Thursday, November 18, 2010
Sources
I haven't done the citing of my sources yet either just so you all aren't like "dude, cite your sources".
Abortion From a Biblical Perspective
The destroying of a human life, particularly that of a weak and helpless child, is an act of blatant disregard for what God’s word says about the sanctity of life. Yet every year there are over 1 million of these horrific acts committed in the United States alone.
Actually, in the years of 2005, 2002, and 2000 there were 1.21, 1.29, and 1.31 million abortions respectively and there have been over 45 million legal abortions in the U.S. from 1973 to 2005 (which was the last year with reliable data) (Abort73).
With such staggering statistics and huge numbers, we have become desensitized to what those numbers really mean. We are so used to the idea of abortion and the astronomical numbers of abortions every year that we see the numbers and don’t think twice. Because we only see numbers, nothing more. We translate the killing of millions of innocent babies into numerical data instead of seeing the millions of potential lives that were snuffed out before they could enter this world.
What does this say about our country and how much we value human life? How does the country that emphasizes “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” throw away so many young lives every year without batting an eye? Well, here’s the answer: we have removed God from everything we possibly could and forsaken the truth of His word. Because of this, our views of children, parenting, and our views of God Himself have changed dramatically, and not for the better.
When we forsake the truths of God’s word we cease to apply them to our lives and when we cease to apply them to our lives we see the effects manifested in statistics like the ones shared above.
If we were still firmly grounded in the truths of God’s word we would see a passage like Genesis 1:26 that says “So god created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him…” and we would know that destroying the life of something created in the image of God Almighty is something that should never be done.
Then we would see a passage like Psalm 127:3 that says “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” and our thinking that children are an inconvenience would be totally changed. If we were reading and believing God’s word we would know that children are a blessing from God and that they should be cherished.
Also our view of parenting has become one that is more of an obligation than what it really is; a privilege given to us from God. We don’t realize what we have been given. When God blesses you with a child He is entrusting you with the care and upbringing of His most precious creation. If we were to really think about that, and get our heads around it, we would never see raising and parenting a child as an obligation again.
We can come up with many reasons why we see life, children, and the concept of parenting the way that we do, but the fact of the matter is that we don’t trust God. We don’t trust that He is big enough, that He loves us enough, that He cares enough, that He knows enough, or a thousand other reasons why He just isn’t enough. And when you’re going to be a mother or a father and you know you aren’t ready and you don’t have anything else to draw on for strength but yourself, then it’s very easy to see how abortion would be a favorable option. This is where our view of God has changed and must change again if we are ever going to see an end to abortion.
The top two reasons women give for wanting an abortion are that “having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities”, and that “they can’t afford a child” (Abort73). These may seem like legitimate reasons, but in light of what God’s word says, all they really convey is a lack of trust.
Jeremiah 29:11 reads “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” If God has a plan for each and every one of us and that plan is for “wholeness” to give us a “future and a hope” why would we think that He wouldn’t work out the details for us having a baby when we think it might interfere with our work or schooling?
In Matthew 6:25-26 Jesus says “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more that food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” So are we as human beings more valuable than birds? Or course we are! That was Jesus’ whole point in saying this. God provides food and shelter for even the birds of the air and we think that He is going to forget about us? The ones created in His own Image? Not a chance.
God does not forget about us. He doesn’t just set us here and then stand back and watch. He is immensely intimate and all compassionate toward us. The only thing we need to do is seek Him out. James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you”. That’s a promise from God in His word and when God promises something, you can bank on it.
Now I’m not so naïve as to think that everyone in the world believes like I do in the truth of God’s word. I know there are people who totally reject it so to them none of this will have any effect on them. But as a nation this is where I see that the U.S. has taken a turn for the worst. In removing God from our lives and ceasing to recognize His word as truth we have allowed our views on the sanctity of life, children, parenting, and God himself to be severely perverted.
Until we recognize once again the truth of God’s word and start applying it to our lives we will continue to see the effects of our godless moral views manifested in statistics portraying the millions of abortions that take place every year.
Pastor and author John Piper sums up the whole point of this paper so eloquently. He says “Submit yourselves to God. Draw near to him. Live by the power of his grace. Let him shape your desires rather than the world and the feisty, self-centered temperament of our culture. Let your life and your mouth bear witness to the real delights of knowing and trusting and obeying and being shaped and guided by the Creator of all things who loved us and gave himself for us.”
I haven't submitted this yet so if you all have critiques or corrections let me know! Thanks for reading!
Actually, in the years of 2005, 2002, and 2000 there were 1.21, 1.29, and 1.31 million abortions respectively and there have been over 45 million legal abortions in the U.S. from 1973 to 2005 (which was the last year with reliable data) (Abort73).
With such staggering statistics and huge numbers, we have become desensitized to what those numbers really mean. We are so used to the idea of abortion and the astronomical numbers of abortions every year that we see the numbers and don’t think twice. Because we only see numbers, nothing more. We translate the killing of millions of innocent babies into numerical data instead of seeing the millions of potential lives that were snuffed out before they could enter this world.
What does this say about our country and how much we value human life? How does the country that emphasizes “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” throw away so many young lives every year without batting an eye? Well, here’s the answer: we have removed God from everything we possibly could and forsaken the truth of His word. Because of this, our views of children, parenting, and our views of God Himself have changed dramatically, and not for the better.
When we forsake the truths of God’s word we cease to apply them to our lives and when we cease to apply them to our lives we see the effects manifested in statistics like the ones shared above.
If we were still firmly grounded in the truths of God’s word we would see a passage like Genesis 1:26 that says “So god created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him…” and we would know that destroying the life of something created in the image of God Almighty is something that should never be done.
Then we would see a passage like Psalm 127:3 that says “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” and our thinking that children are an inconvenience would be totally changed. If we were reading and believing God’s word we would know that children are a blessing from God and that they should be cherished.
Also our view of parenting has become one that is more of an obligation than what it really is; a privilege given to us from God. We don’t realize what we have been given. When God blesses you with a child He is entrusting you with the care and upbringing of His most precious creation. If we were to really think about that, and get our heads around it, we would never see raising and parenting a child as an obligation again.
We can come up with many reasons why we see life, children, and the concept of parenting the way that we do, but the fact of the matter is that we don’t trust God. We don’t trust that He is big enough, that He loves us enough, that He cares enough, that He knows enough, or a thousand other reasons why He just isn’t enough. And when you’re going to be a mother or a father and you know you aren’t ready and you don’t have anything else to draw on for strength but yourself, then it’s very easy to see how abortion would be a favorable option. This is where our view of God has changed and must change again if we are ever going to see an end to abortion.
The top two reasons women give for wanting an abortion are that “having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities”, and that “they can’t afford a child” (Abort73). These may seem like legitimate reasons, but in light of what God’s word says, all they really convey is a lack of trust.
Jeremiah 29:11 reads “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” If God has a plan for each and every one of us and that plan is for “wholeness” to give us a “future and a hope” why would we think that He wouldn’t work out the details for us having a baby when we think it might interfere with our work or schooling?
In Matthew 6:25-26 Jesus says “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more that food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” So are we as human beings more valuable than birds? Or course we are! That was Jesus’ whole point in saying this. God provides food and shelter for even the birds of the air and we think that He is going to forget about us? The ones created in His own Image? Not a chance.
God does not forget about us. He doesn’t just set us here and then stand back and watch. He is immensely intimate and all compassionate toward us. The only thing we need to do is seek Him out. James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you”. That’s a promise from God in His word and when God promises something, you can bank on it.
Now I’m not so naïve as to think that everyone in the world believes like I do in the truth of God’s word. I know there are people who totally reject it so to them none of this will have any effect on them. But as a nation this is where I see that the U.S. has taken a turn for the worst. In removing God from our lives and ceasing to recognize His word as truth we have allowed our views on the sanctity of life, children, parenting, and God himself to be severely perverted.
Until we recognize once again the truth of God’s word and start applying it to our lives we will continue to see the effects of our godless moral views manifested in statistics portraying the millions of abortions that take place every year.
Pastor and author John Piper sums up the whole point of this paper so eloquently. He says “Submit yourselves to God. Draw near to him. Live by the power of his grace. Let him shape your desires rather than the world and the feisty, self-centered temperament of our culture. Let your life and your mouth bear witness to the real delights of knowing and trusting and obeying and being shaped and guided by the Creator of all things who loved us and gave himself for us.”
I haven't submitted this yet so if you all have critiques or corrections let me know! Thanks for reading!
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