It is pretty obvious that the Bible does not advocate a pro-abortion position. In fact, quite the opposite. It is for that reason that the vast majority of anti-abortion advocates are Christians.
But there are some groups of people that self-identify as Christians who are actually pro-abortion, and promote their position loud and proud. Typically, these are people who base their beliefs on some form of liberal theology – a theology that claims to be Christian, but is not Christian at all. Typically, these people don’t interpret the Bible using standard hermeneutical principles, but base their biblical interpretation on naturalistic philosophy. Basically, their methodology involves proof-texting, as they reinterpret certain passages using naturalistic beliefs as their authority source, rather than the biblical text itself.
A while back, the state of Ohio put forth a pro-abortion proposition for the citizenry to vote on. Those who were for the proposition did all they could to get it passed (which, sadly, they ultimately accomplished), even enlisting pro-abortion “Christian” leaders to make ads for them. In the ads, these leaders actually tried to make the case that Jesus was, Himself, pro-abortion. See what some of them said in their campaign ads.
“My faith tells me that people have a right to make decisions over their own bodies. That fundamental idea, that God gives us freedom, that’s at the heart of what it means to be in relationship with God,”
Rev. Terry Williams
Orchard Hill United Church of Christ
“Our faith guides us to do what’s best for our families. But Ohio’s government is meddling where it does not belong. Issue 1 restores families’ freedom to make deeply personal decisions about abortion.”
Rev. E. Regis Bunch
Fifth Christian Church – Disciples of Christ
… abortion is part of “our liberation.”
Rev. Dr. Susan Smith
Crazy Faith Ministries
“Abortion is a private family decision.” Issue 1 “gives families the freedom to make their own decisions without judgment and without the government getting involved.”
Rev. Timothy C. Ahrens
First Congregational United Church of Christ
But how do these people justify that stance? Rev. Aherns wrote an editorial for the Columbus Dispatch where he penned these words:
“I Corinthians 6:19 says, ‘Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?’ As our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, God blesses us to have the right to choose over our body, and the freedom to make the decisions that rightly protect our bodies for service in God’s name.”
Obviously, Aherns has massively taken this passage out of context and read into the text a meaning that is simply not there. The original context is an admonition for Christians to “Flee from sexual immorality.” Aherns’ turns that on its head and advocates that we should take the freedom God gives us in Christ and use it to make decisions that literally contradict the teachings of the Bible concerning the value of human life. It seems he forgot that the Bible also says, in Galatians 5:13, “… do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh ….”
Why do you think the proponents of this pro-abortion proposition called on so called “Christian leaders” to promote their position? They did it because they knew there would be a lot of self-identified Christians who would be voting, and they wanted to convince them that they would not be betraying their faith by supporting the proposition. The only problem is, the “Christian leaders” they chose do not follow biblical Christianity. And sadly, the Christians who listened to and believed these folks are ignorant of what the Bible actually teaches.
And this gives us a giant clue as to where the problem lies in the Christian church. The problem lies in the fact that way too many Christians simply do not know the basic content of their faith. They don’t realize that there are false teachers out there who claim to be Christians, but who are teaching the opposite of what the Bible proclaims.
And the remedy for this? … The remedy is for churches and individual Christians to realize the magnitude of the problem, and to begin intentionally equipping themselves to deal with the false beliefs that currently dominate and shape modern society. This represents a HUGE gap in most contemporary Christian churches. Until this happens, American society will continue to be sucked into the vortex of the sin and degradation that false beliefs produce.
I’m noticing even more lately, that people don’t know and don’t seem to care what the Bible teaches. It’s as if bringing up the name of Jesus is offensive to them. Bringing up “church” is offensive. Some ask why can’t people believe what they want to believe and not talk about it. They dangerously decide that what drives their destiny and after life experience is merely what they believe. They don’t know anything about the Bible, and they call it antiquated. They say they believe in Jesus, but they don’t believe what He said. They base their beliefs on science and the culture around them. I pray that God will use me to reach them, that one day they will hear the gospel for the “x” time and actually believe it.
Exactly on point!!!
Someone said that “ACLU, American Ethical Union, Amnesty International, Charity: Water, Engineers without Borders USA, KIVA, Modest Needs, Oxfam, Rotary International. ” were charities founded by athiest or founded in the name of athiesm.
So it appears there are charities founded with their origins being athiestic? Does this solve ‘the charity problem’? If not how?
Not sure what you are actually asking? Of course there are organizations founded by Atheists. Some of those you mentioned are non-profits, but not actually charities. But even so, what is your point? What charity problem are you talking about, and how does that relate to whether or not Jesus was pro-abortion.
One argument some Christians use is “Lots of charities are founded under – or in the name of Christainity. There are barely as many or none under athiesm!”
So this point is not a great point to use?
And yes, it doesn’t relate, I am just using this as an access point to get your thoughts.
Still not 100% sure of the point you are trying to make. There are a lot of Atheist non-profits, but their reason for existing generally has a different focus. Many of them are focused on things such as environmental activism, pro-abortion activism, gay rights, and other social justice causes. They believe these kinds of things are most important as opposed to the issues Christians champion. Is this addressing what you are asking about?
My point is, Christians, when debating with athiests, will bring up the fact that more charities are founded on Christianity, and pretty much none under athiesm. The goal of the “Charity Problem” is to highlight that athiest worldview does not naturally result in wanting to be kind/charitable, and thus expose the fruit (or lack thereof, since athiest seem to love “lack”, ie “lack” of belief in God.) of their worldview.
So how are you going to defend this relatively popular discussion point that Christians use to debate athiests with?
How many of the non profits in the list were actual charities?
That is not the argument I have made in this article, and is actually not one that I would probably even use. While it is certainly true that Christians are inclined to charity in ways that Atheists are not, it is really a rather shallow approach. Even if you are able to make that point, so what?
My personal approach is to compare their actual worldview beliefs to biblical beliefs, and demonstrate why theirs are deficient. Their hearts are not going to be inclined to express biblical values until they know Christ.