Roe v. Wade—40 Years and Counting (to 55 million Abortions), part 1
After 40 years of public battles over this American holocaust there is no end in sight. Pro-life (or ostensibly pro-life as we shall see) activists have lobbied, picketed, introduced legislation, worked on committees, and in general made noise for their position. Entrenched against the pro-life advocates stands the unyielding pro-abortion crowd.
As we enter this fifth decade of battle it seems fitting to consider, or more wisely perhaps, to reconsider, how better to structure our resistance. Now, the very word resistance indicates a passive or defensive position. No one who is advancing in their cause uses the word resistance. Resistance is what you do when the dominant army approaches the gates. Resistance is when you build the city ramparts higher, store up extra fuel, and start tightening your belt for the siege ahead. Christians have been resisting now for 40 years. Even though we have won a few skirmishes we have continued to lose the war at a rate of over 3000 dead per day. It is with this history of the abortion battle in mind that I write my against-the-grain view of what we ought to do. I am not expecting to become popular over the following paragraphs, but I do hope to bring Biblical light on the church’s work to eradicate this stunning evil from our culture.
One of the troubles besetting the Christian camp is our tacit acceptance of the humanist definitions for a fair fight. By common agreement we have decided to argue the case within parameters non-Christian people consider acceptable. We contest with them over evidence for humanness at various stages of a baby’s development. When can we discern fingers and toes? When will brain waves be detected? At what week, precisely, may an unborn child feel pain? When does the heart begin to beat? All of these types of calculations support the Christian acceptance that a fetus is a baby, is a human, in rapidly developing form. Physical development, though it has not been completed by the pre-born entity, is human life, and deserves the protection and respect due all people. The science is on our side. The supposedly scientifically-oriented secularists, are refusing to embrace the science they purport to use as their source of absolute truth. Given the trouncing they have received in these science-related categories, we would expect the battle should long ago have turned in our favor. Yet, this has not been the case. Secularists struggle on with undying emotion in their now scientifically disproven cause. All of these physical marks of humanness begin early. Babies have beating hearts, feel pain, and can potentially live outside the womb long prior to a normal nine-month term. Why then the continued argument by the embracers of this wicked non-science?
Here we arrive at the place our theology ought to have delivered us 40 years ago. We believed we could have a reasonable discussion on their terms, using their (supposedly) scientific categories, and thus deliver society from a wrong science, and ill informed practices. But, what we always were fighting was a spiritual and moral battle, not a scientific one. We ought to have insisted that the controlling ideas come from Scripture, and the God of Scripture, rather than the god of science, so-called. We were afraid that our political enemies would only deride us if we offered our Biblical moorings as a broad societal tie-down. Now we know, they never respected their own supposed scientific methods for truth, and they despise us just the same. Where then was the wisdom in our choices?
There is a philosophical fork in the road ahead of us. It is the same fork that was there 40 years ago. Will we try to advance the kingdom and morality of Christ by instructing the larger culture in the way of Christ? Or, will we seek first to build His kingdom using humanist arguments we believe will be, now magically, acceptable to secular-minded people? It seems almost ludicrous we have to ask any of this. Why did we ever believe unredeemed men would act like redeemed men? Why did we think that correct science would elicit proper morals? We were, and are, expecting behavior that will never be. The unsaved do not have the power to act righteously. Their minds are at enmity with God. As a group, they will not turn toward the civilization of Christ without His Spirit and prevailing influence. Hence, we know what fork we must travel. Our only path to success is to preach and teach Biblical truth as it applies to the abortion issue. The only tool God uses to transform people is His word preached. The culture calls it foolishness, but we call it the power and wisdom of God. God truly transforms men, and the societies of men, through the word preached. This then, must be our chosen road for the future.
We really need to argue from our first premise. Instead of doubting God we ought to push forward the morals and truth of His Scriptures. This is the best and only answer we have. The world will mock us. They will shriek they do not accept our Biblical pronouncements. Yet, what would they believe? It is not our duty to convert them. It is our duty to teach unashamed the word we were given. Jesus said that if we are ashamed of Him in this world, He will be ashamed of us in the next. Who then will end up being ashamed of whom? We must confront the world with God’s truth. Let Him worry about the success of the message.
For Christian Culture,
Don Schanzenbach 1/20/13
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Suspender Man™, Don Schanzenbach, has long been an outspoken advocate of recapturing culture for Christ. He holds a MA in applied Biblical studies and a doctorate in applied theological studies in the field of political philosophy and government from New Geneva Seminary. He has been thinking, writing and speaking on Christian culture for two decades.
Amen and amen!
“Even though we have won a few skirmishes we have continued to lose the war at a rate of over 3000 dead per day.” What general would think they’re winning, in any sense of the word, with casualties like that. No wonder “James Dobson conceded that we have lost the culture wars. This is the consequence of Christians having spent the last two centuries lopping at the rotten branches of our culture’s corrupt tree while watering and fertilizing its roots.
“We should lop away at the tree’s corrupt branches (infanticide, sodomy, the economy, etc.). However, until the root of these problems is Biblically addressed, we will never shut down the infanticide mills, we will never defeat the sodomites, and we will never fix the economy. In short, we will never win the culture wars.” For more, see “5 Reasons the Constitution is Our Cutting-Edge Issue” at http://www.constitutionmythbusters.org/sample-post/
The stoics form of religion is acceptable in modern society to draw upon for counsel but not the ONLY AUTHORITY the living Christ Jesus… may Yahweh serve us a great destruction for all those who do not come to repentance… one can not serve two masters people… God is not mocked.
The Church was caught napping in 1973 and has not yet come fully awake. As a consequence, we have tried to fight abortionists with law, when the Bible clearly tells us that our battle isn’t against people, but against spiritual powers. When the Church learns (relearns) this, we will have made a major step forward.
In the meantime, I expect to see a full-frontal attack on Christianity and its professed followers. There is precedent. “In the world you will have tribulation,” Jesus said. However, we can’t stop there or we will lose heart. He continued, “Take courage, I have overcome the world.”
We need to abandon the modern fallacy that God exists to “supply our every need (want)” and get back to the truth that we are accountable and responsible to Him for our actions and lives. Part of that responsibility is to do whatever we can to bring this carnage to a dead stop, no pun intended.
That responsibility has to begin within our own individual hearts as we surrender and submit to the Word. From there, it must spread throughout society as we represent Jesus Christ in our daily lives.
God WILL, one way or another, end the practice of legal infanticide. Better for us that we work with Him.
Roger, how do those “spiritual forces” manifest themselves?