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Abortion |
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One of the things which separates biblical, fundamental, Christianity from other belief systems and world views is that it is not something merely of the mind or of the emotions. Christianity must, by its very definition, be proactive in the lives of believers. It has become fashionable in America to avoid the discussion of sensitive or painful topics, all in the name of preserving a person’s feelings. Though it is important to be sensitive to the feelings of others, the Bible gives us no leeway to do this if the truth is kept hidden. Sin is sin and not talking about it doesn’t make it go away. This is why articles such as this will necessarily appear on this web site. Please be sure to visit our Memorial to the Unborn while you are here. The debate over the abortion issue has been so emotional that many, on both sides, do not keep in mind what the Bible really has to say about it. But, to do so means nothing but harm for the people involved. Those performing (or supporting the performing of) abortions remain lost in their sin, victims of abortion find no peace and people honestly trying to save the lives of the unborn are continually slandered when zealots take justice out of God’s hands into their own. There are two key attributes of God involved here, neither of which can be ignored. First, God is a just God. He cannot abide the slaughter of so many innocent lives. This is not a matter of choice; it is a matter of the value of a human life. I, personally, am continually reminded of Matthew 25:41-46. The Bible continually tells us that we must take up the standard for those who are not in a position to defend themselves (read Proverbs 31:8). But before the zealots start cheering too loudly, God is also a God of love. This means that God can and will forgive both the abortionist and the women who have had an abortion if they seek God, turn away from their sins and repent. If you think God couldn’t possibly forgive a repentent abortionist, especially if you think so because you counldn’t do it yourself, then I need to remind you of Matthew 6:14. Abortion is not the unforgivable sin. This is why there is hope for both abortionists and the women who have them done, if they will accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The material here is divided into these sections:
What is the Value of a Life?
In the media, what we are constantly bombarded with is the question, “Does a woman have the right to choose?” The problem with this is that it ignores the real question, “When are we human enough to have the right to life promised by our very own Constitution?” Those who support abortion cannot answer this consistently. In the medical sciences, there is not even any debate over this; all agree that life begins and is human at conception and exists in a continuum right up to the moment of death. This means, from the pro-abortion point of view, that either human life is valueless or that there are circumstances which make one person’s life more valuable than another’s (otherwise known as situational ethics, discussed later). If you study the arguments over the abortion issues in the early ‘70s, when the Supreme Court was considering the Roe v. Wade case, you will find some interesting predictions made by those speaking out against legalized abortion. Their claim was that, if abortion became legal, euthenasia would be the next major topic of discussion and that is what we see now. They claimed that we could even get to the point of infanticide. If you think we will never get that far, you need to know that several states are actively considering legislation which would give parents the right to kill their new-born within the first five days to three months of life. What does this say about the value of a human life in our society? You may not think this devaluation of a human life means much to you, but consider this. In every other country where euthenasia laws have been passed, more times than not it ends up being the doctor’s, not the patient’s descision to end a life. Our American health insurance companies are already pushing for ways to cut care to save money and boost profits. We are not very far away from a person, in the United States, being legally murdered, just because he or she is too expensive to keep alive. Do you want to be the one in that position?
The Law
The abortion issue has as a major component the Roe v. Wade descision passed on January 22, 1972. Aside from the predictions discussed above, there are a couple of interesting things to note with regard to the school of law behind the case. At the time, the primary argument for making abortion legal was not that a woman should have the right to choose what happens to her body (as it is today). It was over child abuse. The contention was that, if it were legal to kill an unborn child, child abuse would decline because unwanted children would be aborted. We have since learned two important things. First, child abuse does not stem from whether the child is wanted or not, making the original argument moot. Second, as proof, over the years since the Roe v. Wade descision was passed, child abuse has risen well over %400, not declined. So now, we are to the point of arguing about whether a woman’s right to choose outweighs her unborn child’s right to live. Another interesting thing to note is the validity of the descision in light of our own judicial system. From the beginning, our system of justice has been founded on the simple idea that a person is innocent until proven guilty and that the weak should be protected by the government from exploitation. This is why so much of our law gives benefit of the doubt to the defendant. In their own statement covering their Roe v. Wade descision, the Supreme Court admitted that the basic question as it concerned the law was, “When does life begin?” They also admitted that they could not come to a conclusion on the question. By deciding in favor of abortion, the Supreme Court has effectively said, “It doesn’t matter when life begins. Even if abortion is murder, we say it is legal.” By our own legal traditions and precidents, Roe v. Wade was a bad legal descision. Even this, however, is not the real issue. The real issue is the value of a human life.
Situational Ethics
Since history has proven that the original reasons for legalizing abortion to be false, pro-abortionists have been left with only one real alternative to try to justify what they support. That is situational ethics. Situational ethics is the position that current circumstances dictate what is right and wrong. It has these six major tenants. - There are no moral absolutes. The only real rule is that there are no real rules. One person’s ideas of right and wrong, though they be different or even contradictory, is just as valid as anyone else’s.
- The situation is the basis for a moral descision. Since there are no real moral absolutes, the only source for moral authority are current circumstances. This leads to the posibility that an action can be both right and wrong at the same time.
- Self-oriented pragmatism determines right and wrong. The right moral choice is the one which provides the best outcome for you.
- What may normally be wrong may be right if there is a “good cause.” Given a good enough reason, anything may be right to do.
- All views must be tolerated. No one has the right to say what is right or wrong. It is interesting to note that this does not seem to apply to fundamental Christianity; there is no toleration of the biblical world view or those who hold to it.
- Any ethical or moral position which has absolutes must be rejected.
As an example of how untennable and shaky situational ethics can be, look at one of the current plights facing modern feminism. In the country of India, society is strongly male dominated with a history such that a family with daughters would be under a heavier financial burden than one with sons. The burden is extreme enough that most elective abortions (7999 out of 8000 one year) occur for the simple reason that the unborn child is female. Modern feminists are in an understandable uproar because it isn’t fair or right to kill an unborn child just because of his or her gender. Since most of the abortions in India are voluntary, how, then, can they reconcile this position with their own pro-abortion stance? They really can’t, since there is no real justification for murdering an unborn child.
The Biblical Position on Abortion
The Bible has very serious things to say about abortion, being murder. If you doubt that abortion is murder, then you’ll be forced to come to a descision as to when a human being is mature enough to have the right to live and, as has already been discussed, this leads to the conclusion that rights must be bestowed from the moment of conception, the moment life starts. Thus, abortion is murder. Have you ever wondered what the real reason behind the wrongness of murder is? It goes back to the very beginning. In Genesis 1:27, we read that we are all made in the image of God. As such, we are special among His creation. He does not take kindly to harm or destruction of what He deems valuable. Life is in the hands of God and to force His hand by killing someone out of turn is a sin the Bible calls murder. How seriously does God take this? How valuable does He see the life of a man? In Exodus 20:13 we are given the commandment not to murder, but as early as Genesis 9:5-6 we are told that the penalty for murder is nothing short of death. Jesus Himself emphasizes the seriousness of this even further by equating unjustified anger (even at an unborn child) with murder in Matthew 5:21-22, also, therefore, worthy of a death penalty. Does God really consider the “product of conception”, the unborn, subject to murder? In both the Hebrew and Greek languages, there is not a separate word for child and unborn child. Read Exodus 21:22-23. Here, very clearly, God gives the same death penalty for accidentally harming an unborn child. Would He do less for the actual purposeful death of one? In Jeremiah 1:5, God Himself said, “Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you.” In Psalms 139:13-14, David said, “For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to you, For I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” These, and similar passages, tell us that the Bible is firm that we are fully people from the moment of conception. Not only that, but each one of us and each and every baby is “hand made” by God. Read Job’s account of his own creation in Job 10:8-12.
Popular Excuses
In this section, several of the more popular excuses from the pro-abortion stance are listed. Each is paired with verse references which speak the truth of the matter.
Healing for the Wounded
Because of the nation’s attitude toward abortion over the last couple of decades, there are now many who have discovered the truth about the true emotional cost abortion exacts from its victims. There is study after study and story after story about what people have had to deal with because of an abortion. It is not limited, even, to the women against whom the abortion was committed. There are many, many incidents similar to one where a man suffered a nervous breakdown nineteen years after he convinced his then girlfriend to have an abortion, on the very day when that child would have graduated high school. In all the rabid emotionalism which surrounds the debate, the victims of abortion do not receive the attention they need to be able to heal the wounds of their experiences. When people try to bolster aid for the victims, pro-abortionists cry all the louder for a “woman’s right to choose” and completely deny the lasting emotional damage always caused by what they promote. Does God hear the plight of these suffering people? The wonderful news is that God really does care. People make a great deal about some sin being worse than other sin. They forget that the Bible teaches quite clearly that all sin is the same in God’s eyes. If you have told a single lie and see nothing wrong with it, then God sees you in exactly the same light as an abortionist who has singlehandedly murdered 30,000 unborn children. Many victims of abortion stay away from a saving relationwhip with Jesus because they mistakenly believe that they could never be forgiven such a horrible thing. The Bible does speak of a sin for which there is no forgiveness, but only the one. And, it is not abortion. The unforgivable sin would be to call God a liar by saying that there is nothing wrong with doing what He has already said is wrong. The Bible promises in many places that God, who always fulfills His promises, has promised to forgive our sins if we agree with Him that they are wrong, if we accept that Jesus has paid the price for all our sins. That is how much God loves you and me, to come to earth as a mortal man and take the punishment we deserve so that we can live with Him, completely forgivven, forever. For those who have been wounded by abortion, come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior if you don’t already. Study His life. One of the most prominent aspects of His time on earth was that He spent it healing the broken bodies, lives and spirits of the wounded. He came to forgive us and in His forgiveness we can find healing. If you still do not believe that God could forgive you, consider the life of a man named Paul. He was responsible for writing a great deal of the New Testament. He has influenced millions in the name of God through the churches he planted all around the Mediteranian. No one can doubt that God made tremendous use of this man. Yet, he started off as a murderer. He was directly responsible for the deaths of many, many Christian families just because of what they believed. The only people whom God will not forgive are those who do not seek His forgiveness. Please, come to Him and let Him forgive and heal you.
So Where Does All This Leave Us?
As described above, God takes a very serious view about abortion. It is wrong. It can never be right. Those involved in it will suffer eternal consequences unless they repent. But, therein lies the hope we all have. God can and will forgive you, even of abortion, if you will place Jesus as Lord of your life and heart and turn your back on all your sin. You are not beyond saving and God very much wants to do just that for you, personally. He promised us this in 2 Peter 3:9. Since Jesus is our creator, we are accountable to Him. All He wants is to be your Savior and the Lord of your life, to love you in tangible ways, to have a personal, one on one relationship with you. If you do not already have this relationship, you can read more here about how to get it started. Jesus is knocking. Will you open the door and let Him help you, let Him heal you?
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Last updated on January 3, 2001 at 11:59 PM
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