Serious Talk about Abortion
By Rev. David Wilson Rogers | December 6, 2014
Christians need to have a serious, prayerful, and careful talk about abortion. Unfortunately, this is not something that we Christians do very well.
Many Christians are very good at telling others how to believe about, and understand abortion. When it comes to conviction about the topic, we tend to be pretty absolute. Unfortunately, in our effort to convince the world about God’s views on abortion, we often overlook the very real theological and pastoral issues abortion raises.
There are churches that, with great conviction and Biblical assurance, insist in a woman’s right to choose. Factors of health, economics, and the dangers of an unwanted pregnancy are often cited as justification for making a responsible choice. In the midst of the heated debate, cries of personal freedom and justice are raised as banner calls for the right to choose and obscure Biblical references are quoted to authenticate the faithful stand.
There are churches that, with great conviction and Biblical assurance, insist that abortion is a sin and must not be permitted. Factors of God’s sovereignty over life, the genetic distinctiveness of every human embryo, and the vital necessity that Christians choose life are banner calls for the absolute priority of banning abortions. Doctrines of eternal punishment and incurring God’s wrath are often cited as the harsh consequences for allowing the practice to exist and take place. In the midst of the heated debate, cries of God’s priority for life are raised as banner calls for the sin of abortion and obscure Biblical references are quoted to authenticate the faithful stand.
Part of the issue regarding abortion is that there is no passage of scripture that explicitly prohibits or allows it. All of the scriptural justification and validation uses scripture to imply a particular stand on abortion but as with much of scripture, the final conclusion is so subject to interpretation that we find little agreement.
As warring factions within the church whip out the Bibles and ardently defend intractable beliefs respective beliefs regarding abortion, many Christians simply walk away from the heated debate. The harsh judgment and passionate perspectives are, for them, so painful and divisive that many devoted believers simply choose to not talk about abortion at all.
All the while, abortions continue to happen, parents are faced with making the arduous choices regarding unborn children, families continue to wrestle with the consequences of unplanned pregnancies, and passionate activists push for definitive legislative action and judicial decisions that will cement particular perspectives in the law of the land.
As people of faith, abortion is a topic which we must discuss—truly discuss. This discussion has no room for deeply held and passionate absolutes. The people who support a pro-life stand know exactly where they stand and will not be moved. The people who support a pro-choice stand know exactly where they stand and will not be moved. An ideological battle to prove who is right and who is wrong may sway a few people to one side or the other, but it will also drive far more people away from the church and away from God’s compassionate grace.
Abortion exists because humanity is far from perfect. Right or wrong, simply judging people for their views on abortion does nothing to provide comfort, counsel, guidance, and—most of all—God’s love to those facing the consequences of a pregnancy that does not happen in terms that were expected or anticipated. When it comes to abortion, the Church needs to practice graceful, prayerful, and intentional understanding. It is time we start really talking about it.