewardship is binding. It demands that we use those things put under our dominion wisely and appropriately. Making an argument against dolphin slaughter is therefore completely legitimate and warranted. But basing that argument on the idiotic proposition that dolphins are people certainly isn’t.

Yet that is the direction we are being taken by the towering intellects of pop culture. They find the notion of a Creator unenlightened and therefore seek to build a cultural worldview solely upon the shifting sands of prevailing popular opinion and totally removed from the concept of a transcendent moral authority.

But when you begin with the assumption that there is no Creator, the distinction of humanity quickly gets lost in a fog of philosophy. We blur lines that should otherwise appear clearly visible and get caught up in strange and bizarre arguments that lack any substantive grounding.

The end result is a society that would grant dolphins and apes the unalienable right to life while denying baby humans in the womb the same. That is the very definition of confusion … tragic confusion.

• Peter Heck can be contacted at peter@peterheck.com.