Estimated Read Time: 3.5 minutes
Last month on the blog, we confronted the reality that it’s our job as believers to end abortion. Today, I want to explore why it’s also urgent that we end abortion.
Practically speaking, our faith demands that we rescue a preborn child with the same urgency and effectiveness that we would rescue a 5-year-old kindergartener. If both are equally valuable to God, then they are equally valuable to us as His people, and our behavior must align with our belief.
Imagine a society that allows toddlers to be killed
Just picture for a moment an America in which it is legal to kill children up to age 5 for any reason. In this selfish, dystopian society, parents would have the option to kill their kids through doctors and large healthcare corporations. Politicians would continue to take up sides – one claiming that killing toddlers is murder, the other claiming that parents have more value (and therefore more rights) than their children do. They would claim that giving parents the option to kill their toddlers is necessary for their welfare and health.
Imagine if we killed 3,000 toddlers every day in the name of choice and parenting rights.
Let’s pose some questions about our churches in this dystopian society:
- Would your church refuse to teach and preach on the killing, citing the slaughter of toddlers as a “political issue”?
- Would your church refuse to teach and preach on the killing, not wanting to offend anyone or scare off “seekers”?
- Would your church refuse to teach and preach on the killing, citing the separation of church and state?
- Would your church refuse to teach and preach on the killing, afraid of offending parents in the congregation who had made the choice to kill their own toddler?
- Would your church be okay with the killing, as long as the toddlers who were killed were products of rape or incest?
- Would your church claim that other ministries take greater priority than rescuing toddlers?
- Would your church rescue toddlers even if the parents didn’t want the children and were legally allowed to kill them?
- Would your church refuse to be involved in any rescue operations, claiming that doing so is “not a customary act of our church”?
- Would your church refuse to use, show, or display pictures of murdered toddlers, not wanting to upset members of the congregation?
- Would your church simply deny the killings were going on?
Toddlers and the preborn have the same value
If you read those questions and answer them as any biblical Christian would, then you would rightfully claim that your church would drop everything and rush to rescue as many toddlers as they could. They would reject political arguments; they would prioritize rescuing toddlers over every other work or expense of the church; and they would boldly, consistently teach and preach on the urgent, moral priority to end the killing.
And so we are left with a profoundly disturbing question:
If God values the preborn child and the toddler the same, then why do our churches NOT respond to abortion as they would to the killing of toddlers?
Again, I believe that despite the fact that God values the preborn and the born equally, we do not. Our behavior is not in line with our beliefs. In fact, many churches value preborn children the same way our culture does – they consider them to be worthless.
Scripture is replete with passages commanding us to rescue and save the weak, the oppressed, the vulnerable, the downtrodden. And yet we turn a blind eye to the most victimized, most oppressed, most downtrodden people group in American history – children in the womb and their mothers.
If we do believe that life in the womb is as precious as life outside of the womb, then our beliefs must align with our behavior. People in the church must not only raise their voices in opposition to the abortion genocide, but they must also do everything in their power to rush to rescue the preborn from imminent death.
Read the other blog posts in the Abortion and the Church series:
- Part 1: It’s Our Job to End Abortion
- Part 2: Our Calling to End Abortion is Urgent
- Part 3: Is Ending Abortion One of God’s Pressing Moral Priorities?
- Part 4: Want to End Abortion? ACT.
I’m interested in hearing the responses of people in the pro-life movement on my take on the issue. I think that a fetus becomes a person when it possesses a functional brain capable of consciousness. Consciousness can even be as rudimentary as the awareness of pain. To make a comparison,… Read more »
Simple. LIFE begins at conception.
True, but my point is that conscious life, the type of life we care for, doesn’t begin then. A bacteria cell is alive. Yet we don’t give bacteria cells rights. Even a sperm cell or an egg cell is technically alive. In reality, we don’t even value all conscious life,… Read more »
Hi Anne – We should not accept personhood as a valuation factor, nor degree of development. We are valuable because we are human, and our value should not be determined by any other factor, including race, gender, size, age, level of development, personhood status etc. Any other factor, apart from… Read more »
Thank you for the reply. I will point out that we already disburse some rights based on mental development- children do not have the right to vote, for example, nor do they have the right to apply for a driver’s license. It’s certainly not the child’s fault that he or… Read more »
Anne – I very much appreciate your sober and respectful points. And I think the dialogue is productive and helpful for the community. I understand your points, though I do disagree with the foundations of your arguments. If we have intrinsic value simply because we are human (which is the… Read more »
Hello Mr. Fisher- again, thank you for the reply and the continuing discussion. In response to your question about whether I support the pain-capable legislation, I would in normal circumstances. However, most scientists agree that fetal humans don’t feel pain in the typical sense of the word until they are… Read more »
those Christians that stand up for abortion think they are the compassionate ones. HOW sad that when they stand before God and he asks why they voted for those people who enforced abortion and they say they were the compassionate ones and God tells them he KNOWS THEM NOT. I… Read more »
Abortion is murder thou shall not kill the 7th commandment some people don’t believe that they don’t want to hear it. It’s not a blob growing inside the womb that is a precious life growing. I had abortion along time ago I still can’t forgive myself for this mistake I… Read more »
Why Abortion Is Murder and Should Be Outlawed Abortion is murder. But why? What is killed by abortion? A human zygote, embryo, or fetus is killed by abortion. But is a human zygote, embryo, or fetus a living human being? Yes, because a human zygote, embryo, or fetus has a… Read more »
Best article I’ve read. Hopefully this will wake up the church!
We must stand up and rescue the unborn.
It’s hard to believe, but I know folks who claim to be Christians, go to church and think abortion is okay. Of course they aren’t abiding by God’s word and teaching. I pray for the murdering atrocities to end now
We need to stand up fr what is bibically right!
Killing any of God’s children from conception on is murder. we have no right to killing anyone.
The very thought of abortion turns my stomach. I can’t imagine being so hard hearted and cold. I was a single mother for most of my kids childhood. We struggled but I showered my kids with love and devotion. I taught them to be strong. The electric chair statement was… Read more »
Separation of church and state! A women is condemned if she aborts even due to health of infant or herself. If she delivers the state condemns her for a burden on the state. What ever cercomstance her pregnancy is HER decision to end or deliver. We can educate to avoid… Read more »
The separation of church and state, as it is currently understood and applied, does not reflect the original intent of its author, Thomas Jefferson. He was assuring some friends that the country would not appoint a state-run church. That makes sense considering, at the time, that America had just won… Read more »
Join the discussion:. Why doesn’t the baby get a choice?
My husband and I are not only talking against abortion, but we also are writing to our lawmakers and helping fund a pregnancy center in our town. Our pregnancy center helps mothers care for their child up to two years of age. The progression of our efforts to rescue the… Read more »
Fantastic work – keep it up!!
I am angry with the church — for too many years they have failed to preach and stand by God’s laws set down in the Bible. They are more concerned they might upset, offend or make people uncomfortable, than saving them.
May God bless your children and have mercy on them. People have to wake up and realize that this is a battle between good and evil. I pray that people will open their eyes and finally wake up. What we need is a great revival and lots of prayers.
I agree with you. This is a good article. I live in Australia. There is going to be a drag queen story hour in my city. Other people need to be less apathetic.
Helen – I read about that! Prayers for you and your country as you, too, wrestle with the insanity of humanism.
If a woman does not want children they have a couple of choices, do not have sex,) use birth control or give the baby a chance to live with a family that will love them.
Brian, I pray for all lost children and children of God. I pray for you that You may have total peace while engaged against evil. Everyone has a free will to choose; however, their is no right to choose to murder a baby. What has happened in our country? Communists… Read more »
Thank you sir!
I believe that part of the reason is for acceptance, (based on not the teachings and disregarding the commandments of our creator), of living immoral and selfish lifestyles that it is based on, the populace and political nature instead, of the moral and just.
Don’t forget that Virginia wanted to kill babies after birth. How can any life be respected and protected outside the womb if it is not protected inside the womb. Abortion is cold blooded murder and I applaud states that are taking a hard stand against abortion. God’s blood must be… Read more »
Let us true Christians stand up against this horrible and evil acts of inhumane injustice against the children created and brought into this world by God. Let’s fight the good, holy and moral fight against this barbaric murder of innocent children-NOW!!!!
Thank you. As a young teen I had more than one abortion. I was taught the worst thing I could do was bring a child into this world I couldn’t care for. As an adult I know that maybe I could have parented those children; especially with a supportive family… Read more »
Powerful testimony, Dixie. Thank you for sharing.
I must also exclude most Republicans and conservatives from being honestly opposed to abortion as a result of such welfare reforms as the family cap (a provision where a woman’s welfare payments are not increased for another child), and their TOTAL REFUSAL to just fix the pro-abortion parts of Obamacare… Read more »
I’m lost. Abortion is a consequence of the sin fornication. Everyone is talking about the consequence and nobody is addressing the sin. Because without the sin there are no consequences. Without fornication there is no abortion. When is the church going to address the sin problem.
I agree 100% with everything said in this post. In fact I had an argument with my best friend of 40 years about exactly this yesterday. I never new he could be so cruel. He finally called me stupid and told me if I was going to say such stupid… Read more »
It starts with unwanted babies then spreads to unwanted elderly.
I can honestly say that my church does preach against abortion. I could not go there if it did not.
Let’s stop abortion
I believe that life inside the womb is as precious as life outside the womb. I believe that each and every time an unborn child is aborted that child is murdered and murder must be punished whether inside the womb or outside the womb. I am a Christian and I… Read more »
No church I know talks about abortion
Any form of abortions should not be tolerated or accepted in any so-called Christian Church. As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses I will tell you that abortion is not tolerated in our faith. And anyone who aborted a child would be disfellowshipped from the congregation. The Bible clearly shows that the… Read more »
Churches I have been a member of are steadfastly and actively against abortion. I think you are over generalizing
Missy – I’m glad to hear that. I wrote a book about this topic, though, and the research in that book clearly indicates your experiences are exceptions, not the norm. Check it out at http://www.deliverusfromabortion.com.
We need to pray for the churches now. Geesch
Brian, do you know John Ensor? He is the founder of an international crisis pregnancy ministry called PassionLife, which you can find online. He would be an excellent guest on your show. Countries around the world call him to come and teach his perspective on life, particularly unborn life. He… Read more »
Pam – John is a rockstar! Love that guy. Yes I’ve met him a few times and he has been to our office once or twice. I think I actually did interview him a few years ago but it may be time to do it again. And congrats on your… Read more »