How Should Christians Define "Pro-Life" and "Pro-Choice" Part Two

How Should Christians Define “Pro-Life” and “Pro-Choice” Part Two

 

As follow-up to my previous post on this topic, my logic in reaching the aforementioned summary statements follows.

RE: PRO-LIFE

When God created the fish, fowl, animals, and creeping things, He gave them life (Genesis 1:20-25), but their flesh was not the same as that flesh He gave to man (1 Corinthians 15:39).  Further, only man was made in the “image” of God (an eternal spirit – (Genesis 1: 26-27; Ecclesiastes 12:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:23) … and in the “likeness” of God (having a soul, containing a mind, will and emotions).  Most importantly, the Scripture identifies the specific time when “man became a living soul.” It was when “the LORD God breathed into (man’s) nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7}.  The breath infused by God is what brought life to man. The initiation of “life” in these fleshly bodies takes place when the first breath is received after leaving the mother’s womb.

Further evidence of the spiritual nature of our existence is also found in the Bible scriptures.  On the other end of the “life” spectrum for the human body, the death of our Lord Jesus on Calvary’s Cross gives the example of what happens when we transition from these physical bodies.  Scripture shows that he breathed out and released / dismissed His eternal Spirit (Matthew 27:50; John 19:30).

Even excluding the “life” found in plant life, it is clear that human life is not to be measured by the simple joining of an ovum and a sperm cell; or the existence of a heartbeat; or some other arbitrary number of weeks of gestation chosen by man. Those metrics were generated by man, and in reality can be applied to many other animal species.  As Christians, we should not follow the disparate definitions of life generated by various men. The Bible description is the only one given by our Creator God, and should be the only basis for our guidance.

 

RE: PRO-CHOICE

The story of God’s love for man is often remembered in the Bible scripture from the verse in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  This verse captures the essence of why God did not create man to be a robot or automaton who would slavishly obey commands.  God created man in love, so much so that He gave man dominion over the entire earth and all its creatures (Genesis 1: 26-28).

Freedom of choice was given to the first man Adam, when God gave him instructions to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, or there would be severe consequences. (Genesis 2: 16-17).  Most Christians understand that this same freedom of choice has been given to each of us as descendants of Adam. It is the key to our eternal destiny.

Throughout man’s history, some have sought to dominate others through wars, slavery, etc., to deny them the freedom to choose their own destiny.  [Even the history of the United States confirms this search for personal freedom of choice in virtually all aspects of our lives.] 

The Scripture confirms that God has not withdrawn His love for man, no matter how much He might disapprove of some, or even many, of our actions.  Even as we all have sinned in various areas of our lives (Romans 3:23}, God has provided the way for us to be redeemed.   He alone knows the hearts of women and men (Romans 8:27).  He has not delegated that responsibility to others. That is why He is and should remain the ultimate determinant of when and how a woman should be able to exercise her freedom to choose what happens to and inside her body. Based on the questionable debate about “life” addressed above, there is no rationale for denying a woman this freedom.

 

Dr. W A Robinson