Saturday, November 1, 2008

Can A Christian Be Pro-Abortion, or Even Neutral?

No...not if that Christian believes in the biblical doctrine of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. And since one cannot ignore the incarnation of God in the person of the Man Jesus and be a Christian, it is therefore impossible for a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ to be pro-abortion or even neutral on the subject of abortion.
Let me explain. First, let’s clarify the terms. One who holds to a pro-abortion position is one who believes it is perfectly acceptable to stop the life of an unborn child at some point between conception and birth. One who is neutral on abortion is one who is unwilling to say it is wrong to take the life of an unborn child.
Now, let’s address the obvious question. If any woman ever had reason to have an abortion in the modern rationale in favor of abortion Mary, the mother of Jesus, would have qualified. She was unmarried and pregnant in a time and culture where that was looked upon with scorn, unlike today when it is most often celebrated. So, by today’s legal standards and secular thought, Mary would have been a prime candidate to have a legal abortion.
Would it have been admissible for Mary to have aborted the child in her womb? If the one in her womb was not really a child yet, not really God incarnate yet, then some would make the argument that it would have been perfectly acceptable for her to choose to abort it. However, it defies the imagination to think that anyone, short of a full-blown atheist, would suggest that abortion of the unborn Jesus would have been a proper choice.
The key question is: When did Jesus become God incarnate? Was He God incarnate only at birth or was He God incarnate at the moment He was conceived in the womb of Mary by God the Holy Spirit? The historical orthodox Christian position has always been that He was incarnate, in flesh, from the point of His conception. To suggest that Christians believe anything else would be an absurdity. One must conclude that the truly biblical Christian position is that the unborn Jesus was God incarnate and under no circumstances would it have been acceptable to abort Him.
So, the biblical Christian position must be that abortion is wrong. It is not acceptable in the mind of true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And arguing from the specific to the general then would say that, since that one unborn child was fully human from the point of conception, then all babies are. Therefore, taking the life of an unborn child is taking the life of a human being.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for this post Pastor Walter!

Anonymous said...

Even with such a clear and concise point, I still hear echoes of "What about cases of rape and incest?" Unfortunately, the not-so-hidden agenda dances around the undeniable fact that aborting a baby is killing a baby. Under no circumstance is there ever a need to kill a baby, born or unborn, for the purpose of convenience. "Convenience" casts a broad net just as "medical emergency". I use the term because convenience killings far outweigh medical emergencies. It's convenient to toss the highly public consequence of sin in the garbage to protect the image of the killer. And then to "justify" the killing, others are sought out for bandwagon support instead of taking responsibility for the sin-action/s. Bah. Selfishness...all selfishness.

Anonymous said...

I have waited a day to post this comment in order not to overreact or say something that I don't mean.

First off, I will start with the fact that I do NOT, under any circumstance, believe that abortion should be a way out. That said, saying that aborting a baby for rape and incest is selfishness is a blind statement made by someone who has not been in that situation.
When I was 9 years old, I was molested by my biological father. At that time, I was already able to have children. I was absolutely devastated by the whole experience. Are you telling me that if your FOURTH GRADE daughter was raped by a close family member, and on the brink of being permanently damaged mentally, you would force her to carry a child conceived in such violence to term? To relive the most horrific incident of her life every single day?
If that had happened to me, I honestly do not believe that I would be here today replying to this post.

After attending the church for several months, I have come to really respect the opinions of both Pastor Walter and Mike. And I know that God has a plan for everything in our lives. However, I do ask that you consider circumstances you have not experienced before you generalize all instances as "selfishness."

walter said...

To Anonymous,

I am deeply sorry for your personal experience and the obvious pain with which you write. One thing that encouraged me from your comment was that, even in the midst of this terrible memory, you still are firmly committed to abortion as an unacceptable option. That's great!
I personally have had contact with children of mothers who were in your situation but also became pregnant who are deeply grateful that their mothers allowed them to live, even at great personal sacrifice and pain.
I can only hope that—given the hypothetical you proposed—I would choose life, as those mothers did.

Unknown said...

Walter,
From early chilhood my mother taught me that "abortion is murder". Why don't we get it!

fermin

Anonymous said...

Walter


I thoroughly enjoyed our fellowship.

Thank you for hosting Transformed.

God bless, Ray

walter said...

Hey Ray, the fellowship and the truth were great. Thanks for bringing Way of the Master to the Pass.