What is a Human Being?
Time ago it was brought to my attention the intriguing definition of the term human being in the Ballentine's Law Dictionary:
"See MONSTER"
Dafuq?
Allright, then we look at the definition of monster:
"A human being by birth, but in some part resembling a lower animal. A monster hath no inheritable blood and cannot be heir to any land"
So I dig a little more.
The US Code says it's an infant:
"the words “person”, “human being”, “child”, and “individual”, shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens"
Then I found this document that says:
HUMAN BEING“ From Latin Humanus = “a lesser/inferior man or woman defined legally as an animal and/or monster as distinct from the ancient (pre Vatican) Roman term homo = man “. A key rule of Law from the 14th Century describing a fundamental legal fiction – that is the notion of an inferior man or woman as an animal (as defined by Papal Decree) and therefore not subject to the laws of free men, but the laws of property. The decision to create a 2nd word for Homo (man), denoting an ... inferior "animal" man was crucial to the legal implementation of the Vatican global slave trade from the 14th Century - to overcome the questions of legality and morality of the Vatican slave trade. Therefore, unbaptized indigenous populations were legally defined as " humans " — therefore animals . Legally, the name of a human must always be in CAPITALS to identify that individual as property as distinct from a free man.
I also found this conversation with a few interesting definitions:
"Monstrous Rhetoric"
For example, children born of prostitutes are “monsters,” according to Roman law, since they have a human nature crossed with the “bestial characteristic of having been born of vagabond or uncertain unions.”
Midieval World
Christians, barbarians and monsters
John of Salisbury Concerning actors and mimes, buffoons and harlots, panders and other like human monsters, which the prince ought rather to exterminate entirely than to foster, there needed no mention to be made in the law; which indeed not only excludes all such abominations from the court of the prince, but totally banishes them from among the people of God.
[MONSTER - An animal which has a conformation contrary to the order of nature.
A monster, although born of a woman in lawful wedlock, cannot inherit. Those who have however the essential parts of the human form and have merely some defect of coformation, are capable of inheriting, if otherwise qualified.
No living human birth, however much it may differ from human shape, can be lawfully destroyed.
To Be or Not To Be a Human Being?
From Ballentine's Law Dictionary, 1948 Edition. 'Human Being' is defined as follows: 'See monster' . From the same dictionary, 'monster' is defined: 'A human-being by birth, but in some part resembling a lower animal.'
This is an unusual definition, but like all Law Dictionaries on this subject, a non-definition. It only states that a 'human being' is a higher animal. It is not found anywhere in Scripture that a Christian Man or Woman is an animal or part of the animal kingdom. This being the case, then what exactly is a 'human being.'
From the Oxford New English Dictionary of 1901, 'human' is defined as, '3. Belonging or relative to man as distinguished from God or superhuman beings; pertaining to the sphere or faculties of man (with implication of limitation or inferiority); mundane; secular. (Often opposed to divine.)'
'Secular' being the important word here, we look to the multi-definitions in the 1992 Random House Webster's College Dictionary: "Secular' adj. 1. of or pertaining to worldly things or to things not regarded as sacred: temporal. 2. not relating to or concerned with religion (opposed to sacred). 3. concerned with non-religious subjects. 4. not belonging to a religious order: not bound by monastic vows."