What Does The Bible Say About Abortion?

Last week, I did a series of posts over STTA, and some parallels here, on the moral/ethical/political/cultural issue of abortion and the aanctity of life.  I finished this round on this subject, over at STTA on Friday.  My intention was to do one more post, here.  Her it is.
This is mostly some notes from a message I did a while back.  Notes, at least my notes aren't intended for general consumption, so I'm cleaning this up some.  I figure it will still have that note-ish quality about it.

 What Does The Bible Say About Abortion?  

1       Is Human Life Unique?
 Not too long ago this would be a question that would not make any sense.
Today it is a question that cries out to be answered.

I am not in any way encouraging cruelty to animals.  We have a responsibility to treat them properly.

“A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.” (Proverbs 12:10, NASB95)
The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel. (NLT)
Peter Singer, of Princeton University is obviously an extremist on the matter, but he and other philosophers like him are obviously exerting an influence. .  .

In the previous chapter I gave reasons for believing that the fundamental principle of equality, on which the equality of all human beings rests, is the principle of equal consideration of interests. Only a basic moral principle of this kind can allow us to defend a form of equality which embraces all human beings, with all the differences that exist between them. I shall now contend that while this principle does provide an adequate basis for human equality, it provides a basis which cannot be limited to humans. In other words I shall suggest that, having accepted the principle of equality as a sound moral basis for relations with others of our own species, we are also committed to accepting it as a sound moral basis for relations with those outside our own species - the nonhuman animals.  (rest of article)

Another writer on the subject, Joan Dunayer, had this to say, “When I was writing Animal Equality, a friend questioned the book's title. Did I really mean to say that all animals are equal? Yes, I did. Like human equality, animal equality doesn't mean equal abilities. It means that all animals have an equal right to moral consideration and legal protection.”

The position of the Bible is entirely different.

I’ll summarize it by referring to 3 passages of scripture.  Jot them down.  All 3 refer to the image or the likeness of God.  The later 2 are after the Fall:

(Gen 1:27 NASB)  And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

(Gen 9:6 NASB)  "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

(James 3:9&10  With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.

There are a great many things that we have in common with animals, we can take great joy from their companionship, and we have a responsibility to treat them in an appropriate manner and to spare them any unnecessary cruelty.

But, one of the great gulfs that exist in God’s creation is the gulf between the value of human life, and the value of the life of animals.

The life of human beings is special—sacred—because of that creation in God’s image.  That great worth is powerfully made known by the death of God’s Son to redeem us.

You can see this in the natural realm . . .

In the very act of denying that there is a difference, people demonstrate that there is.

2When Does Human Life Begin?

Again let me marshal some Biblical evidence for an answer, and then look at this in the natural realm.  All of the following, more material is available in the supplement, I referred to.

The Bible indicates that God oversees the formation of human life within the womb.

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.” (Psalm 139:13–16, NASB95)

The Bible consistently speaks of life as a continuum
It is a person in the womb, the same person that is after birth.  The Apostle Paul speaks of that continuation in Gal. 1:15.  “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was please to reveal His Son in me . . . ” (Galatians 1:15, NASB95)

Note the interaction of the born and unborn in Luke 1:39-44
“Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.” (Luke 1:39–44, NASB95)

Modern medical science has made it very difficult to miss this truth.

·         18 days from conception, heart begins to beat, with the baby’s own blood.

·    28 days from conception a baby has eyes, ears, and even a tongue!

·    28 days from conception: Muscles are developing along the future spine. Arms and legs are budding.

·    30 days: Child has grown 10,000 times to 6-7mm (1/4”) long. Brain has human proportions. Blood flows in veins.

·    42 days: Skeleton is formed. Brain coordinates movement of muscles and organs. Reflex responses have begun.

·         42 days: Brain waves can be detected, the jaw forms, including teeth and taste buds. The unborn baby begins to swallow amniotic fluid.Fingers and toes are developing.

·    45 days from conception: The unborn baby is making body movements, a full 12 weeks before the mother may notice such stirrings. By seven weeks the chest and abdomen are fully formed. Swimming with a natural swimmer’s stroke in the amniotic fluid, the baby now looks like a miniature human infant.

·         44-45 days: Buds of milk teeth appear, and the unborn baby’s facial muscles develop. Eyelids begin to form, protecting the developing eyes. Elbows take shape. Internal organs are present, but immature. 99% of muscles are present, each with its own nerve supply.

·    52 Days: Spontaneous movement begins. The unborn baby then develops a whole collection of moves over the next 4 weeks includinghiccuping, frowning, squinting, furrowing the brow, pursing the lips, moving individual arms and legs, head turning, touching his/her face, breathing (without air), stretching, opening the mouth, yawning and sucking.

8 – 10 weeks

·         8 Weeks: Now a small-scale baby, at approximately 3 cm (1 1/8”) and weighing a gram (1/30gth oz.), yet well proportioned. Every organ is present. Baby’s heartbeat is steady. Stomach produces digestive juices. Liver makes blood cells. Kidneys begin to function. Taste buds are forming.

·    8 ½ Weeks: The unborn baby’s fingerprints are being engraved. Eyelids and palms of hands are sensitive to touch.

·    8- 8 ½ Weeks: Of the 4500 structures in the adult body, 4000 are now present in the unborn baby. The skeleton of the arms and legs and the spine begins to stiffen as bone cells are added.

The person known as Howard Merrell has been changing for the past, nearly 65 years.  Most recently he acquired a very sophisticated new right knee.
In the 9 months prior to that change was much more rapid and profound. 
But from the moment of my conception it was certain that I would blue eyes and a gap in my teeth.  There was no doubt that I would have black hair that would turn to gray. 
The genetic predisposition to having big legs with knees that were prone to wear out was there the moment the cell from my mom and the one from my dad were united. 
From that moment until the present, and indeed for the rest of eternity I am that person known as Howard Lee Merrell the son of Irene and Audley Merrell.

Is it ever right for one human being to take the life of another?

The most accurate translation of the 6^th Commandment is, "Thou shalt not murder."

All needless taking of human life is to be avoided.  When a human takes the life of another without Divine sanction, it is wrong—grievously wrong. 

Not all taking of human life is murder.

·         While death resulting from accident is horrible, it is not the same as what is condemned in the 6^th Commandment.  Numbers 35 is helpful in sorting that out. 

·         The death of another that takes place in self-defense is not murder.
(Both of these can relate to questions in regard to the death of the unborn.)

·         When one takes the life of another in war, or in the execution of police action . . .

·         Properly administered capital punishment. . . .

Abortion as it is currently carried out in our nation is in almost every instance totally removed from any of those.  Arguing on the basis of the few possible exceptions to justify the whole is dishonest. 

What Should We Do About It?

  I put this question forth knowing it is a horribly polarizing issue.

Certainly it has divided our nation politically.

It divides families and has split churches.

It has been over 40 years since the Supreme Court of the US changed our nation’s laws.  Many in the Christian community are just tired of the whole thing.  The newer debate over the definition of marriage has taken up some of the oxygen.

It’s much more trendy to rally for social justice and to advocate for an end to human trafficking than it is to uphold the right to life for the unborn.  Those are important, but. . . .

With that in mind, what do I recommend in 2015?  This is something for you to do . . .

·         Keep the main thing the main thing.
This may sound strange in a message in which I am encouraging you to take a stand for the life of the unborn, but we need to know that the primary message of the church is not pro-life—for that matter it is not traditional marriage, or any of the other social issues on which we need to take a stand.
I am not encouraging compromise.  I am saying that we ought to make sure that we don’t do anything to negate the most important message.

·         Be politically aware and use politics properly.
Several years ago I wrote to one of our state politicians.  Really a good guy.  I don’t remember precisely what the issue was but it was something in this realm.  I asked him to vote for, and advocate for, a proposal that would move our commonwealth in the right direction in this regard.  He wrote back that what was proposed would be struck down by the courts anyway.  It would be a waste of effort, time, and most important money.  He wasn’t going to support it.  Nothing was really said about whether it was right.
Just about any great social advance ever made, began as a losing battle. 
Yes, I want a representative who knows how to get things done, but more important than that, I want those who lead my nation and state and community to be dedicated to doing what is right.  I want a representative who will advocate for a losing cause if it is the right cause.
I didn’t vote for that guy.  I’m not going to tell you who he is or what party he is in, but I don’t think you should either. 
I do not believe that the answer is primarily political, but having said that, it is incontrovertibly true that the state of things as they currently are is a result of our having elected representatives with a particular view of right and wrong who have appointed judges and bureaucrats. .  .
Since, as Abraham Lincoln said, ours is a government of the people, I must not only heed the commands of scripture addressed to those who are ruled.  I must heed what the Bible says about those who are in power.  When I vote, or even more so when I campaign, I am exercising power.  In the same way as a king, or president, or congressperson, or judge should use their power for good.  I should as well

·         I said it is not primarily a matter of politics, though that is not something we can simply ignore.  It is certainly not a matter of force.  We must seek to reach the heart.  It is not a matter of coercion.  It is a matter of persuasion.

·         Don’t just talk—especially don’t just yell—do something. 
What are we doing to uphold life?
Adoption
Snack pack (This is a local program that provides food to kids who depend on school breakfasts and lunches.  Some of them don't have anything to eat when they aren't in school.  This program seeks to help.)
Every week we have the privilege of reaching out to kids who are otherwise ignored. 
James put it this way, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27, NASB95)

·         One more, and this one is especially for people like me.  We need to proclaim grace.
At my weekly gathering with some pastor friends there were four of us last Thursday, representing two churches.  My colleagues from our sister church addressed this subject last Sunday night.  Doug and I knew this message was coming this AM.  

      We asked one another, "Do you think anyone was, or will be present who has been touched by abortion?".
Almost certainly.
Some of you, because of someone close, or maybe even because of personal experience, find this terribly hard.
Many, perhaps most, abortions take place in the midst of confusion, despair, depression, and pressure from others.
God loves each of us.  He loves you.  He loves that person you are close to who has been horribly hurt.
Come to His love.

The testimony of Norma McCorvey, Roe, is that she found that grace in Jesus Christ.  It wasn’t hard preaching that caused Miss Norma to change from pro-choice to pro-life and more importantly to turn to the Lord Jesus.  It was the love of a little girl.

Let us make sure that our message is always one of love, compassion, and forgiveness.

I don't want to settle for my life turning out to be an ashtray.

Over at one of my other blogs, http://sttaspots.blogspot.com/, I posted some thoughts about the direction our lives take, and what we end up in the end.
Since the four posts there are really a unit, I'm posting all four of them in the right order, here.

But, What Is It?

"It's an ashtray."  

Back in the day it used to be common for children to give their parents gifts related to smoking.  Many ceramic or metal-shop projects ended up being
 gifted as ashtrays.  Making a vase tall and slender, with thin walls, takes a whole lot more skill than making a short, squat, thick, kind of saucer-ish thing.  That dent in the rim of a roundish piece of metal, that was once destined to become a cup, looks a lot like a place to park a cigarette.  There comes a time when increased work isn't adding to its cup-ish-ness, or vase-like quality.  At some point the answer to the question,

"What is it?"

became,

"It's an ashtray."

That wasn't what I wanted it to be.  It's not  what I want, but it has to be something, so . . .

Solomon observed that "Time and Chance happens to all."  I would add to the mix, skill, talent, planning, diligence, and/or lack of all the above.  From time to time I work with wood.  Sometimes a  project gets modified because of a previously unseen blemish in the wood.  

"Why did you make that that way?"

"Because a worm bored into a tree fifty years ago."

Improv-comics, moms, politicians, and football coaches all need that if-life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade skill.  If you let those adaptive concepts get out of hand, however, you end up--well--messed up.  We might praise a twelve-year-old for somewhat salvaging a project-gone-bad.  The C- for the "ashtray" is better than a 0 for a no-show.  When a life, or an important institution morphs into the human equivalent of a waste container for tobacco ash it is tragic.

I don't want to stand before the Lord and say about what I've done with my life, "I guess, Lord, it turned out to be an ashtray."

We aren't done yet.  Stay tuned.

"What made you decide that you would make an ashtray in ceramics class?"
"Really, I never did decide.  I just looked at the thing, and it looked more like an ashtray than anything else, so. . . ."
To one degree or another, virtually every hobby project has an element of that kind of imposed parameter about it  It's hard to make a long project with short lumber.  Sometimes the color it gets painted is determined by what was left from the last remodel.

Setting out to make a bench six feet long, but ending up with one five feet, nine inches, because you had this lovely piece of oak just short of six feet is likely a good use of resources.  Ending up with one six inches tall--not so much.  Adapting is a virtue.  Settling for that which clearly isn't what it should be, or won't do what it ought to do, is unsettling, to say the least.  Striking the appropriate balance requires, among other things, holding to some unalterable core values, and having a clear view of reality. 

Over the years, building my greatest project--my life--I have messed up in both directions.
On occasions I have gotten hung up on minutiae. Important thingswent undone, essentials were ignored, but I paid close attention to some stupid detail that a year later--maybe ten minutes later--didn't matter at all.
At other times I have let my impatience, or desire to please others, or failure to plan, or (fill in the blank) talk me out of some absolutely essential element.  I settled when I should have insisted and persisted.

If you get the idea that I struggle some between those two extremes, I'd say you've got it about right.  I've still got some more ideas on the matter, but how about we finish up by doing something I ought to do a whole a lot more, praying.

Lord, I need to know the difference between what is essential, and that which doesn't matter.  I know that understanding Your word is essential, so help me to learn it better and obey it more thoroughly.  Lord, don't let my life turn out to be something it never should have become.  Amen

We aren't done yet.  Stay tuned.

I'm pretty sure it's too soon to quit.

A long time ago I built a set of shelves for my living room.  There was a window in the middle of a wall.  One shelf unit on the left, another on the right.  The lower part of the units was deeper than the upper portion.  So about thirty inches off the floor there was a ledge.  I built the left unit and put it in place and was pretty pleased.  I started in on the unit on the right.  When I set it in place, I could immediately see that something was wrong.  That ledge part of the unit looked like it was about a foot higher than the one on the left.  Really it was 3/4 of an inch, but it stood out like it was much more.
I very much wanted to be done.  I remember laying down in the floor, staring at the obvious error, and trying to come up with a good reason why I didn't have to fix it.  All my reasons to leave it alone were short-sighted.  Consideration of how long these shelves were going to be a part of the main room in my house finally won the argument.  Back to the shop. . . .

When trying to find that sweet spot between settling for that which just won't do, and adapting to that which is beyond my control, that distinction between short and long term is something to remember.  Wisdom counsels us to never sacrifice the eternal on the altar of the temporary.  (I heard that somewhere.)  Yet, how often for the sake of temporary convenience, or short-term comfort do we settle--forfeiting long-term gains?
Maybe it makes sense, the night before that art project is due to declare it an ashtray and turn it in for a D.  It makes no sense to treat my life that way.  If you are still breathing God's air, it's too early to quit.

We aren't done yet.  Stay tuned.  (There is much that is out of my control, but nothing is outside the reach of God.  Lord willing, tomorrow.)

It's STTA.

Generally speaking each STTA is a stand alone.  This one, however is the last of a series of four.  You might want to go hereand read the last three STTAs, start with 1/14 and work back to yesterday.  

"Aiming at nothing," and "Mission Creep," are ways of describing people or organizations who have no, or have lost their, direction.  "Rigid," "Inflexible," or "Suffering from hardening of the categories," describes others, on the other end of the spectrum, who fail to adapt to changing conditions. How do we maintain a balance between being flexible but lacking in core convictions, and being rigid about things concerning which we ought to flex?  I've been especially concerned about the end result of a life.  It's possible to be so blown by the wind that the end will reveal a result determined by external, often impersonal, and sometimes hostile, forces.

Speaking to the Ephesians the Apostle Paul said, that mature Christians would not be, "tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine."  (Ephesians 4:14)  Yet an examination of the great Apostle's ministry indicates a remarkable flexibility.  See 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 for an example. 

It is absolutely clear that Paul wanted to be effective, but above that he was committed to being faithful.  I need to make obedience to God the number one objective of my life.  Of course, in order to do that I have to understand the commands.  That is a life-long project.  As I live a life of obedience, I run into a lot of forces that would toss me here and there, and carry me about.  It may be to appropriate to adapt.  In fact there are times when obedience demands that I flex.  The Pharisees were not wrong because they kept the rules.  They erred because they kept too many rules, sometimes being blinded to essential, by an undue focus on peripheral matters.

I should try to be effective, relevant, engaging, and useful, but I should never be any of those things if it means I must be disobedient to God.  

There are a lot of things I face that I don't understand and
can't control, but God does, so I must trust Him.

So, after four days of musing, I find myself back in SundaySchool.  Mrs. Marsceau is holding up the flash cards to a song, "Trust and Obey, for their's not other way to be happy in Jesus, but to Trust and Obey.

It's STTA.
 

When Does Life Begin? Still above his pay-grade?

I have been trying, so far unsuccessfully, to foment a profitable argument on this blog.
Many older evangelicals have concluded that a number of their younger brethren bailed out on the prolife issue in order to cast their vote for a candidate that they found attractive, though a self-declared prochoice-er.
Some of President Obama's actions since election have perhaps shown him to be even more enthusiastically prochoice than he appeared as a candidate.
The landslide democratic victory clearly handed the prochoice forces in the House, and only slightly less in the Senate a carte blanche to enact their agenda.
There is no doubt where the next Supreme Court appointment will be on the matter.

Maybe my younger readers (I flatter myself to think that there are some) fear that this is some kind of trap. I assure you it is not. I want to give you a place to seek to enlighten we oldsters. I'm not lobbying to have you thrown out of the Evangelical Club. I do sincerely hope that your choices were made on some other basis than the surface/image/cool-factor/celebrity-mindset that so dominates our culture.

I confess, on behalf of the gray-haired set, that we have not done a good job. While by-and-large remaining faithful to a couple of "litmus test" issues we have often behaved in an ungodly manner while claiming to stand for God. As long as your gripes are not profane or excessively hurtful, I'll be glad to publish them.

To add further fuel or fodder, here is a recent STTA, that speaks to the subject.

President Obama declared, during his campaign, that answering the question about when human life begins was above his pay-grade. Since then he has received a promotion. He is now "President of the United States," many would say, "Leader of the Free-World," and in many ways he is assuming the role of, "Decider for the Life-of-the-Unborn." The problem is he has yet to answer the question: "When does human life begin?"Yesterday I saw a picture of a lovely little girl, alive and well, who was once a frozen-embryo. When did her life begin?
If we honestly conclude that there is an age before which people aren't people, then we ought to say so, be prepared to defend our position and make decisions accordingly. If we conclude that life begins at conception (At the least, a very credible conclusion), then the implications are obvious--that is, if we are a civilized society.
If, as our president said a few months ago, we don't know, then do we not owe a benefit of the doubt to the ones about whom we are making decisions? And should we not stay on the ethically safe side of such a question?
Sometimes ignorance is way too convenient.
It's Something To Think About, at least I hope it is.