What Now America? |
There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. The obvious fact is that for 50 years our country and our laws have legalized murder on demand. The case before the Supreme Court and the choice to affirm or deny murder by the instrument of abortion is a seismic and seminal decision that will have far-reaching implications for our society. The theological question is simply this; Is a fetus a.k.a. a baby, a person, imprinted with the image of God? If that is true, then abortion is not an option. Many years ago, theologian Karl Barth remarked, "The embryo has its own autonomy, its own brain, its own nervous system, its own blood circulation. If its life is affected by that of the mother, it also affects hers. It can have its own illnesses in which the mother has no part. Conversely, it may be quite healthy even though the mother is seriously ill. It may die while the mother continues to live. It may also continue to live after its mother’s death and be eventually saved by a timely operation on her dead body. In short, it is a human being in its own right" (Church Dogmatics 3.4.416). Today we are dealing with theological and moral questions that have political and legal implications. There is no question that is more foundational than the issue of the nature of people. Pastor Greg Boyd reminds us; “How you answer the question concerning the significance of being human will determine your views about what inherent rights people have, how people should be governed, and what authority, if any, they have to treat animals differently than they treat people. Indeed, how you answer these questions will greatly affect your views on whether it is legal to allow severely deformed babies to die, whether people have the right or responsibility to take others off life support, whether and when people have the right to choose abortion, and whether human cloning should be pursued.” I pray that you will pray that the Lord God of heaven, maker of heaven and earth and all that is in both, will eliminate the stain of this statute and eviscerate this lethal law. Once to every man and nation Comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, For the good or evil side: With each choice God speaking to us Offering each the bloom or blight, Then the man or nation chooses For the darkness or the light ~ James Russell Lowell ~ Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred |