Psalm 139: 13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. praise you because; I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
I am convinced that Abortion was the most important issue in our recent presidential election. The problem is that I do not believe Abortion was even discussed beyond one question at the Saddleback Forum. Besides dealing with your eternal salvation, have you ever had to make a decision that would decide whether someone lived or died? I haven’t. But the question has come up, “would you be able to kill someone in defense of your family or your country?” My answer has always been “yes.” But, if the situation was in front of me, would I be willing to pull the trigger? I just don’t know. Well, over a million women in America say yes to killing an unborn each year, basically out of convenience. Tim Tebow’s mother faced a similar decision; her doctor advised her that treatment for her illness had caused irreversible damage to her unborn baby. As an American, abortion was legal but Pam Tebow rejected her doctor’s advice and trusted God for the safety of her unborn son. The controversy about the super bowl ad that will run celebrating her courageous decision is obviously ridiculous. But this post is not about that, but rather we need to ask the following:
Is abortion right or wrong?
When does science say human life begins?
What is God’s view on abortion?
What are you going to do about it?
Many would say, “A woman’s right to choose abortion is the law and … that settles it.” But of course that logic carried to its end would validate the actions of Adolf Hitler, as well. Many others believe abortion is murder … pure and simple. Most Christians believe abortion is wrong, but cannot explain why. The Bible does not say “thou shall not abort” but thou shall not murder is quite clear. Although the Supreme Court ruled on it over 40 years ago, the majority of Americans now believe abortion is wrong. How long will America allow for over one million babies to be killed each year before God responds to this evil? The truth is that when humans make laws based upon what they want, or what they think, they will inevitably make laws that are contrary to what is right and true. People are flawed. The truth is that Abortion is killing a defenseless unborn baby and it is wrong. All the laws in the world won’t change this truth. And that is why this problem will never go away. As horrible as the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti is … the reality of Abortion in America is a hundred times worse. We are after all willingly killing these babies, moment by moment ... day after day ... year after year.
What does science say about when a baby’s life begins? Without question, science has proven that “a new human life commences at the precise moment when the membranes of the sperm and egg cells fuse” … life begins at conception. The fact that laws are passed that disregard this truth does not change this scientific and spiritual truth. “It is sometimes said that the abortion debate is about values rather than facts. An honest debate about abortion, however, is about values based on facts. If we don’t get the facts right, we will not get our values right. Establishing by clear scientific evidence the moment at which a human life begins is not the end of the abortion debate. On the contrary, that is the point from which the debate begins.”
So what can we believe is God’s view on Abortion? Once again, the outcome of a majority rules vote on murder is irrelevant as it relates to the question of whether killing innocent babies is right or wrong from God’s perspective. As Christians, the only thing that really matters is: what does God’s word say, and what can we conclude as a result of it? The scripture above is the best that I can find, in my search for Biblical guidance. When we look closely as Christians the answer to this question should be obvious to all.
you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb; I am fearfully and wonderfully made; My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place; I was woven together in the depths of the earth; your eyes saw my unformed body; All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be
I do not know how anyone, Christian or otherwise, can read these verses and come to any conclusion other than: Abortion is evil. I would suggest you read all of Psalm 139 to get the total context. Our God the creator of all is Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent. He wrote the book of your life before you lived a single day. He created your inmost being ... or your heart and your mind. At the point of conception, God was with you as much as he was at any other point in your life. We are his workmanship, who God created in a secret place known only to Him. God could actually see you, every day of your life before your body was even formed. All of our days were ordained or predestined and ordered by the virtue of his absolute authority. Who could dare destroy what God has created? Is this athiestic religious dogma "a woman’s right to choose abortion" right or wrong? Or, is this an evil joke? Our constitution gives us the right to vote and create laws, but it will never give us the authority to determine right from wrong or good from evil.
What should you do?
Pray to God for guidance
Pray that God will move on the heart of the president
Pray for the mothers and fathers faced with this decision
Pray that God will put a burden on the heart of all in your church
Get involved in supporting the right to life movement
Forward this post to everyone you know
God Bless you my Friend, Bob
Teen abortions increase?
Life begins?
When is a baby, a baby?
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DNA tells the tale. From conception forward, the human DNA is the combination from mother and father - unique. The one-time-only combination grows as the most vulnerable of humans, requiring the protection of the species if not of the law. Surely, even non-believers can understand that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Grammy ... it doesn't get any clearer than that. But unfortunately, many want the truth to be whatever they have decided makes sense to them, regardless of the facts.
ReplyDeleteLove and Let Live.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your very important words concerning the subject of abortion. In the 80's I was working for a company in ONT., CA. and one day during a break someone brought up the subject of abortion. I can't remember exactly my words but I did state how important every life is and that they all have value and should have an opportunity to live out their unique lives. A couple months later a lady came to me saying that she was pregnant and they had wanted to abort. In the next breath she said she remembered what I had said and as they talked about it they decided to have the child. Every month she brought in an ultrasound and joyfully showed me the scan. I was invited to the hospital just after she had the baby and they were so happy at little Tim's arrival. He would be in his 20's now. It still gives me goose-bumps every time I think of this. God can use every thing we say. Life is SO valuable.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob for a Great post.
ReplyDeleteI believe the murder of the unborn and the open sexual immorality in our nation will ultimately be our downfall.
I would like to briefly address the question you asked:
"have you ever had to make a decision that would decide whether someone lived or died?"
Well I am sad to say I had to be the one to make that decision about 10 years ago when my dad died. Even though it was written in his will he wanted the plug pulled, that didn't make it any easier.
My mother and sister were unwilling to make the final decision and asked me to give permission to the doctors to take him off life support systems. I had to do this in a room before my mother, my sister, my brother in law, 2 doctors, 3 nurses and 4 hospital chaplains.
Even though I believe it had to be done it was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do.
One positive note: My dad prayed to receive Christ a few weeks before his death and I was also able to give a clear presentation of the Gospel to all the people in that room.
God bless you and keep blogging for Jesus, Ron
You bring up a great point. WHY should Christians believe that abortion is wrong? This issue recently came up in my life. I overheard some Protestant friends saying that they couldn't understand how any Christian (which to them means Protestant, specifically Pentecostal) could be pro-abortion. I asked them why they thought a faithful, Bible-believing Christian has to be be pro-life. They couldn't really answer with a Biblical citation, except to say some vague thing about God being the author of life. Even had they come up with the Psalm you cited (which you admit is the best Scriptural support you could find), it must be admitted that there are a million plausible ways for a Bible-believer to "get around" that verse if they were determined to support abortion rights.
ReplyDeleteThey can say that it's extremely vague, that it's just poetry, that it doesn't say that life begins at conception, and may allow abortions up to an unspecified "quickening" age, that one ambiguous OT verse is harldy a Biblical argument against abortion, that the NT has nothing to say about it, that it doesn't say that abortion is forbidden if the life or health of the mother is at stake, etc. etc. etc. They can also point out that Orthodox Jews- the most religious, conservative and traditonal sect of Judaism- who also hold the Old Testament sacred, permit abortion and even require it in some cases.
My point is that the Bible Alone (Sola Scriptura) does not provide much of an argument against abortion and those pro-lifers who think the Bible is going to prove their case are in a pretty poor position. Millions of intelligent and sincere Protestants have exercised their right of individual interpretation and have understood Scripture to permit at least some abortions. If we're going by the Protestant notion of Bible Alone, I think their interpretations are as valid as the pro-lifers.
I am 100% pro-life, but I am a Catholic. I'm glad that I don't have to justify my opposition to abortion on the shifting sands of Bible interpretation. I simply have to obey an infallible Church which I believe is the spiritual authority founded by Christ Himself. As if that weren't enough, I can read objective history and see in black and white how that infallible Church has prohibited abortion in the clearest terms from the earliest times until today. It is logically impossible to be a Catholic and "pro-choicer" at the same time. The same cannot be said for Protestantism, which in essence makes every believer his own final authority, since each individual believer is the final arbiter of what the Bible actually means.
I hope I don't sound too sectarian, but the discussion with my friends has weighed on my mind and made me think a lot lately about how Bible believers justify being pro-life.
You raise many questions but ... I will focus on Abortion only here. I am convinced Psalm 139 is compelling for all believers. But just on the science referenced in my post alone, of which there is much more ... "life begins at conception" is not an issue of debate. It is a scientic fact. Therefore, "thou shalt not kill" applies spiritually to all believers, and societal laws against murder should be compelling on abortion, for all law abiding citizens, as well.
ReplyDeleteroeVwade is bad law and as a result should be changed. The problem is that a large percentage of our society has accepted: "a woman's right to choose" as their personal athiestic religious dogma.
A small number of judges passed an evil law, and now it is promoted with an evangelistic fervor and political determination by those have bought into the idea that majority rules trumps the truth. Now, that the majority has shifted ... change will come. Our judicial system is imperfect.
Objective evidence clearly shows us that Psalm 139 is_not_compelling for all believers. As I pointed out, Orthodox Jews, who hold the Old Testament to be as divinely inspired as you do, don't interpret it that way. Millions of other Protestants, who I'm sure would describe themselves as Bible believers, don't see it that way. And history itself tells us that when Roe v Wade was decided, the Protestant/evangelical reaction basically approved of it. As I recall, the Southern Baptists passed resolutions supporting a woman's right to choose, Billy Graham's "Christianity Today" came out in support of it, and the Catholic Church stood pretty much alone in opposing it. Evangelical Protestants eventually came around of course, but the point is that Scriptural opposition to abortion is not self-evident.
ReplyDeleteI am convinced that if we were in a court of law, the scientific evidence would win the case life begins at conception. I would be interested to hear the biblical argument against Psalm 139. Abortion is Murder!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the well presented article, and for stopping by my page as well. This is indeed an issue that we cannot let just fade away because it's the law of the land. The nation will be held responsible for the slaughter of these children.
ReplyDeleteThanx for visiting my blog and encouraging me in the faith.
ReplyDeleteWell, I gave multiple examples of how I think pro-abortion Christians would argue against your interpretation of Psalm 139. If you want to hear it from the horse's mouth, a quick google search of "psalm 139 and abortion" would turn up multiple arguments from their side.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the visit to my blog and for leaving your footprints back to this post! Awesome post! You asked :
"Is this athiestic religious dogma "a woman’s right to choose abortion" right or wrong? Or, is this an evil joke?" That's the best description I've heard of a woman's right to choose. That's right on! - And is this an evil joke? It's clearly an evil presence!
like your blog too. I love finding other Christians especially those who don't hide behind their faith. You wear it! At least in this post you're right there on teh front line.
Keep growing closer to Jesus
Patrina <")>><
http://www.psalm45-1.com/2010/02/ipray-2010-prayer-for-sanctity-of-life.html