In the series about Issues Facing
the Church, I have elaborated a blog sent to my progressivist American niece,
who asked for my position on abortion. For a Christian the Bible should be the
first place to look for answers to life’s questions. If the Bible is the Word
of God - and it is - and if we will be held accountable for what it says - and
we will - then these passages regarding life need to be taken at face value
Is
the Bible really silent on the personhood of the foetus or on when the spirit
enters the unborn, as one famous politician claimed?
My
position: as a born-again
Christian and ordained minister, I take an predictably pro-life position. I
have no other choice: my understanding of Scripture compels me.
• Jeremiah 1:5 - God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.’
• Psalm 139:13-16: There are some incredible statements in this passage.
Apparently, the detailed mapping of our very being (perhaps right down to the
molecular level) was written in God’s book, even before we were conceived.
• Ephesians 2:10: God knew us from before the foundation of the world
(eternity past) and ordained us for good works.
• Matthew 10:30: The hairs of our head are numbered.
• Matthew 19:14: Jesus commanded that the little children be brought
to Him and no one was to forbid them. They are what constitute the kingdom of
heaven.
• Genesis 1:27: This affirms that humankind is made in the image of
God.
• Genesis 9:6 says simply: Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall
be shed; for in the image of God He made man. Ponder that verse.
•
• Luke 17:2: It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and
he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. If you ever saw a millstone, you’ll find that it is exceedingly heavy.
Tied around your neck means you would hit the sea bottom in record time. Jesus
says the millstone in the sea is a better outcome than offending the ‘little
ones.’ What could be more offensive than denying them the right to life?
Could
it be any clearer?
With
such meticulous care, there is no question that in God’s mind the foetus is a
person, even before they are in the womb. Therefore, deliberately
terminating that pregnancy is destroying a life.
Don
Feder says abortion is part of a larger culture of death. When it was legalised
in 1973, prophetic voices warned that euthanasia would be next. People scoffed
at them and said it would never happen - yet, it is happening before our eyes.
The most vulnerable people - the very young and very old - are being targeted
for destruction, often for economic or expedient reasons.
Simple,
true justice means we should do our best to defend those who cannot defend
themselves.
Is the United States a better country
because of Roe versus Wade? Are the Australian states that legalised abortion
better places to live in?
Does
50 million plus abortions in the United States since 1973 improve our quality
of life, instil compassion for the needy, or improve our ability to care?
What
does it say about our humanity and our future? After all, children are the
future.
Does
it help strengthen the family?
If
a child cannot be safe in its mother’s womb, is there any safe place on this
planet for any of us?
United
There
are people who were pro-abortion, were directly involved in the industry, then
had a change of heart and repented. They have become passionate defenders of
the unborn.
Dear
niece, thank you for allowing me to answer your question on abortion.
I
conclude with a simple challenge given by God to all of us. It is found in Deuteronomy
30:19:
I
call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before
you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you
and your descendants may live;
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