The Abortion Debate: An Attack on Christianity

 

The Abortion Debate: An Attack on Christianity

 

Over the past many months, several political forces have gained national attention by effectively arguing for the restriction of abortion services. Those forces vary in their degree of opposition, with some arguing the specific week of a woman’s pregnancy while others assert that abortion services must be totally forbidden. I contend that neither of the arguments of those forces has a basis in the Bible scripture.

Several months ago I posted a document titled: “ How Should Christians Define ‘Pro-Life’ and ‘Pro-Choice Part 2”. I’m reposting these next few paragraphs as a lead-in to today’s thoughts. It is quite apparent that forces are at work to divide the Christian community under the guise of drawing a line on “Abortion” at what the Bible says. Those forces never attempt to provide a solid scriptural basis for their opinions but have cowered many otherwise thoughtful individuals (both Christian and non-Christian) into accepting their statements as “gospel” that should be accepted.

My logic follows, with some editing of my earlier post:

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 Thessalonians5:23) … 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.

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.

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). As Christians, we know that His Spirit / Soul were transitioned to His new eternal body on Resurrection Morning.

 

Now, I’d like to expand on those concepts. 

First, it might seem simplistic to say it, but the Bible does not include the word “abortion”, nor does it devote any amount of space in the scripture to a discussion of voluntarily terminating a pregnancy. If this were a key issue in the mind of God, wouldn’t the scripture say so?

Second, one of the hallmarks of Christianity is our belief that our essence is our soul and spirit, currently “housed” in these temporary, earthen bodies. The focus of those who would divide us is to keep Christians looking at the “body” of the embryo or fetus, rather than that soul and spirit which actually define who we are. Our current “body” is only a placeholder.  Our soul / spirit is what we have faith in that will one day bring us into the presence of our Ascended Lord Jesus, and where we will receive our new eternal bodies. (1 Corinthians 15: 35-54, Philippians 3: 20-21; https://www.gotquestions.org/resurrection-body.html )

Third, carefully read the scripture in the Book of John, Chapter 3, where our Lord Jesus explained to Nicodemus, the Pharisee ruler of the Jews, why it was necessary to be “born again” to enter the kingdom of God. The emphasis was on being born both of water (through the mother’s womb and amniotic fluid) and the Spirit (the Holy Spirit that guided believers to understand that Jesus is the Son of God). The mother of each of us, as with the Virgin Mary, provided the necessary temporary human body structure. However, the Holy Spirit’s awakening of our true selves / our spirit is the key to our eternity and why we now call ourselves Christians. (Romans Chapter 8, 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4, Romans 10: 9-13)

Whether it be politicians, state or local governments, or others (even other Christians), ask them why they oppose a woman’s right to determine the use of her own reproductive system and her personal relationship with her Creator.  If they have a Biblical basis, please ask them to explain it. You might be surprised at the response.  Or, maybe not.

Dr. W.A. Robinson

Return to Bible Basics - Part Two

 

Return to Bible Basics – Part Two

 

In the first part of this post, I noted under the fourth bullet that God keeps secrets, until He is ready to reveal them. (Deuteronomy 29: 29). There are a few additional points I want to make in that regard.

Many people have questioned the seeming disparity between the Bible’s history of man’s existence, (This is Hebrew Calendar Year 5783 - https://www.jewfaq.org/jewish_calendar ); and current scientific estimates that man’s existence dates back possibly between 50,000 to more than 300,000 years. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_human_settlements#:~:text=The%20oldest%20known%20evidence%20for,dated%20about%20360%2C000%20years%20old.&text=Anatomically%20modern%20human%20remains%20of,%22%20(as%20of%202018).)

To address this issue, consider the point I made in the previous post related to the apparent gap in time between the events in Genesis 1: 1 and Genesis 1: 2. It is possible to reconcile these apparent differences, but it is not critical.  Remember that our eternal Sovereign God lives outside of the boundaries of time as we know it.  One day with the Lord is as one thousand years, and one thousand years as one day. (2 Peter 3: 8)  

The oldest scriptural reference in our Bible, the Book of Job, reveals some details that give perspective to that “hidden” time / era (Job Chapter 38), but that is not the primary purpose for our Bible study and learning. As I’ve debated with one of my siblings 😊, this Scripture that we know as the Bible was sent to us to teach us what we need to know about our current lives and how we also can receive eternal life and salvation. If necessary, God will reveal the details about that “time gap” when He is ready.

 

Now, regarding God’s purpose for sending us this magnificent text that we call the Bible, it has also been called His love letter to His favored creation Man. It provides the basis for our understanding who we are, how we came to this current circumstance, and the future that lies ahead.  He has given us a choice as to how that future will be fulfilled. The outcome for each of us could be different, even if we all have adopted the label of calling ourselves “Christians”.  The Bible explains what will happen to each of us in the context of what we believe / have faith in related to the finality of the Scripture.

[Regarding our present lives and immediate future in these earthly bodies, I will continue to provide comments on them in other posts. I will further address how we as Christians are already blessed in having received our salvation and eternal life through our personal faith in our Lord Jesus’ having shed His Holy blood, died, been buried three days and then resurrected. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13) We also have received the opportunity for Communion with Him…to acknowledge His sacrifices for our health, safety, peace, joy and happiness. We also have access to the ongoing blessings of the knowledge, wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit.]

 

 To put into some perspective what lies ahead in our more distant future (how far in the future only God knows), I’d like to jump to the end of our Bible to make some comparisons to what happened when the scripture reveals how the first man was created.

In the first part of this post, I suggested that you read the first three chapters of Genesis, the first book of our Bible, to better follow the train of my thoughts then. I now suggest that you review the last three chapters of Revelation, the last book of our Bible.  While Genesis was the result of revelations given by God to Moses, Revelation was written by the Apostle John who received his knowledge in a vision from the Ascended Lord Jesus. Revelation contains a considerable amount of symbolism in the text but remains highly readable. The main points I want to highlight are:

·       The fate of the Serpent / Lucifer / Satan who deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden and brought death and misery to mankind and into the world. (Genesis Chapter Three; Revelation 20: 1-3, 7-10)

·       The existing heaven and earth that have been defiled / polluted / corrupted by Satan will be replaced by a new, glorious heaven and earth. (Revelation Chapters 21 and 22, 2 Peter 3: 4-13; Isaiah 65: 17)

·       Life expectancy of man following Adam’s original sin (Genesis 3: 1-19), leading to the  “First Death” (permanent separation from earthly body); “Resurrection” (in new body fit for eternity: 1 Corinthians 15: 35-50);  and “Second Death” (permanent separation from God for those not named in the Book of Life.) (Revelation 20: 6, 12-15)

·       The ultimate goal of every person should be to obtain eternal life with our Creator by being included in the “Lamb’s Book of Life”. (Revelation 20: 15;  21: 27)

·       The judgment of the severity of the “Second Death” for those not included in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be determined by their works. (Revelation 20: 11-13) (see also: https://www.gotquestions.org/levels-hell.html )  (Ephesians 2: 1-9) (see also: https://www.gotquestions.org/justification-by-faith.html )

 

Dr. W. A. Robinson

 

Return to Bible Basics

 

Several months ago I wrote on the subject: “Back to Bible Basics – The ABCs of Christianity”. Below I am repeating a portion of that post to lay a foundation for some newer concepts for your consideration. The repeated excerpts are these:

For Christians who rely on the Bible as the foundation for their beliefs, there are several basic concepts that bear emphasis and repeating. These include (in no special order):

            RE: The Bible as Scripture

·       All Scripture (Old and New Testaments) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man (and woman) of God may be perfect (complete), thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3: 16-17)  

·       Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.  (Romans 15:4) “Aforetime” refers to the Old Testament scriptures.

·       “Study to show thyself approved of God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  (2 Timothy 2:15)   Remember to note the circumstances of the specific portion of the scripture… who is writing, to whom, what is being said, when, where, how, and if available, under what other circumstances.

·       Early in the Scripture, readers were alerted that God keeps secrets, until He is ready to reveal them.  (Deuteronomy 29: 29)   One key to successful Bible study is to continue reading, to learn those secrets / “mysteries”.

 

With that background, especially the last bulleted point above, consider the additional statement made by one of my teachers that has served me well in my study: “The Bible probably won’t give the answers to every question you want to ask, but it will tell you everything that God wants you to know for your salvation.”  Others have said that all things will be revealed when we are with our Lord Jesus, but we can still exercise our minds now.

As I’ve previously mentioned to a few of our colleagues, many years ago when I read the early chapters of the Book of Genesis there were questions that arose that seemed too difficult to answer. Two of those questions are the focus of this paper. They are:

1.     What happened in Genesis Chapter One, between Verse One and Verse Two? ; and

2.     In Genesis Chapter Three, why did the serpent deliberately deceive the woman Eve, and thereby destroy God’s relationship with man, bringing death into the world?

For the sake of time and writing space, I ask that you review those scriptures yourself, while I attempt to share some of my thoughts on them.

First, like many others I believe there is a link between the two questions and their answers. I would like to address the second question first, because I believe it has a stronger scriptural basis. Also remember the bulleted point above that we should learn from “things written aforetime”.

When we read the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, in Chapter 14 , the Prophet describes by name “Lucifer” as the angel who had fallen / been cast down from heaven because of his intention to “exalt (his) throne above the stars of God…sit upon the mount of the congregation…and “be like the Most High (God)”. (v. 12 – 14) That was the only reference in the Bible to that name “Lucifer”, but earlier in that chapter (v. 4) he was referred to as “king of Babylon”.

Later in the scripture, in the Book of Ezekiel, in Chapter 28, that Prophet provides other significant details about both the status and nature of this fallen angel…this time under the name of “king of Tyrus”. (v. 12 – 19)  The entire description is important, so I encourage you to read all those verses. Even so, note that he was an “an anointed cherub (angel)” with significant responsibility in heaven (verse 14); he had been in the Garden of Eden (v. 13);  until his iniquity / evil / unrighteousness was uncovered (v. 15).  He had been one of the favored Archangels, along with Gabriel (Messenger) and Michael (Warrior), and apparently shared their responsibility to uphold and protect the Righteousness of the Sovereign God. Jealousy of his Creator resulted in his being cast out of heaven down to the ground. (v. 16 – 17). This was confirmed by our Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry, as He referred to this fallen angel by the name “Satan”. (Luke 10:18)

Having lost his position of authority in heaven and having had one-third of his angelic followers expelled with him (Revelation 12: 9), Lucifer / Satan undoubtedly magnified his anger and resentment against his Creator God.  Some people have postulated that those events resulted in a cataclysmic war that destroyed the perfect earth of Genesis Chapter One, Verse One, and resulted in the darkness and emptiness of the earth as described in Verse Two. That could be a plausible explanation to answer Question One above. However, without the certainty of scriptural documentation, that will remain one of God’s mysteries, until as stated above, He reveals the answer to us.

Those events possibly made Lucifer / Satan’s desire for revenge and his ambition to replace God even more intense goals.

When God created the heavens and the perfect earth in the Book of Genesis; then created man in His own image and made man His beloved creation by giving him dominion over the earth, that series of events was considered by many to have provided Lucifer / Satan an opportunity to accomplish both his goals.  Potentially he would be able destroy this new creature man, made in the image of God (since he couldn’t destroy God Himself). Further, if he could somehow trick God into performing an unrighteous act, then God would no longer uphold the standard of Righteousness required of the Sovereign. As a result, Lucifer / Satan could / would take God’s Throne as Supreme Being.

Since Satan was a powerful spirit-being, many think that he indwelt the Serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis Chapter Three), in a manner like that in which the scripture says he indwelt Judas in betraying our Lord Jesus. (Luke 22: 1-6). In that guise, Satan would cause the death of the man and / or place God in the position of failing to enforce His own commandment if because of His love for His new creature, He allowed the man to live.

That scenario provides a possible / plausible(?) answer to Question Two above.  I encourage you to now read again the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis in that context.  Do you have some alternative thoughts about the answers to those questions? Since those things that were written aforetime were written for our learning, I’m still trying to learn. 😊

Dr. W. A. Robinson

 

Judging Others – Part Two

 

At least two of our Christian friends had difficulty following my train of thought when I wrote the earlier document on this topic. I am now going to try to do a better job with this revision to both clarify and expand on the earlier version.

 

In part I want to address the topic of “Judging Others”, as stated in the title.  But I also want to emphasize one of the fundamentals of Bible study….It is important to consider not only who is speaking; but also to whom; under what circumstances; and what happened in leading up to it.

 

Our Lord Jesus was referring to people as individuals who should not take it upon themselves to judge the situation or actions of others without first examining their own circumstances and behavior. Each of us has faults. He was not speaking about the joint responsibility of those empowered to make judgments on behalf of the society as a whole…morally, ethically and otherwise. Of course He was aware of the faults of the individual and collective members of Israel’s governing body, the “Sanhedrin”, but that was not the specific focus of His comments. (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-sanhedrin )

 

When I referred to the role of the “church” in the first part of this post on “Judging Others”, it elicited comments that I would like to address now.

 

As background from a technical viewpoint, according to my reference (The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN,  2010), the word “church” (or churches) that the Apostle Paul used is not found in the Old Testament but is found 117 times in the New Testament. It is the English translation of the Greek word “ekklesia”, meaning a group of people called out for a specific purpose. It has two major applications to groups / companies of Christians, one of which is “the whole company of the redeemed throughout the present era, the company of which Christ said, ‘I will build my Church,’ Mt 16:18…”. The second application refers to “the singular number (e.g., Mt 18:17), to a company consisting of professed believers…” 

 

In this instance Paul was addressing that second group, the people who comprised the congregation of believers in the Church at Corinth. [As an aside, what holds Christians together should never be the building where services are held, but rather the fellowship of the common bond of faith in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He redeemed us from death to bring us eternal life. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13)] Paul was addressing the behavior of the collective members of the Corinthian Church for their failure to address the wayward behavior of the offending member of their congregation. (1 Corinthians Chapter Five)

As follow-up to Paul’s teachings when he was there in Corinth, he was reminding them of the Gospel of Grace that they had received, and that had brought them salvation. Further, as a minimum they had an obligation to 1) live lives that would bring credit to their Savior Jesus Christ, and 2) to support one another as brothers and sisters in the faith. Theirs was not a large congregation. In the midst of that pagan, idolatrous city, and country, they had to bond and support each other in the faith if Christianity were to survive there.

Aside from the Apostle Paul’s message to the Corinthian Church on judging the affairs of their peer members, he later addressed the need for making similar judgments by other Gentile churches. In his letter to his protégé` and son in the faith Timothy, he provided guidance / instructions for how churches should judge candidates for their leadership positions of Bishop and Deacons. (I Timothy Chapter Three). Many churches still follow his guidance. It is quite likely that Paul generated those instructions based on his having served as a member of Israel’s Sanhedrin during his notorious life as a Pharisee, prior to his salvation by our Lord Jesus. (Acts Chapter 26)  In both instances, the principles were to be based on their consistency with God’s Moral Laws.

Dr. W.A. Robinson

 

Judging Others

 

Most Christians are familiar with the words of our Lord Jesus who said: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” The context for His statement came near the end of His noted speech to His Disciples and the multitudes that is referred to as His Sermon on the Mount : “The Beatitudes”. (Matthew Chapters Five through Seven)  In further guidance, the Lord added: “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged…” (Matthew 7: 1-2)  He was pointing out the hypocrisy of being critical of the behavior of others without first examining themselves for possibly even greater flaws, with the knowledge that one day they would also be judged.

This message was directed to both those who followed Him as disciples, and the many who were curious about Him because of His reputation of having healed many.  The latter group might have been indifferent about the Lord’s teaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom, but both groups needed to hear God’s principles. (Matthew 7: 28-29)

In what might seem to be a somewhat contradictory message, the Apostle Paul wrote to the newly formed church at Corinth on the matter of judging others.  The issue of commonly known fornication by a member of the church had been brought to the Apostle’s attention. He in turn was writing to advise the church in dealing with that issue and the person involved. After chastising the members of the church for their failing to confront the person involved, the Apostle wrote: “For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed…” (1 Corinthians 5: 1-3) (Emphasis added). [Note the Apostle’s emphasis that he had already judged the person.]

As Paul’s letter continued, he pointed out that the behavior in question was very egregious and brought discredit upon the church and the principles taught by the Ascended Lord Jesus Christ. The offending member of their congregation had to be removed immediately. (1 Corinthians 5: 4-13). Also, very importantly, the Apostle made a distinction between the responsibility that fell on the members of the church to judge such offensive actions within their congregation, while leaving the judgment of those in the outside world to God.

 

While discussing this scripture, one of my teachers highlighted some language in the next chapter of this letter to the Corinthians, that should be particularly important to Christians. (1 Corinthians Chapter Six)  In that text, Paul questioned why the church members would resort to turning to secular legal authorities when they had grievances between themselves, rather than addressing their issues within their own Christian community.  That series of verses is important enough that I want to cite them here, because I wonder how many Christians were aware of what they say in 1 Corinthians 6: 1-4:

“Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

² Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

³ Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

⁴ If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.”

I highlighted certain elements of these verses because of their relevance to Christian believers not only in this earthly phase of our lives, but also in what lies ahead. In addition to guiding Christians to helping each other, there is an emphasis on the process. 

By helping to judge others in the small matters in this world, believers are better preparing themselves for the future roles that our Lord Jesus has in store for them when they join Him. Note also that the scripture enhances the role of the “common man” in the process of making judgments…not relying on the highly trained professionals we generally regard as most capable, such as attorneys and court judges. God sees and trusts the hearts of men…not trusting the outward appearances that so many have come to value.

Interestingly enough, that process was to be the foundation for what we have come to call “trials by a jury of our peers”. Unfortunately for us today, the Enemy has corrupted this process and the minds of men such that what we call “law and justice” has little resemblance to God’s standards.

Dr. W. A. Robinson